Woooah.
Hold on to?
No no no. My take on the feelings exercise is to simply feel what you are feeling. If you are HOLDING onto a feeling, you are not simply feeling. You are manipulating your feelings. Sense the difference?
During the feelings exercise you simply feel whatever is going on. If the feeling changes, just feel that. You appreciate whatever feeling you have in the moment. The moment is now. So, if your feeling at the end of the exercise has shifted during the appreciation part, you simply appreciate what is in the present, dig?
Pretty soon, the feeling exericse becomes and all at once thing. That is, all the different sequential parts happen all at once, or at least that has been my feeling.
Let go. That is the whole purpose. Let go. Holding on indicates a fixation or trance. The goal is to become unfixed, loose. And if you aren't loose, then just feel that! The loosening will take place of its own accord.
This is, at least, my experience and understanding of it.
As for the release a la meditation or stillness, this stillness will occur as a result of the feelings exercise. Essentially, the feelings exercise can bring you very quickly to where techniques like TM go. In fact, there are deep parts of TM where the mantra disappears and I am simply aware. I have less mental activity and generally I just sense and feel. Things become quieter and quieter and stress is released. Don't worry. If you are doing the feeling exercise, chances are you are releasing.
The trick is, I think, is to bring yourself into quietness for longer and longer periods of time. Supposedly, this is a state absolutely pregnant with power and higher intelligence. I have no real ways to confirm or deny this statement, even though I have commonly had the experience of quietude in meditation and hypnosis.
[This message has been edited by babayada (edited May 13, 2004).]
