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SOULFUL SENSES

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SOUL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

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Meditations

for developing

soulful

Senses

M18

M19

M20

M21

M22

M23

The lifestyle of an ordinary person is primarily concerned with fulfilling sensual desires. He is constantly driven by these desires to gratify the senses which keep him engaged in feeding the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind through external stimuli. He constantly strives for pleasure or entertainment and wastes most of his energy. For such a person, what would it mean to no longer live an ordinary and unsatisfactory sensual life but an extraordinarily fulfilling one? It would mean, not using the senses for pleasure and entertainment, not becoming a slave to them, but mastering them, making them super-sensitive, and ultimately, understanding their real nature, thereby, eradicating the delusion of owning or possessing them-- making them “Soulful”....perfecting them!

Withdrawing the senses or making the senses “Soulful” or making them perfect, is not a practice of penance or physical torture. It does not mean closing your eyes, ears, and mouth, etc. It does not mean starving or annihilating the senses. It simply means withdrawing senses from pleasure and entertainment so that the senses can be made super-sensitive through the expansion of sense-consciousness. Specifically, it means performing all sensual activities not for physical or sensual pleasures but for strengthening spiritual qualities of delight, gratification, fulfillment, contentment, sanctity, auspiciousness, enchantment, entrainment, healing and holiness so that we can experience spiritual joy.

At the ultimate level, we make our senses “Soulful,” we perfect our senses, by performing sensual activities of eating, watching, smelling, hearing/listening and touching as a Soulful Meditation and as a means to assist us in meditation. What that means is--

“ultimately achieving that state of sensual awareness and equanimity where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of senses, where there is no feeling of owning or possessing the senses, where there is no attachment to the senses as my senses and where there is only awareness and knowledge that these are just sensual phenomena and nothing else.”

M18

SOUL Meditation for Developing

Entrainment

(Soulful Hearing)

Stage 1:

Developing the intention of experiencing silence:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to become aware of your breathing. Once you become aware, breath normally. Then, move your attention to the ears and feel its interior and exterior. Now, get ready to hear the sound with the sole intention of experiencing the underlying silence. Only when you know that you are established in this intention, start listening.

While hearing a discourse or chanting a mantra or listening to soft-slow music, become aware of the gaps of silence that exist between words or sound forms. Anchor your attention on this silence and hear everything in relation to this silence. Always remain aware of this silence. Feel the emptiness and stillness of the silence that underlies all sound forms. For example, while listening to your favorite song, do not only hear the words and the beats but also expand your hearing so you can experience the gaps of silence situated between the words and the beats.

If you are not able to anchor your attention on silence, silently utter the word “silence” and repeat it while hearing anything until your attention is anchored into the silence underlying the sound. Always try to feel the silence conspicuously.

Stage 2:

Developing good listening habits:

With right intention (as developed in Stage 1); remain thoroughly aware of the activity of listening to develop following good listening habits:

Never listening to loud and violent music,

Avoiding very noisy places,

Listening to educational and spiritual discourses,

Listening more and speaking less during conversations,

Never mixing bunch of activities like eating and reading while listening to music,

Not listening to or chanting a mantra continuously for more than an hour,

Finding more opportunities for spending time in silence and just listening to that silence, and most importantly,

Never turning on radio or tape as a reaction to silence, or, as a reaction to boredom.

Stage 3:

Develop awareness of and non-reaction to sound:

While listening, remain aware of the action of listening and feel the sound. Feeling of sound is very subtle; however, if your attention is more on ears than on the sound, you can actually feel the sound. Feeing of sound is really the experiencing of sound.

Simply feel the sound without reacting with craving or aversion. If any craving or aversion arises, become aware of it while remaining non-reactive. Do not classify what you hear as good or bad, melodious or harsh, fair or unfair, praise or criticism. Understand that it is just a feeling of sound which will not last forever. Simply observe all the feelings of sound without reaction.

For example, while listening to a pop song, remain thoroughly aware of the gaps of silence (whether short or long) between words so that you do not get carried away by fast rhythmic beats and start dancing shamelessly; while hearing a conversation, remain non-reactive so that you do not interrupt the conversation and start arguing; while listening to a discourse, remain non-judgmental by anchoring into silence between the words so that you do not flow away with the content of the discourse; while chanting, keep listening to gaps of silence so that you do not get intoxicated by chanting ceaselessly and lose your awareness, and, most important of all, while listening to silence itself, remain aware of aversion to silence so that you do not get carried away by boredom and start doing something just to entertain yourself. In general, observe the arising and ceasing of all sound forms in relation to the gaps of silence. Hear all sound forms as something arising out of the ocean of silence which underlies them. In this way, hear the totality of sound objects by also hearing the underlying silence and remaining aware of it.

