" Since this is so, we must take more seriously the lessons we have received
to be trained not to drift. "
Whether one's research is on the Breath, the "energy" or the spirit, Whether one's Way is global or not, the foremost quality at the center of every religions as well as of movements of spiritual evolution is Attention, focus.
Attention to God and his work in the religions of devotion, to nature and its manifestations in the animist ones and a "presence to the Attention " to the ways of non-duality.
In the Taoism of the origins, away from the popular and picturesque beliefs of modern China, we go toward the "Return" or the "One."
This research of Unity, of the union of the human functioning towards a full understanding, this research requires a view of the practice of the different aspects of our humanity : body, breath and mind.
But whatever the facet that we want to develop, there are three essential qualities for a practitioner 's: the attention, the understanding and the study.
The mind, the tool of the perception and the assimilation of the advice and teachings, is at the center of the required qualities: if the teaching is not understood, it is impossible to follow it.
The search for the balance of the facets of the mind (planning, action, intuitive and instinctive), is one of the "returns" that guides us back to the global Return.
The more the mind is "centered", clear and active, the more it is possible to perceive clearly, understand clearly .
The mind is the gripping tool of the world, it must be reliable: it is the quality of Understanding.
When questions and practices are set for the mind, it is imperative to keep it active and to the limits of its possibilities: it must always be in an intellectual challenge that requires it to "run" after knowledge, to always be little late ...
Thus, in our tradition, we talk of keeping the mind in the state of youth of the child. The latest brain research tends to support this attitude.
This does not mean doing nothing: it means having too much to do: It is the quality of Study.
But above all, more important than the Understanding and Study, there is the source of all this, the Attention . There is nothing more important than Attention/Focus.
The Study correspond to the Jing (the Yin aspect), the Understanding to the Qi (energy) and the Attention to the Shen (the Yang aspect) .
Through continuous Attention ( :-)) we can render Yang , spiritual, all the aspects of our lives.
But what are the components of Attention ?
The Attention is the first quality of the Zhen Ren, "the true human being" and that's what leads to the Zi Ran (the natural) .
It requires three things: a strong body, a boundless vitality and a focused mind.
But it is this attention that is supposed to give us these benefits ... how do we do then?
The work on Attention demands primarily three things that we all have :
- The power of our effort
- The repetition of the action
- A sense of humor
We need to understand what it is to be Attentive, by experiencing it, then repeat this action until the Attention is stable.
And what about the sense of humor?
This is what helps us the most, knowing that we will not succeed right away ...
Being Attentive, it is searching for the state of mindfulness, this state is a moment that escapes the space-time and reconnects us to the infinite, the divine.
This state of full consciousness, escapes the mental mind, it has no memory (space) no conscious length. It isa moment of ecstasy, a beneficial time that connects us to the Source, which bathes us in light .
It can happen naturally in front of a landscape that speaks to us, that has a particular presence, in front of a work of art ... Or through a conscious practice.
It is not possible to live well in this excessive state : it is a particular time of connection to something greater than ourselves, tied to a moment of practice, it is also a state of grace.
To go towards this saving state, we have to search for one foremost quality: Attention .
Attention is having in mind what we are doing, what we are perceiving, without (or with minimal) comments from the egotic mind : it is to be anchored in the present moment , living life fully.
For this, it suffices to make conscious our action in the present, our perceptions of the instant... without commenting, of course!
I eat a fruit and all my attention is on the taste, the texture and the chewing, without judging, without commenting ... Can you do that?
Surely for a few seconds, but then we try to comment on what we are doing, comparing it to similar experiences, drifting on wakeful memories that are stimulated by the senses... Basically, we disappear from our present moment to get bogged down in the filthy intricacies of our viscous mind.
It suffices, and this kind of sentence where "it suffices" are always treacherous, it suffices then to be there without leaving one's mind.
Do you understand the problem?
Do you see your internal comment when I say "Do you understand the problem?"
Do you see your internal comment when I say "Do you see your internal comment?"
Now you see what will be a problem.
Our mind does not like what is of the order of the natural free perception, because it is beyond the control of the egotic mind: he therefore has to appropriate the experience by attaching a superfluous comment to the moment.
To go towards the absolute, we must cut the ropes with the limits of our ego, we must bathe him in the Attention and the moment until it overflows with consciousness, enabling us to enjoy the infinite.
Repetition gives us access to Freedom !
It is therefore necessary to understand all this, to test these simple moments of awareness of the instant and to try to repeat the experience as often as possible : you're set in the most extreme trip you will undertake in your life, a gateway to the stars.
Attention is what is most lacking in a practitioner and among people in general, it requires a laborious and not very rewarding work, but it is the key point of contact, towards a complete Way.
Fortunately, there are a number of practices, of lessons and secrets that will grow this attention, and deliver us from the chains of the ego .
For those who have had the chance to make their initiation into the secrets of the External Taoist Alchemy, you know what I mean ... if not, start Wai Dan Today !
