Questions about Dissolving Process

[Anonymous]

Hello, I have read through Bruce’s meditation books several times and listened to the CD’s. When I practice, I have no problem finding the 4 conditions, but I have a problem with intention. I can’t seem to “intend” for anything to change, release, or shift. I sit with what’s there from my head down (there is a MASSIVE amount of material in my head and face) and try and breathe in and out of what I’m focusing on and letting it move or dissolve as it will. But little to nothing seems to happen.

Does it take a very long time at first to get the feel of it? Does the breathing with and into the block remain a constant? Is this intention for it to melt into gas or space a forcing of the will? Or is it more of a staying with until the block reveals its nature?
Does it also tend to take a long time to move through any segment of the body at first? It seems that there is so much from my head to my face and jaw, that I can’t just scan down my whole body any time soon. Or is there a part of the practice like in S.N. Goenka’s version of Vipassana where you scan downwards more quickly?

Thank you for any help.

[Anonymous]

I’m discovering that Bruce’s stuff, like all things, isn’t to be taken dogmatically.
The idea isn’t to feel like these are rigid goals and expectations that must be met as we are so used to believing with nearly all things in life, but, rather, it just shows you when you are performing optimally.
It may take a really, really long time to get to the optimal place as he outlines, but it shows you when you’ve hit the mark so that you don’t overshoot it.
From what I’ve been experiencing personally, my breath sucks; I’m always holding it or doing it too shallowly.
My posture sucks, I’m always too rigid or slouching with exhaustion after having reaped the rewards of that rigidity.
I have a horrible time, as in no luck whatsoever, with feeling my body; it’s more like a map or transparency for some kinda etheric overhead-projector that I try to line up with my actual, physical body.
In downward dissolving, I’m always doing it nonlinearly; I’m always finding myself going way far down and then way back up somewhere else.
Most times, when downward dissolving, I’ll just exhaust myself on what I consider a blockage in one place until I kinda fugue-out and find myself no longer meditating or with the feeling of “where am I?”
I’m pretty sure a major blockage I have is over the felt sensation of whether I’ve actually resolved a blockage, cause, I gotta tell you, I can’t remember one-damn-time I’ve resolved a blockage!
That said, I’m beginning to realize that this isn’t meant to be an impediment or even an impetus; it just is what it is and, with slow and steady practice I’ll eventually get to where the optimum is and, because of it, hopefully, I won’t overshoot the mark. But, hey, I’m human, I’m going to overshoot the mark! So, Bruce’s stuff just gently slowly carefully reminds you where the mark is even if part of working out all this stuff is just going all the way around the track until you end up back at the mark and another opportunity to linger around there rather than NASCAR your ass to the big win!
Anyway, as they say around these parts;
I hope this helps

Cody

[Anonymous]

In terms of the overall post- I’d say 70% rule (Goldilocks- not toomuch, but enough…)

also- in terms of these 2 pts:

<>
and
<>

I find the jump up and down (vs linking Feeling- awareness, with Gravity flow– can start at top-multiple times.. but always: top and then down, not up-down-up.. else you end up with the “where am I feeling.. actually- just one perspective (having worked this a little while… I ack your seeking

[Anonymous]

Hey David,

Having a massive amount of material in the head and face is a common experiance. We experiance the world from our heads. So we tend to have a ton of stuff in that region of the body. Removing and clearing the blocks from the head will have a strong effect throughout the rest of your system.

When dissolving a block it isn’t about forcing your will onto the block. You can’t “make” a block dissolve. It’s more about “letting” a block dissolve. The feeling is more one of sitting there and watching the block and thinking “I’m just going to sit right here. Don’t mind me. If you feel like dissolving then don’t let me stop you. I wouldn’t mind it if you dissolved. You go right ahead and do your thing”

When you are scanning down your body you can do it at a number of speeds and with varying amounts of throughness. If you are being super through, then you might spend an hour and only get down to your chin. Or you could dissolve more lightly, and just check into the really big major blocks in your system. Or you could take 30 seconds and scan down to the height of some block you really want to work on and then spend a whole hour on that block. There is a lot of flexibilty in how you use the core technique to work on the blocks of the system.

Hope this helps,
Janak

[Author]

Posts