Download PDF - Stillness Speaks

Nearly everyone has, at moments of great object happiness or intensetragedy, broken through the ego plane to realize 58 the Self, an experiencewhich makes a deep and lasting subconscious impression. Discriminativemeditation is the art of experiencing the Self consciously, so it's possible, ifone discriminates successfully, to favorably program the Unconscious withSelf realization vasanas until they nudge out worldly vasanas, at which pointthe Unconscious begins to "know" us as God.Though seemingly farfetched, the idea is psychologically sound.Anyone trying to break a nasty habit knows how unreliable resolutions are inthe face of subconscious resistance. Say, "I'm quitting!" and you’ll eat yourwords. The Unconscious knows you can't just quit, because the impressionsassociated with the habit are etched too deeply. But if a positive habit ispatiently developed, its impressions will eventually crowd out the negative.The thought “I am incomplete, limited, and inadequate” is a SubtleBody disease for which the proper medicine is the experience of the innerSelf. Taking one's medicine consistently over time, the mind begins toharmonize with the Source. Eventually only one "Self" thought remains inthe conscious and unconscious minds. Then, in a miraculous way the DivineIdea transforms into the continuous effortless experience of the Self. WhenSelf experience becomes permanent, the knowledge “I am limitless actionlessAwareness” destroys the ignorance “I am an incomplete, limited, inadequatebeing.”"Sit in a solitary place control the senses,free the mind of desire, and meditate with unswerving attentionon the Self, one without a second."(37)Before we can successfully practice discriminative meditation we needa meditation-worthy Subtle Body, the instrument of meditation. And beforewe can create a meditation-worthy Subtle Body we need a comprehensiveknowledge of how the Subtle Body, sandwiched between the Gross andCausal Bodies, works.EXTROVERSION OF MIND 5958 Realization of the Self means experience, not just knowledge “of” the Self.59 The Subtle Body46