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Introduction
to be given prior to the exercise:
The practice of the perception
of body consists in concentrating the mind on each part of the body, one by one
and perceiving the sensations and vibrations taking place in each part. Of course,
here the perception does not mean the visual perception, but the mental one. The
sensations may be superficial sensations of the skin such as the contact with
your clothes warmth or coolness, itching and perspiration etc., or they may be
the sensations of pain, numbness, tingling etc. felt in the muscles or the vibrations
of the electrical impulses in the nervous system or any other type of vibrations.
Starting from the surface you have to penetrate deeply inside and try to become
aware of the internal and subtle vibrations. Remain completely equanimous towards
the sensations; try to keep your mind free from like or dislike.
The
third step of preksha meditation is perception of body. Concentrate your mind
on the big toe of your right foot. Allow it to spread and permeate throughout
the whole portion of the toe. Perceive the sensations and vibrations taking place
in that region. Become aware of them, experience them without any like or dislike;
use deep concentration and remain fully alert.
Now shift your attention
to each part of right limb one by one. I shall now indicate the name of the part
of your body on which you have to concentrate your mind and perceive it: The other
toes, the sole, the heel, the ankle, the upper part of the foot, the calf-muscles,
the knee, the thigh, upto the hip-joint. Perceive the whole part, experience the
sensations and vibrations taking place in each part. Maintain equanimity.
In the same way practice perception of all the parts of your left limb.
Thus the trip of the lower body is completed. Now, start the trip of
the middle body from the waist upto the neck. Concentrating your mind on each
part one by one--perceive the waist, the navel, the abdomen including the big
intestine, the small intestine, the kidney, the spleen, the liver, the pancreas,
the duodenum, the stomach and the diaphragm. Then the whole portion of the chest
including the lungs, the heart, the ribs, the throat and the vocal cords. Concentrate
your mind and perceive.
Then practice the perception of the whole
portion of the back including the spine, the spinal cord and the neck. Now concentrate
on the whole portion of the right hand and arm including the thumb, the finger,
the palm, the wrist, the lower arm, the elbow, the upper arm and the shoulder.
Perceive each part one by one. In the same way concentrate on the left hand and
arm. The trip of the middle body is completed.
Now we come to the
upper body. Concentrate your mind on each part from the chin upto the head. The
chin, the lips, the inner portion of the mouth including the tongue, the teeth,
the palate, the cheeks, the nose, the right ear, all the three parts---the outer,
the middle and the inner, the right temple, in the same way the left ear and the
left temple, the right eye, the left eye, the forehead and the head. Perceive
each part one by one. During the perception of the tongue allow your tongue to
remain hanging freely, without touching anywhere inside the mouth.
While
perceiving the head, perceive all parts of your brain--the front, the back, the
right, the left, the outer and the inner. Allow your mind to permeate throughout
the brain. The trip of the upper body is completed.
Now practice
the perception of body as a whole. You may stand up slowly and carefully, keeping
your eyes closed. Allow your mind to travel from the big toes to the head and
from the head to the big toes, rather speedily. Passing through each part of the
body, perceive the vibrations throughout the body. Experience a tingling sensation
in each and every muscle, skin, nerve and cell produced by the contact of your
conscious mind. You may also practice the holding of breath for a while intermittently.
Get yourself completely absorbed in the perception of body.
Now
allow your mind to travel throughout the body rather slowly. If you experience
pain or any other peculiar sensation, you may stop there for a while and perceive
it with equanimity without any like or dislike.
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