If we want to reduce Intolerance, we make a list of all those facts and events and circumstances we are not able to tolerate or accept or digest, and then try to reduce our intolerance towards them one by one. We check what we are unable to tolerate in our life. Am I unable to tolerate the way my spouse treats me? Am I unable to accept my deteriorating health? Am I unable to digest the fact that I am bypassed to give promotion to my colleague? Am I unable to accept the way my neighbor behaves? And so on.

But an enlightened spiritual person makes no such list. He has a wonderful solution to generically neutralize his intolerance towards all these items in the list and those we forgot to include in it as well.

He can start meditation by closing his eyes even as he is seated relaxed in a chair. As soon as he closes his eyes, his ego principle of his subtle body gets weakened. This ego principle is responsible for individuating our Consciousness and confining It to the physical boundary of our body.

When ego principle is rendered weak, our Consciousness expands into the infinite space, leading to the disappearance of space division just as there is no space division for the wind blowing over a wide geographical area; our Consciousness is no longer confined to the physical boundary of our body.

A feeling of Intolerance can be experienced only as long as our Consciousness is confined to the physical boundary of our body. Thus during the period of meditation an enlightened spiritual person experiences what is called unconditional Acceptance. His acceptance of current situation is not based on any particular reason or condition.

We create the feeling of acceptance of our current state and environment using some reason or condition to convince ourselves. For an example, if you cannot tolerate how your spouse treats you, you may try to accept the situation citing the reason that you only manifested it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this approach, but the point is that all our acceptances are based on some reason or condition.

Conditional acceptance requires that each and every situation that creates a feeling of intolerance in us is to be identified, isolated and logically reasoned out for our intolerance towards them to subside. But the enlightened spiritual person uses his expanded Consciousness instead of his mind to generate a state of being of unconditional Acceptance that serves as a solution to generically neutralize his intolerance towards ALL existing situations that create a feeling of intolerance in him.

If we want to reduce Anxiety, we make a list of all those facts and events and circumstances that generate anxiety in us, and then try to reduce our anxiety in each, one by one. We check what for we are anxious in our life. Am I anxious that my spouse may leave me? Am I anxious that I may lose my job this year? Am I anxious that my disease may never get cured? Am I anxious that I may not get promotion this year? We list out all anxieties we face in our daily life, and attack them one by one to reduce them.

But an enlightened spiritual person makes no such list. He has a wonderful solution to generically neutralize his anxiety regarding all these items in the list and those we forgot to include in it.

On continuing his meditation with his eyes closed, after the expansion of his Consciousness into the infinite space, a strange event takes place in a few seconds.

His Consciousness gradually fades into the background. A very deep silence is perceived. In a few seconds his Consciousness becomes completely imperceptible, and the Field of silence takes its place. This Field of silence is what is called as the Self.

When we say 'I talk' or 'I think' or 'I desire', we refer to this Field of silence by the word 'I'. Our I-sense arises from this Field. That's why this Field is known as the Self. Our Consciousness arises from and disappears into our Self; our Self is the source and sink of our Consciousness.

Once our Consciousness disappears into our Self which appears as the Field of deep silence, our mind principle is emptied and our mind is stunned. Now our mind is restrained from moving into the past or future. This leads to the absence of Time division. We can be only present in the present.

Anxiety can be experienced only as long as our mind is permitted to move to the future and the present back and forth. Since our Self restrains this movement of our mind by absorbing our Consciousness, anxiety is no longer experienced by us. Thus during the period of meditation an enlightened spiritual person experiences what is called unconditional Faith. His faith regarding the particular result of any future event is not based on any particular reason or condition.

We create faith regarding the result of a future event using some reason or condition to convince ourselves. For an example, if you are anxious that your spouse should not leave you in the near future, you may try to build up faith by repeating the statement 'My spouse cannot leave me; I can manifest it'.

Conditional faith requires that each and every situation that creates anxiety in us is to be identified, isolated and logically reasoned out for our anxiety regarding them to subside. But the enlightened spiritual person uses his Self instead of his mind to generate a state of being of unconditional Faith that serves as a solution to generically neutralize his anxiety regarding ALL existing situations that create anxiety in him.

If we want to reduce Malice of our heart, we make a list of all persons against whom we entertain malice, and then try to reduce our malice against each, one by one.

But an enlightened spiritual person makes no such list. He has a wonderful solution to generically neutralize his malice against all persons in the list and those we forgot to include in it as well.

On continuing his meditation with his eyes closed, after the disappearance of his expanded Consciousness into his Self, his Self is immersed in its Source in a few seconds.