Stage 4:

Give wise attention to sound:

By giving wise attention, understand arising and passing away of all sounds as the expression of sense of hearing as well as its impermanent nature. Understand the contrast between the ever-existing stillness/emptiness of silence and the sound that is happening within that silence. Understand the phenomenon of impermanence (the sound) within the context of permanence (the silence). Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive as long as you remain aware of the underlying silence. Because of such non-reaction and wise attention, soon, any arisen craving or aversion to sound will die out. Especially the cravings related to melody or musical entertainment will eventually cease. With such practice, the act of hearing will become a means to “entrainment” rather than entertainment. You will begin to notice the feeling of entrainment and delight in listening to good music, divine chanting, and spiritual discourses.

Stage 5:

Becoming aware of the totality of hearing experience:

Once you are established in experiencing the delight and entrainment, you no longer have to remain attentive to it. You can then start observing the arising and ceasing of the feelings of sound in relation to the sound forms and the ears. Although very obvious, intentionally close and open ears to notice how the feelings of sound arise only when your ears are open and not when they are closed. In this way, notice how all the feelings of sound arise only if there is the ear (the body), the contact of the ear with the sound form (the mental element of sensation) and the presence of ear-consciousness. In this way, become aware of the totality of hearing experience as a phenomenon of body-mind-consciousness.

Stage 6:

Witnessing the impermanence and ending the slavery of sense of sound:

Understand how all feelings of sound came only when there are sound forms (the words, music, etc) and only when there is hearing of it. Understand how a favorite musical tune or a note could not be retained forever and how quickly it came and went. Understand how all sound feelings during listening to music eventually ceased and how none of it lasted forever even though you wanted some of them (the favorite notes) to last. In this way, understand the impermanent nature of all sound feelings and start developing non-attachment to them. Then, extend your meditation to sounds of everyday living. Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive to all kinds of sound forms, pleasant or unpleasant, loud or low, words of praise or criticism, screaming of a child or sweetness of his voice. In this way, end the slavery of the sense of sound.

Stage 7:

Sound sensitivity and expansion of ear-consciousness:

With ardent and continuous practicing of steps 1 through 6, you will develop super-sensitivity of hearing due to increased awareness of underlying silence, due to non-reaction to sound forms that are happening within that silence, due to the experiencing of delight and entrainment, and due to the understanding of impermanence. You will no longer remain shy or reclusive in a conversation nor become assertive or extroverted. Instead, you will develop higher sociability. Also, you will neither get hooked onto a particular type of music nor remain aloof from music. Due to increased sensitivity and longer attention span, you will also understand and learn faster from everything that you listen to. Most important of all, you will slowly experience the expansion of ear-consciousness. Your image of being a “listener,” the delusion that “I am the listener” will start fading away.

Stage 8:

Perfecting the Sense of Hearing (SOULful Hearing):

Eventually, your act of listening, which was earlier a means for sensual pleasure, will transform into a means for only experiencing impermanence and non-self. When that happens, you will develop a state of hearing-awareness where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of the sense of hearing, where there is no feeling of owning or possessing the sense of hearing, where there is no attachment to the sense of hearing as “my sense” and where there is only awareness and knowledge that “this is just a phenomenon of hearing” and nothing else.

M19

SOUL Meditation for Developing

Enchantment

(Soulful Seeing)

Stage 1:

Developing the intention of experiencing emptiness and stillness:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to become aware of your breathing. Once you become aware, breath normally. Then, move your attention to the eyes and feel its interior and exterior from the outermost to the innermost edges. Then, get ready to “see” with the sole intention of experiencing emptiness and stillness. Only when you know that you are established in this intention, start looking. Let me explain how to do this.

While looking at an object directly, also look through the outermost edges of your eyes. Watch everything panoramically. The panoramic vision will help you become aware of the emptiness and stillness of empty space that encompasses the objects of your observation. Always remain aware of this empty space without abandoning the object of observation. Feel the emptiness and stillness of the space that surrounds stationary as well as moving objects.

