Bob Jackiewicz: Feeling into It
March 1, 2018
Some meditation and spiritual practices come with instructions. “Feel into it” or “Relax into it.”
Ever wondered what they meant? Basically, take your time.
I find that if I rush a practice the stillpoint vanishes. I drift or jump from the heart space to the intellectual head space.
I relate to those directions in everyday living. If I don’t “feel or relax into” life, I’m pushing, reaching, grasping, striving or struggling.
When I pursue personal goals in that manner I open up to feelings of despair, depression, frustration, general tension and stress when that pursuit fails.
Sometimes I achieve those short term goals and I attach to them for a sense of safety or prideful accomplishment. I receive a temporary reward and abstract sense of control.
Often enough, though, those fleeting incentives eventually disappoint or dissolve.
The body experiences felt are not expansive but rather constrictive. I call them contractions.
Those contractions indicate to me that I’m out of touch with my inner wisdom or guidance. Those out of balance feelings tell me I’m chasing after a preconceived outcome or reacting to an external circumstance with a predisposed belief pattern.
Forgetting that all circumstances are neutral and that I impress upon them their meaning I’ve turned outwards claiming the external world of form to be the source of my reality.
When personal goals are focused externally, subjectivity has turned objective. Listening for guidance from within is replaced by seeking outside of the Self.
Passing judgement on circumstance takes me there. Once judging commences I’m in the “outfield.” I’m no longer feeling into anything. I’m reaching out-to. I’m not breathing into anything but I’m running out of breath.
For me, subjectivity and objectivity can be the difference between doing and being, though doing and being are not necessarily two separate activities.
Staying in the here and now while navigating through the external world takes balance. It is a graceful dance between the two.
Getting caught up in the “doing” character pulls me off center. I lose touch with my inner world. My heart guide is ignored.
It’s helpful for me to check my focus. It’s helpful to ask “Who am I right now? Am I the ‘being me’ or the ‘doing me’? Where is my focus?” It’s got to be either within or without.
One makes me feel good and the other doesn’t.
I know balance is in place when the “doing me” is busy in creative mode. There are no concerns for external circumstance. I’m in the flow.
When out of balance, using breathing techniques works wonderfully in its restoration. Using focused breathing regularly for two or three minutes throughout the day helps maintain that balance. A “touch and go” style of meditation that helps regulate and balance the system.
Routine meditation practice speaks volumes as a maintenance program for me. When it’s not in place it has its effects.
