Most of the approaches I write about here fall into two general categories.
One is noticing what’s already here, for instance through inquiry. (Headless experiments, the Big Mind process, The Work, Living Inquiries.)
And the other is approaches that mimic how we function when we are more clear, for instance, heart-centered practices. (Tonglen, Ho’oponopono, Heart Prayer.)
So what about the amplify / release technique? I have often thought of it as a trick, but that may not be entirely fair.
Notice something uncomfortable in your experience. Take a few seconds to make it as strong as possible. (Intend to make it stronger if that’s all you can do.) Then release and relax for a few seconds… breathe. Repeat a few times.
I sometimes use this approach with uncomfortable sensations and the fearful thoughts creating or responding to the sensations. When I do it, something shifts – what I do it for may seem less as a problem and its intensity often lessen.
It’s easy to think of it as a neat trick. But what’s really going on?
When we experience something uncomfortable, there is often a tendency to see it as a problem and wanting it to go away. We push against it, and that’s partly or largely what gives it a charge and holds it in place.
So when we use the amplify/release approach, we go against our old habitual tendency. We instead meet and join with it. The pushing goes away, at least for a moment, so there is more peace with what’s here and its charge lessens.
There is also more going on, which I have written about in other articles.
This may look like a trick, but it’s actually mimicking how our mind functions when it’s more clear. We join with the experience rather than moving away from it.
INITIAL DRAFT…..
IS AMPLIFY/RELEASE A TRICK?
Most of what I write about here are not tricks. They are ways to notice what’s already here (e.g. inquiry) or mimick how we function when we are more clear (heart-centered practices).
So what about the amplify / release? I have often thought of it as a trick, but there may be more to it.
Notice something uncomfortable in your experience. Take a few seconds to make it as strong as possible. (Intend to make it stronger if that’s all you can do.) Then release and relax for a few seconds. Repeat a few times.
When I do it, for instance for uncomfortable sensations, something shifts. It seems less of a problem, and it also tends to lessen in strength.
It’s easy to think of it as a neat trick. But what’s really going on?
When we experience something uncomfortable, there is often a subtle or not-so-subtle tendency to see it as a problem and wanting it to go away. So when we intend to make it stronger, we go against this old habitual tendency. We instead meet it. We join with it. What holds it in place is to a large extent our resistance to it, so when we instead join with it, much of what holds it in place is no longer there.
This may look like a trick, but it’s actually mimicking how our mind functions when it’s more clear. We join with the experience rather than moving away from it.