For example, while looking at a painting, do not only fix your eyes on the area within the edges of the painting but also expand the vision so you can see the painting as an object situated within the surrounding space. In this way, look at the totality of stationary objects by also looking at the empty space surrounding the objects. When you are watching a movie or while you are watching anything in motion, do not fix your attention only on the moving pictures or moving objects and get carried away by them. Instead, observe the changes and movements of pictures or objects in relation to the stillness of surrounding space. Observe them as something occurring relative to the stillness of the space which surrounds them. In this way, look at the totality of moving objects by also looking at the non-moving, still space surrounding those objects.

If you are not able to anchor your attention on the emptiness and stillness of space, silently utter the word “space” and repeat it while watching space and while recollecting the qualities of stillness and emptiness until your attention is anchored into these qualities. Always remain aware of this aspect of your vision. Always try to feel it conspicuously.

Stage 2:

Developing good visual habits:

With right intention (Stage 1); remain thoroughly aware of your visual activities so you can develop following good habits:

Regularly performing eye exercises, at least once a week.

Neither watching too much TV, video, motion pictures, cartoons, etc, nor completely abandoning it,

Watching only quality and educational programs and completely avoiding pornographic and violent contents,

Never eating while watching and never sitting in couch-potato postures,

Not watching continuously for more than one hour, and, every five minutes, gently blinking to keep eyes relaxed, and

Always closing eyes and meditating for a few minutes after the end of any visual session such as a TV show or a movie.

Stage 3:

Developing awareness of and non-reaction to vision:

While watching, remain aware of the action of seeing and feel the vision. Feeling the vision is very subtle; however, if your attention is more on your eyes than on the objects, you can actually feel the vision. Feeing of vision is really the experiencing of vision.

Simply feel the vision without reacting with craving or aversion. If any craving or aversion arises, become aware of it while remaining non-reactive. Do not classify what you see as good or bad, beautiful or ugly. Understand that it is just a visual feeling which will not last forever. Simply observe all the visual feelings without reaction. For example, while watching a movie, remain non-reactive so you do not flow away with the story, the drama, the motion, the colors, or the beauty of the objects. Similarly, while walking or driving through poor or dirty neighborhoods, watch everything without reacting to disorder or ugliness.

Stage 4:

Giving wise attention to vision:

By giving wise attention, understand all motion, movements, and all changes as the expressions of sense of vision and its impermanence. The important thing is to understand the contrast between emptiness and stillness of surrounding space and the non-emptiness (mass) and non-stillness (motion) of objects that are happening within the space. Even more important is to witness the phenomenon of impermanence (mass and motion) within the context of permanence (stillness and emptiness of space).

Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive to beauty or ugliness as long as you remain aware of the surrounding space. Because of such non-reaction and wise attention, soon, any arisen craving or aversion to visions and sights will die out. Especially the cravings related to movies or motion picture entertainment will eventually cease. With such practice, the act of seeing will become a means to “enchantment and delight” rather than sensual pleasure and entertainment.

Stage 5:

Becoming aware of the totality of visual experience:

Once you are established in experiencing the enchantment and delight, you no longer have to remain attentive to it. You can then start observing the arising and ceasing of vision in relation to the movement of your eyes. Although very obvious, intentionally close and open your eyes to notice how the vision arises only when your eyes are open and not when they are closed. In this way, notice how all the vision arises only if there is the eye (the body), the contact of the eye with the visual object (the mental element of sensation) and the presence of eye-consciousness. In this way, become aware of the totality of visual experience as a phenomenon of body-mind-consciousness.

Stage 6:

Witnessing the impermanence and ending the slavery of the visual sense:

Understand how all visual feelings came only when there is a visual object (the movie for example) and only when there is seeing of it. Understand how your favorite scene could not be retained forever and how quickly it came and went. Understand how all visual feelings during a movie eventually ceased and how none of it lasted forever even though you wanted some of them (the favorite scenes) to last. In this way, understand the impermanent nature of all visual feelings and start developing non-attachment to them.

Then, extend your meditation to visions of everyday living. Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive to all visions of life (pleasing or not, ugly or beautiful, etc). In this way, end the slavery of the visual sense.

Stage 7:

Visual sensitivity and expansion of eye-consciousness:

With ardent and continuous practicing of steps 1 through 6, you will develop super-sensitivity of vision due to increased awareness of surrounding space and due to non-reaction to visual motions that are happening within that space, due to enchantment and delight, and due to the understanding of impermanence. Then, slowly, you will experience the expansion of eye-consciousness. Your image of a “seer,” the delusion that “I am the seer” will start fading away.

