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Similarities Between Self-inquiry and Direct Mode?
- andymr
- Topic Author
13 years 7 months ago #88014
by andymr
I'm noticing similarities between direct mode and self inquiry practices in Ron's descriptions and in Nadav's recent notes.
I'll describe what I see in my (very) recent practice. I'm curious what others think.
Over the last week, I've added self-inquiry to my practice. Yesterday, I set my phone to vibrate every 60 seconds to help keep self-inquiry going at work. Within an hour of this, I started getting this gentle, relaxed, pleasant, letting-go feeling whenever I'd inquire. I continued on the drive home, and the feeling deepened and thinking became less sticky. The scenery (that I"ve passed thousands of times) became interesting, and the colors, shapes, and textures of the passing rain clouds were fascinating. The driving itself was fun and engrossing in and of itself.
This reminded me of some direct mode practice I did a long time ago, and I'm wondering if self-inquiry and direct mode practice have common roots.
For self-inquiry, I've been asking, 'Who am I?', 'Where am I?' If I get a chain of thoughts, I treat it as the 'I' and look for a body reaction. If I get an emotional reaction to something, I treat that as 'I', and pay attention to where and how it expresses itself physically. Eventually, these physical sensations of 'I' seem to congregate more in my head, mostly behind my face.
The direct mode practice I had done was similar in that I'd rest attention on the physical expression of an emotional 'tightness' or 'tension.' This would eventually release with this gentle rushing sensation moving up through my head.
For me, the link seems to be in the resting of attention on the expression of thoughts and feelings in my body. In self-inquiry, I treat these as 'I' and let them be. In direct mode, I just rest attention on them, and don't care to analyze them further.
Anyone else see similarities? Comments? Is it obvious to everyone but me?
Similarities Between Self-inquiry and Direct Mode? was created by andymr
I'm noticing similarities between direct mode and self inquiry practices in Ron's descriptions and in Nadav's recent notes.
I'll describe what I see in my (very) recent practice. I'm curious what others think.
Over the last week, I've added self-inquiry to my practice. Yesterday, I set my phone to vibrate every 60 seconds to help keep self-inquiry going at work. Within an hour of this, I started getting this gentle, relaxed, pleasant, letting-go feeling whenever I'd inquire. I continued on the drive home, and the feeling deepened and thinking became less sticky. The scenery (that I"ve passed thousands of times) became interesting, and the colors, shapes, and textures of the passing rain clouds were fascinating. The driving itself was fun and engrossing in and of itself.
This reminded me of some direct mode practice I did a long time ago, and I'm wondering if self-inquiry and direct mode practice have common roots.
For self-inquiry, I've been asking, 'Who am I?', 'Where am I?' If I get a chain of thoughts, I treat it as the 'I' and look for a body reaction. If I get an emotional reaction to something, I treat that as 'I', and pay attention to where and how it expresses itself physically. Eventually, these physical sensations of 'I' seem to congregate more in my head, mostly behind my face.
The direct mode practice I had done was similar in that I'd rest attention on the physical expression of an emotional 'tightness' or 'tension.' This would eventually release with this gentle rushing sensation moving up through my head.
For me, the link seems to be in the resting of attention on the expression of thoughts and feelings in my body. In self-inquiry, I treat these as 'I' and let them be. In direct mode, I just rest attention on them, and don't care to analyze them further.
Anyone else see similarities? Comments? Is it obvious to everyone but me?
- mumuwu
- Topic Author
13 years 7 months ago #88015
by mumuwu
Replied by mumuwu on topic RE: Similarities Between Self-inquiry and Direct Mode?
It depends.
For me, prior to 4th path, it would highlight the sense of the witness (6th jhana focus) and was a way to stabilize in the witness and then I could use it to ride the jhanic arc.
Post 4th, it seemed to be a way to highlight the affective layer in the body and anything else that was being taken as self.
I definitely seeing a connection. Recently in my journal I talked about it as such.
"Oooh. Got a really good/absorbed 2nd gear thing going. Asking who am I/where am I.
Very interesting.
Seems less 3rd eye than the witness practice I used to do originally. Seems to have more to do with tensions in the body. Feels like direct mode in some ways with more of the head & face in focus.
Really takes the edge off experience. Mind seems super still. Quite content.
Eyes feel stiller than usual as well (nothing really draws the attention away from the center).
Energetic feel is quite dense, but not unpleasant.
Nice to feel a bit out of it hehehe."
"So... this seems to be a very stable, very easy to maintain form of direct mode.
I think the key is to use self inquiry as a way to bring up all the affective charge in the body. This makes it so there's really no need to intentionally ground it or maintain the dead man's switch in any sort of effortful way. If you find yourself off on a tangent, rather than the tollbooth, simply ask "to whom does this thought arise" and allow whatever arises to merge with the rest of the affective charge / wax in the lavalamp - so that it once again becomes whole.
Just as 2nd gear was a way to a more stable version of Kenneth's original 3rd gear, it seems self inquiry (also considered second gear) is a way to access and easily maintain direct mode (no suffering, whole, direct experience).
This is really wonderful."
Post 831/832
For me, prior to 4th path, it would highlight the sense of the witness (6th jhana focus) and was a way to stabilize in the witness and then I could use it to ride the jhanic arc.
Post 4th, it seemed to be a way to highlight the affective layer in the body and anything else that was being taken as self.
I definitely seeing a connection. Recently in my journal I talked about it as such.
"Oooh. Got a really good/absorbed 2nd gear thing going. Asking who am I/where am I.
Very interesting.
Seems less 3rd eye than the witness practice I used to do originally. Seems to have more to do with tensions in the body. Feels like direct mode in some ways with more of the head & face in focus.
Really takes the edge off experience. Mind seems super still. Quite content.
Eyes feel stiller than usual as well (nothing really draws the attention away from the center).
Energetic feel is quite dense, but not unpleasant.
Nice to feel a bit out of it hehehe."
"So... this seems to be a very stable, very easy to maintain form of direct mode.
I think the key is to use self inquiry as a way to bring up all the affective charge in the body. This makes it so there's really no need to intentionally ground it or maintain the dead man's switch in any sort of effortful way. If you find yourself off on a tangent, rather than the tollbooth, simply ask "to whom does this thought arise" and allow whatever arises to merge with the rest of the affective charge / wax in the lavalamp - so that it once again becomes whole.
Just as 2nd gear was a way to a more stable version of Kenneth's original 3rd gear, it seems self inquiry (also considered second gear) is a way to access and easily maintain direct mode (no suffering, whole, direct experience).
This is really wonderful."
Post 831/832
- LocoAustriaco
- Topic Author
13 years 7 months ago #88016
by LocoAustriaco
Replied by LocoAustriaco on topic RE: Similarities Between Self-inquiry and Direct Mode?
Had the same question a year ago. Both lead to the same states for me, but also sometimes to different ones. There seems to be a group of states that can be triggered by both; but some tastes are special for DM and some for Inquiry. In the enlightened state it became clearer how both tastes play together to create a rise of the true self. the tastes that are unique to Dm and SI are like bordering countries to the country of Enlightenment. Also sometimes it happens that the mind turns away from I-ness into the world of senses very naturally.