below the navel. There is the object, there is the fact of seeing,
and there is the vibration in the eye and below the navel.
When we were practising looking at objects and being aware in the
eye, we noticed that a certain centredness would arise
spontaneously (see section 9.1). Now it is not only centredness but
also grounding that can be experienced. By being both in the eye
and in the belly, you automatically feel more solid, more dense,
less likely to float away with the first puff of wind. It is as if
you were making a denser hole in the physical space.
Tips
- If practised sufficiently, this technique will put you more in
touch with your own power. It can be recommended to people who
suffer from low self esteem and need to develop their
assertiveness. - I have had encouraging results with these techniques of
grounding when working with borderline schizophrenics. Due to
the nature of their disease, certain schizophrenic patients are
caught up in a turmoil of extrasensory perceptions which are
sometimes genuine but completely out of control, and therefore
generating a terrible anxiety, if not panic. By teaching
schizophrenics how to ground themselves vigorously when they
sense a flash of delirium approaching, they are sometimes able to
avoid it and keep their sanity.
18.8 Walking from the belly
Re-read section 12.8 for the description of this technique. On the
basis of the anchoring work we have just done, you should now be
able to walk from the belly in a much more convincing way.
18.9 Stimulating the fire
It is not necessary to be in a meditation position for this
particular exercise but it is preferable to be seated. As always in
life, it is better to keep your back straight. Become aware in the
eye and in the will centre. Become aware of your breath, and
breathe from the abdomen only. Abdominal breathing means that
when you inhale and exhale nothing moves in your chest. When
you inhale, only your abdomen moves forwards, and the ribcage
remains motionless.
Remain aware of the breath and for one or two minutes keep
watching any movement in the trunk, to make sure that nothing