Stage 8:

Perfecting the Sense of Vision (SOULful Vision):

Eventually, your act of seeing, which was earlier a means for sensual pleasure, will transform into a means for only experiencing impermanence and non-self. When that happens, you will develop a state of visual-awareness where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of the sense of vision, where there is no feeling of owning or possessing the sense of vision, where there is no attachment to the sense of vision as “my sense” and where there is only awareness and knowledge that “this is just a phenomenon of vision” and nothing else.

M20

SOUL Meditation for Developing

Sanctity

(Soulful Smelling)

Stage 1:

Developing the intention of experiencing sanctity & auspiciousness:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to become aware of your breathing. Once you become aware, breath normally. Then, move your attention to the nose and feel its interior and exterior. Now, get ready to smell a scented flower with the sole intention of experiencing sanctity and auspiciousness. Only when you know that you are established in this intention, start smelling the scented flower.

While smelling, inhale very slowly and gently and do not sniff. Become aware of the distinct feeling of the smell and its sanctity and auspicious nature. Anchor your attention on this sanctity and auspiciousness. If you do not experience this, silently utter the words “holy” and “auspicious” and repeat it while smelling a flower until you are anchored into the feelings of sanctity and auspiciousness. Always remain aware of this aspect of smelling scents and fragrances. Always try to feel it conspicuously.

After you are established in the sanctity and auspiciousness aspects of this meditation, practice it while you are walking through a garden, while you are visiting holy places or while you are getting ready to sit for any meditation. Light an essence stick and feel and understand the smell as a means, a portal to anchor oneself in sanctity and auspiciousness before beginning a meditation.

Stage 2:

Developing awareness of and non-reaction to smell:

While smelling, remain aware of the action of smelling and feel the smell. Simply feel the smell without reacting with craving or aversion. If any craving or aversion arises, become aware of it while remaining non-reactive. Do not classify it as pleasant or unpleasant, scented or unscented. Understand that it is just a feeling which will not last forever. Simply observe the feeling of smell without reaction. Because of such non-reaction, soon, any arisen craving or aversion to smell will die out.

For example, while smelling cologne, become aware of smelling it and its scentedness. If you are a scent lover, a craving will arise because you like the smell of it. Simply observe this craving as a “feeling of smell” which has arisen due to a scent. Observe this feeling simply as a feeling of smell and not as good smell or a scented smell or a fragrance. Try to contemplate and understand the feeling of smell as a mere feeling. As you contemplate and understand, notice how the craving begins to die out. Also notice how all future cravings simply come and go if you do not react to them.

Stage 3:

Giving wise attention to the smell:

Notice how the smell stays only until scent is there. Notice how it ceases soon after the scent is gone. Notice how you try to use the same scent again by reacting to the memory of its smell. Notice what happens if you don’t use the scent but only observe the memory of its smell which manifests as a craving. Notice how this craving starts building up. Notice how a craving begins to die out if you put the scent on you while remaining aware of your cravings and your reactions. Also notice how aversion arises in you if you encounter bad odors. Notice how this aversion begins to die out if you simply observe the odor as a “feeling of smell” and not as a ‘bad smell.’ In this way, give wise attention to all cravings or aversions related to the smell.

Stage 4:

Becoming aware of the totality of smelling experience:

Once you are established in experiencing the sanctity and auspiciousness of scented smell, you no longer have to remain attentive to it. You can then start observing the arising and ceasing of smell in relation to the in-breath and out-breath or in relation to the movement of your breath. Notice how the scented smell comes only during the in-breath and not during the out-breath. In this way, notice how all the feelings of smell arise only if there is the nose and breath (the body), the contact of breath with the scent (the mental element of sensation) and the presence of smell-consciousness. In this way, become aware of the totality of smelling experience as a phenomenon of body-mind-consciousness.

Stage 5:

Witnessing the impermanence and ending the slavery of the sense of smell:

Understand how all feelings of smell came only when there is scent or odors and only when there is smelling of it. Understand how your favorite scented smell could not be retained forever and how you had to keep using the scent to maintain the smell. Understand how all feelings of scented smell eventually ceased and how none of it lasted forever even though you wanted them to last. Also understand how all bad odors you encounter in your daily life eventually die out. In this way, understand the impermanent nature of all feelings of smell and start developing non-attachment to them. Then, extend this understanding to all smells and odors of everyday living. Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive to scents and fragrances as well as obnoxious odors. You will notice that you no longer crave scents or hate bad odors. In this way, end the slavery of smell.

