Focussing consciousness.

[Pahana]

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I don't know how many others out there using this board are
similar, but being a guy who works with computers all the
time and who's hobby is books and studying, I would consider
myself a fairly 'cerebral' kinda guy.  Thus when I came to
studying lessons such as 'Meeting Your Divine Beloved' and the
lecture about the Heart Chakra,they were not easy exercises to
go along with.

During the course of continued experimentation with yoga and
meditation etc, I came to some revelations which I thought I
would share which may make these exercises easier.

During our everyday lives we go about our business and say we
are 'conscious'.  But what exactly is consciousness?  And exactly
how much of our day is conscious action, and how much reaction?

If you take the time to stop what you're doing for a moment, and
pay attention to yourself, you will notice that typically you
will have focus of consciousness in certain body areas, while
others are ignored or relegated to less importance.  Usually
the areas in focus will relate to your emotional and physical
state. This focus is usually controlled at a below conscious
level by our subconscious mind, the great automaton.  However
it is dependent on the way you feel at a given moment.  This
feeling can determine how you hold your body.

This example of consciousness focus is a good example of the
level of automation in our everyday lives.  Another is the
experience of pain.

Typically when we feel pain, our natural reaction is to flinch
and turn away from it.  When we touch a hot stove, our hand
moves away from the hotplate to cause cessation of the sensation.
When we do asana in yoga, when stretching to a point that
causes stretch or strain, our reflex action is to shy away
from staying in the position.

If however, we put our entire consciousness into the sensations
that we are feeling, and simultaneously the will to do the
exercise, we can overcome the natural desire to stop the asana
at the moment of mild pain.  An important factor in placing
consciousness into the exercise is breathing.  The heavier
your breathing is, the stronger your field of consciousness
will be in this exercise.

One of the most recent realisations of this principle was
2 days ago while noticing the way my walking normally occured.
By shifting the attention and focus to the groin area, you can
place your walking back in the right method.  When focussed in
the groin, the knees are naturally bent, the ankles relax,
and the feet move in a relaxed manner without any imbalance.

Attempting this shift of focus is easy once you realise the
actions you are performing typically subconsciously.

I haven't attempted to use this concept yet to contact the Heart
Chakra, but I would assume it would work well.  I can also say
that the concept of the 'Divine Beloved' can be approached more
successfully by more cerebral folks like myself through this
practice, combined with meditation and yoga.

You can also see, after some experimentation, what drugs such as
alcohol, pot, and such do to the field of consciousness. Pot
diffuses the field of consciousness and makes it fluid, to the
extent where consciousness can be projected into external objects
or be made to appear to 'merge' with other consciousnesses.
Alcohol contracts the focus of consciousness and places the body
more fully under the control of the subconscious.  This is why
some people say alcohol intensifies the ego.

Good luck to people attempting to use this in practice.  I look
forward to any comments arising from it.

Regards
Matt.