Some words about the relationship between natural rest and inquiry.
What is natural rest? Natural rest means to notice and allow. Notice what’s here – sounds, mental images, words, sensations, smell, taste, movement and more. Allow it as it is. It’s a shift from thinking to noticing thought. It’s a shift from being caught in the content of thought to noticing what’s here in sensory experience and noticing imagination as imagination.
What’s the relationship between natural rest and inquiry? Natural rest naturally leads to inquiry. Within natural rest, a natural curiosity comes up. A curiosity about our experience. And this leads to inquiry.
Inquiry happens within natural rest. It happens within – and as – noticing and allowing.
How do natural rest and inquiry combine? The combination of natural rest and inquiry can take several forms.
Natural Rest
Notice and allow. There is very little guidance of attention here.
Notice and allow – with some guidance.
Notice sensations. Mental images. Words. Sensations.
Do a body scan. Notice areas that seem more spacious. Neutral. Dense, contracted or uncomfortable.
Notice the boundless space outside and inside of the body, and outside and inside of bodily contractions.
Notice awareness. Notice that your whole field of experience is awareness. It’s already aware.
Notice that what’s here is already allowed – by awareness, space, life.
Inquiry
Wordless inquiry – a bit more guided.
Slow it down. Take your time with each element.
Look at an image or word. See if it fades or not.
Feel sensations. See if they fade or not.
Notice how imagination gives a sense of meaning to sensations, and sensations gives a charge and sense of solidity and reality to imagination. Look at the different sensations and imaginations that seem “stuck together”.
If imagination or bodily contractions don’t naturally fade, it can be helpful to use inquiry with questions.
Inquiry with questions – goes a bit deeper and helps us stay more alert.
Flash inquiry. Ask questions about the “first layer” of imagination and sensations.
Typical self-facilitation. Keep returning to sensations between each “look” at imagination.
Advanced self-facilitation. Do it similar to a facilitated session.
Natural rest is something that can be done in just about any situation in daily life. The same goes for wordless inquiry and flash inquiry with words. A more in-depth self-facilitation is easier if we set aside some time for it, and it can be helpful to ask the questions (to oneself) out loud and/or writing down the questions – and perhaps even the answers.
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Initial notes……
- natural rest & inquiry
- natural rest + natural curiosity leads to inquiry
- inquiry happens within (and as) natural rest
- natural rest
- notice + allow – what is here
- whatever comes to mind on its own
- slightly more intentional/deliberate
- notice space / awareness etc.
- body scan, notice open/dense areas etc.
- notice + allow – what is here
- inquiry
- wordless – slow it down, look at images/words and see if fade, feel sensations and see if fade (more intentional, deliberate)
- with questions + mining
- flash inquiry, the first one or two steps (look at image/words, ask Q, feel bodily reaction/sensations)
- more in depth, keep returning to sensations (can say questions out loud, or write down key words for questions/answers)
- more in depth, similar to facilitated session
- [flow chart?]
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A few words about natural rest naturally leading to inquiry, inquiry happening within (and as) natural rest, and the steps between natural rest and inquiry.
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Some words about the relationship between natural rest and inquiry.
What is natural rest? Natural rest means to notice and allow. Notice what’s here – sounds, mental images, words, sensations, smell, taste, movement and more. Allow it as it is. It’s a shifting from thinking to noticing thought. It’s a shift from being caught in the content of thought to noticing what’s here in sensory experience and noticing imagination as imagination.
What’s the relationship between natural rest and inquiry? Natural rest naturally leads to inquiry. Within natural rest, a natural curiosity comes up. A curiosity about our experience. And this leads to inquiry.
Inquiry happens within natural rest. It happens within – and as – noticing and allowing.
What are the steps between natural rest and inquiry? There are several intermediary steps between natural rest and inquiry.
Natural Rest
Notice and allow. There is very little guidance of attention here.
Notice and allow – with some guidance.
Notice sensations. Mental images. Words. Sensations.
Do a body scan. Notice areas that seem more spacious. Neutral. Dense, contracted or uncomfortable.
Notice the boundless space outside and inside of the body, and outside and inside of bodily contractions.
Notice awareness. Notice that your whole field of experience is awareness. It’s already aware.
Notice that what’s here is already allowed – by awareness, space, life.
Inquiry