Stage 6:

Smell sensitivity and expansion of smell-consciousness:

With ardent and continuous practicing of steps 1 through 5, you will develop super-sensitivity of smell due to increased awareness and non-reaction and due to the understanding of impermanence. Then, slowly, you will experience the expansion of smell-consciousness. Your image of a ‘smeller,’ the delusion that ‘I am the smeller’ will start fading away.

Stage 7:

Perfecting the Sense of Smell (SOULful Smelling):

If you are dedicated in your meditative practice, eventually, your act of ‘smelling’, which was earlier a means for sensual pleasure, will transform into a means for only experiencing impermanence and non-self. When that happens, you will develop a state of smell-awareness where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of the sense of smell, where there is no feeling of owning or possessing the sense of smell, where there is no attachment to the sense of smell as “my sense” and where there is only awareness and knowledge that “this is just a phenomenon of smell” and nothing else.

M21

SOUL Meditation for Developing

Healing Capacity

(Soulful Touching)

Stage 1:

Developing the intention of healing:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to become aware of your breathing. Once you become aware, breath normally. Then, move your attention from the crown of your head to the toe of your feet and feel the entire body from inside and outside. Then move your attention to your palms and feel them thoroughly from the tip of fingers to the base of the wrist. Then, move your attention to the bottom of your feel and feel them thoroughly from the tip of fingers to the base of the heels. Once you become aware, at least preliminarily, of your entire body and specifically of your palms and feet, get ready to touch with the sole intention of experiencing the healing. Only when you know that you are established in this intention, begin touching yourself and others.

Move your palms from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet while touching yourself very slowly and gently. Become aware of the distinct tactile feeling of the touch and its healing nature. Anchor your attention on the healing aspect of the touch and move your palms gently covering the entire body except the genital areas. If you do not experience “healing” in your touch, silently utter the word “heal” and repeat it while touching until you are anchored into the feeling of healing. Always remain aware of the healing aspect of touching. Always try to feel it conspicuously in your touch.

After you are established in the healing aspect of this meditation, practice it on your children while giving then a bath, while anointing them with lotion or oils, while messaging them, while putting them to sleep, or, while cuddling and reading them a story. Do not practice this meditation on your spouse or on other children. If you happen to be a message therapist, practice this meditation rigorously by always remaining thoroughly aware of the healing aspect of it so you do get carried away by other unwholesome feelings. In the beginning, very slowly and gently chant “Heal, Heal” and sync it with the movement of your palms. With practice, introduce your intention of healing and make it stronger and stronger until it becomes your second nature.

Walk bare-footed on a clean sandy beach and feel the healing touch of the sand, on a well-maintained lawn and feel the healing touch of the grass, on a soft patch of land and feel the healing touch of the earth. Sit on the bank of a river with your feet immersed in flowing water and feel the healing touch of it. Sit in an open area early in the morning and feel the healing touch of the cool breeze on a warm summer day, feel the healing touch of the warm sunshine on a chilly winter day, and so on. Feel and experientially understand “touch” as a “portal of healing.”

Stage 2:

Developing awareness of and non-reaction to touch:

While touching, remain aware of the action of touching and feel the touch. Do not classify your touch as soft or hard, pleasant or unpleasant, hot or cold. Simply feel the touch without reacting with craving or aversion. If any craving or aversion arises, become aware of it while remaining non-reactive. Understand that it is just a feeling of touch which will not last forever. Simply observe all the feelings of touch without reaction.

Stage 3:

Giving wise attention to the experience of touch:

By giving wise attention, understand the arising and passing away of tactile feelings as the expression of the sense of touch and as its impermanent nature. Understand that none of these feelings last forever by understanding the contrast between the touched and untouched areas. Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive to all feeling of touch as long as you remain aware of its healing aspect and its impermanent nature. Because of such non-reaction and wise attention, soon, any arisen craving or aversion related to touch will die out. Especially the cravings related to messages, spas, and other bodily pleasures will eventually cease. With such practice, the experience of bodily touching will become a means for self-healing rather than a means for mere sensual pleasures.

Stage 4:

Becoming aware of the totality of the experience of touch:

Once you are established in touching with healing, you no longer have to remain attentive to it. You can then start observing the arising and ceasing of tactile feelings of touch in relation to the movement of your palms or the movement of your body. Observe all the feelings of touch as something arising out of the body, the contact (sensations) and the body-consciousness. In this way, become aware of the totality of the sense of touch as a phenomenon of body-mind-consciousness.

Stage 5:

Touch sensitivity and expansion of body-consciousness:

With ardent and continuous practicing of stages 1 through 4, you will develop super-sensitivity of the sense of touch due to increased awareness of its healing aspect and due to non-reaction to all types of touching experiences. Due to this increased sensitivity, you will neither remain shy or reclusive in your relationships nor become outgoing and aggressive. Instead, you will develop higher sense of connectivity. Also, due to increased sensitivity and self-healing, you are more likely to remain healthy and free of diseases. Most important of all, slowly, you will begin to experience the expansion of body-consciousness. Your image of a “massager” or a “healer” or an “experiencer,” the delusion that “I am the healer, I am the experiencer” will start fading away.

Stage 6:

Perfecting the Sense of Touch (SOULful Touch):

Eventually, your act of touching or experiencing (which was earlier a means for sensual pleasure) will transform into a means for experiencing only impermanence and non-self. When that happens, you will develop a state of body-awareness where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of the sense of touch, where there is no feeling of owning or possessing the sense of touch, where there is no attachment to the sense of touch as “my sense” and where there is only awareness and knowledge that “this is just a phenomenon of touching (or experiencing)” and nothing else.

M22

SOUL Meditation for Developing

Contentment

(Perfecting the Sense of Taste)

Stage 1:

Developing the intention of providing nourishment to the body:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to become aware of your breathing. Once you become aware, breathe normally. Then, move your attention to the inside of the mouth and feel its interior. Now, get ready to eat with the sole intention of providing nourishment to the body. Only when you know that you are established in this intention, take your first bite. Do not grab a bite as a reaction to your hunger. Do not grab a bite if your mouth is watering. Do not eat for taste. Do not feed your cravings. Always arouse the intention of providing nourishment to the body first and then only start eating.

Stage 2:

Developing good eating habits:

With right intention, remain thoroughly aware of the activity of eating to develop following good habits:

Neither chewing too fast nor too slow but just so gently and steadily that the aware of chewing is maintained,

Not swallowing food until it is chewed adequately,

Not taking large bites,

Not grabbing the next bite until the previous bite is completely swallowed,

Not talking while eating,

If necessary, talking only after completely swallowing the bite.

Stage 3:

Developing awareness of and non-reaction to the taste:

While chewing, remain aware of the action of chewing and feel the taste. Simply feel the taste without reacting with craving or aversion. If any craving or aversion arises, become aware of it while remaining non-reactive. Do not classify it as good or bad, tasty or bland. Understand that it is just a feeling which will not last forever. Simply observe the feeling of taste without reaction. Because of such non-reaction, soon, any arisen craving or aversion will die out.

For example, while eating a chocolate, become aware of chewing it and its sweet chocolaty taste. If you are a chocolate lover, a craving will arise because you like the taste of it. Observe this craving and do not chew harder or make sounds like ‘ummm’ ‘yummy’ etc. Instead, observe the craving as a “feeling of taste” which has arisen due to eating a chocolate. Observe this feeling simply as a feeling of taste and not as good taste or sweet taste or chocolaty taste. Try to contemplate and understand the taste feeling as a mere feeling. As you contemplate and understand, notice how the craving begins to die out. Also notice how all future cravings simply come and go if you do not react to them.

Stage 4:

Giving wise attention to the taste:

Notice how the taste in your mouth stays only until food is there. Notice how it ceases soon after swallowing the food. Notice how you take the next bite by reacting to the memory of the taste of the previous bite. Notice what happens if you just hold the bite and observe that memory of taste which manifests as a sensation in your mouth. Notice how the mouth begins to water if you hold the bite for some time. Notice how a craving starts building up and how it forces you to put the bite in the mouth. Notice how a craving begins to die out if you put the bite in your mouth while remaining aware of your cravings and your reactions. In this way, give wise attention to all cravings or aversions related to the taste.

Stage 5:

Experiencing spiritual delight and contentment in eating:

With ardent and continuous practicing of steps 1 through 4, you will soon begin to notice the feeling of spiritual delight and contentment while eating, and, especially, after the meal is over. If such feelings do not arise easily, contemplate like this: “This meditative eating is so delightful, it is so fulfilling. I feel so alive, energetic, and content after the meal. It is so wonderful.” In this way, you will not only nourish the body but also the mind. After experiencing spiritual delight and contentment while eating, you will neither overeat nor starve yourself ever.

Stage 6:

Becoming aware of the totality of tasting experience:

Once you are established in the delight and contentment, you no longer have to remain attentive to it. You can then start observing the arising and ceasing of taste in relation to chewing and non-chewing, or, in relation to the movement of your mouth. Notice how all the feelings of taste arise only if there is the mouth (the body), the contact of mouth with food (the mental element of sensation) and the presence of taste-consciousness. In this way, become aware of the totality of tasting experience as a phenomenon of body-mind-consciousness.

Stage 7:

Witnessing the impermanence and ending the slavery of the sense of taste:

Understand how all taste feelings came only while eating and went away. Understand how your favorite chocolate taste could not be retained forever and how you had to keep eating the chocolate to maintain the taste which came in relation to your reaction and non-reaction. Understand how all taste feelings eventually ceased and how none of it lasted forever even though you wanted them to last. In this way, understand the impermanent nature of all feelings of taste and start developing non-attachment to them. Sooner or later, you will notice that you are able to remain non-reactive to tasty food as well as non-tasty food. In this way, end the slavery of taste.

Stage 8:

Taste sensitivity and expansion of taste-consciousness:

With ardent and continuous practicing of steps 1 through 7, you will develop super-sensitivity of taste due to increased awareness and non-reaction, due to the feeling of delight and contentment and due to the understanding of impermanence. Then, slowly, you will experience the expansion of taste-consciousness. Your image of an “‘eater,” the delusion that “I am the eater” will start fading away.

Stage 9:

Perfecting the Sense of Taste (SOULful Eating):

Eventually, your act of eating, which was earlier a means for sensual pleasure, will transform into a means for only experiencing impermanence and non-self. When that happens, you will develop a state of taste awareness where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of the sense of taste, where there is no feeling of owning or possessing the sense of taste, where there is no attachment to the sense of taste as “my sense,” and, where there is only awareness and knowledge that “this is just a phenomenon of taste” and nothing else.

The Sixth Sense

So far, we have talked about meditations on five senses that are related to sense-consciousness. As we have discussed earlier (see ), the sense-consciousness cannot arise unless there is the occurrence of a sense-adverting-consciousness. The sense-adverting-consciousness is somewhat related to a “sense” that is subtler than and beyond the five senses. I call it the “sixth sense.” The sixth-sense-consciousness (or sense-adverting-consciousness) always precedes taste-consciousness, smell-consciousness, eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, and body-consciousness.

The sixth sense is similar to the sense of touch except that it is more directly related to mind-sensitivity than to body-sensitivity. In other words, it is more directly related to mental touching than physical touching. This mental touching is what is responsible for generating the feeling of physically tasting, smelling, seeing, hearing, and touching that we generally experience during the wakeful hours or during our sensual activities. This mental touching is also responsible for generating the feeling of mentally tasting, smelling, seeing, hearing, and touching that we generally experience during sleep or during meditation. For example, while meditating, if you think of your mother, you can actually see her without opening your eyes. Also, if you think of your favorite tune, you can actually hear it without physically playing or singing. You can also feel the taste of chocolate without eating the chocolate. The most interesting of all is: you can hear your own thoughts. The sixth sense makes it all possible.

Practice the following meditation to develop the sixth sense, to experientially understand its totality and to eventually transcend it.

M23

SOUL Meditation for Developing

Wholesome Creativity

(The Sixth Sense)

Stage 1:

Developing the intention of spiritual healing and wholesome creativity:

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to become aware of your breathing. Once you become aware, breath normally. Then, move your attention from the crown of your head to the toe of your feet and feel the entire body from inside and outside. Then move your attention to your eyes, ears, nose, and tongue, and feel them thoroughly from inside and outside. Once you become aware of your entire body and five sense organs, get ready to mentally see, hear, smell, taste, and touch with the intention of spiritual healing and wholesome creativity.

If you are addicted to sweets, visualize your favorite sweet, mentally eat it, and feel the taste and smell of it. Feel pleasant sensations that arise from it. Observe how those sensations come and go and last for just a few moments. Then, feel the same stomach pain, the sense of guilt, or the extra pounds that you have actually experienced due to overeating. Recollect all the losses that you have incurred due to overeating. Contemplate on the unprofitability of overeating. Then, visualize picking up the food plate and emptying it in the garbage disposal. Mentally see it happening, mentally see, hear, and smell the food as it is dumped. Feel a sense of accomplishment for being able to do it. Feel the joy and happiness that arise from the freedom of senses.

If you are addicted to alcohol, visualize a bottle of alcohol, mentally drink it and feel the smell and taste of it. Feel the pleasant sensations that arise from it. Observe how those sensations last just for a few moments. Then, feel the same pain that you had actually experienced the next day after the party. Recollect all the losses that you incurred due to drinking and contemplate on the unprofitable nature of intoxicants. Then, visualize picking up a bottle and emptying it in the sink. Mentally see it happening, mentally see, hear, and smell the flow of alcohol as it drains out through the sink. Feel a sense of accomplishment for being able to do that. Feel joy and happiness that arise from the freedom of senses. In this way, use the sixth sense to spiritually heal the five physical senses of all addictions.

After you are established in the healing aspect of this meditation, practice it for developing the intention of wholesome creativity.

Visualize your favorite project: say a project of building a meditation center. Create a mental plan and visualize details such as building layouts, landscape areas, interiors, furniture, libraries, etc. Visualize the discourses, meditation retreats, groups of people meditating together, etc. Hear the sound of discourses, mantras, chants, group discussions, meditation practices happening on the campus. Smell the flowers of the campus garden, smell the essence sticks of meditation rooms, smell the aroma of pious and delicious food in the campus kitchen, and so on. In this way, mentally create everything and experience it as it might exist in the physical world. Similarly, mentally create anything that is wholesome and experience it through the sixth sense, meaning, experience it without the five physical sense organs.

With ardent and continuous practice of this meditation, you will realize that there is really no need of physical senses to experience the world! Such realization will have profound impact on your quest for freedom from the slavery of physical senses. Such realization will free you from the clutches of physical senses and you will no longer spend all of your energy trying to derive pleasures from physical senses. You will find that abiding in the sixth sense is much more delightful than abiding in physical senses or physical pleasures. An advanced meditator will understand that such realization means freedom from the earthly realm of existence.

With the practice of this meditation, your creative potential will increase significantly. You will have much better chances of fulfilling your worldly wholesome goals. What you will create using the sixth sense will materialize more easily than otherwise.

Stage 2:

Becoming aware of the totality of sixth sense:

Once you are established in the healing and creativity aspects of this meditation, you no longer have to remain attentive to it. You can then start observing the arising and ceasing of mental feelings in relation to the movement of your thoughts. Observe all mental feelings as something arising out of the subtle-heart center (the body, see page no. ), the contact (sensations) and the mind-consciousness. In this way, become aware of the totality of sixth sense as a phenomenon of body-mind-consciousness.

Understand that the sixth sense arises in dependence of the subtle-heart just as the five senses arise in dependence of the five sense organs. The subtle-heart is the subtle matter which is situated inside the heart cavity that is filled with blood. Just as the flow of blood makes the whole body sensitive to physical touch, it also makes the whole body sensitive to mental touch.

Stage 3:

Mind sensitivity and expansion of mind-consciousness:

With ardent and continuous practicing of stages 1 and 2, you will develop super-sensitivity of the sixth sense due to increased awareness of its healing and creativity aspects. Due to this increased sensitivity, you will become highly creative as well as holy (healing capacity). You will develop higher sense of mental awareness. And, most important of all, you will slowly begin to experience the expansion of mind-consciousness. The images of you being a “feeler” or a “creator” or a “healer” will start to evaporate. The delusion that “I am the one who feels,” “I am the one who heals,” “I am the creator” will start to fade away.

Stage 4:

SOULful Creativity - Perfecting the sixth sense:

If you are a dedicated practitioner, your acts of creativity, spiritual healing, and holiness will eventually transform into a means for only experiencing impermanence and non-self. When that happens, you will develop a state of mind-awareness where there is thorough knowledge of the functioning of sixth sense, where there is no feeling of owning the sixth sense, where there is no attachment to the sixth sense as “my sense” and where there is only awareness and knowledge that ‘‘this is just a phenomenon of the sixth sense’’ and nothing else.

With this, we conclude our discussion of Soulful senses.