The pleasantness of this Source of his Self stuns his intellect principle, the reasoning faculty of his mind, to such an extent that the duality of subject and object disappears.

Malice can be experienced only as long as our intellect functions to clearly recognize the triad of perceiver-perceiving-perceived. Since the Source of our Self restrains this function of our intellect due to immersion of our Self into its Source, malice is no longer experienced by us. Thus during the period of meditation an enlightened spiritual person experiences what is called unconditional Love. His love experienced for any person is not based on any particular reason or condition.

We create love towards any person using some reason or condition to convince ourselves. For an example, if you experience malice towards your spouse after the bitter quarrel of last night, you may try to build up love towards your spouse citing the reason that you manifested that quarrel in the first place.

Conditional love requires that each and every person against whom we entertain malice is to be identified, isolated and logically reasoned out for our malice against them to subside. But the enlightened spiritual person uses the Source of his Self instead of his mind to generate a state of being of unconditional Love that serves as a solution to generically neutralize his malice against ALL persons against whom he entertains malice.

Now the big question is how we are going to simulate this Expanded Consciousness Meditation of enlightened spiritual person to create the triple states of being of unconditional Acceptance, unconditional Faith and unconditional Love.

The strategy of Expanded Consciousness Meditation method is to weaken our Intolerance, Anxiety and Malice by neutralizing them with unconditional Acceptance, unconditional Faith and unconditional Love respectively in order to discriminate our Consciousness from our mind.

What do we generally do in the name of meditation? We seat ourselves in a specified posture with our spine erect. Then we start controlling our thoughts. We either end up in sleeping or in increasing the intensity of our thoughts. This exercise goes on for about twenty minutes. Or we chant a word or a sequence of words. Or we observe our breathing pattern during this period. Or we concentrate on a location in our body where one of the seven chakras is located, during this period.

These types of meditation will not work for neutralizing our Negative Energy. That is because neutralization of Negative Energy requires meditation on our expanded Consciousness whereas traditional meditation techniques target our ego-restrained limited Consciousness within the physical boundary of our body.

It will not be possible for us to exactly duplicate how an enlightened spiritual person meditates. Yet we can copy the essence of his meditation technique and practice it for the purpose of neutralizing our Negative Energy so as to discriminate our Consciousness from our mind.

Now let us come to the practice of actual meditation. Select a room in your residence where you feel comfortable to meditate. Sit down comfortably in a chair. Or, if you prefer, you may seat yourself in a traditional posture recommended for formal meditation. Now close your eyes. This meditation is to be practiced in three parts. Your eyes must be CLOSED during the entire duration of meditation.

* First Part: Try to focus your attention in the space at a point somewhere between the wall in front of you and your body. The 'point' may be of any convenient size or shape, say, one inch diameter circle or one meter side square. Never focus within your body. If your mind is busy thinking some thoughts, you'll lose your attention to the point in the space. Sporadic thoughts are okay. But never focus your attention to your thoughts. Don't try to suppress the thoughts with effort either. In either case your focus will shift to your mind. We don't want that. Just ignore your mind. It may take a minute or two for you to focus your attention at a point in front of you in the space ignoring the thoughts of your mind.

* Second Part: After that, slowly withdraw your focus from the point in the space and distribute your attention to the space in front of you. You are trying to partially ignore your attention to the point in the space. Now your mind is likely to become active and generate thoughts. Continue to ignore the thoughts of mind. Again sporadic thoughts are okay. Don't try to suppress them. It may take a minute or two for you to partially withdraw your attention from the point in the space ignoring the thoughts of your mind.

* Third Part: Finally, completely withdraw your focus from the point in the space and distribute your attention to the whole space of the room. Keep your muscles relaxed. Continue to ignore the thoughts of mind. Once again sporadic thoughts are okay. Don't try to suppress them. It may take a minute or two for you to distribute your attention to the whole space of the room ignoring the thoughts of your mind. Once succeeded, continue to hold this state of being for about ten minutes. This is very similar to the triple states of being of unconditional Acceptance, unconditional Faith and unconditional Love experienced by an enlightened spiritual person in his body, mind and heart. Only difference is that he will be experiencing it intensely and effortlessly whereas you'll have to put some effort and will be experiencing it very subtly.

NOTE: Keep your muscles, especially the neck muscles, relaxed throughout the meditation period to avoid stiffening. Don't do this meditation more than twenty minutes in a sitting. Don't do this meditation more than twice in a day.

This practice of Expanded Consciousness Meditation will help you to discriminate your Consciousness in your mind from your mind and hence effortlessly control your thoughts of negativity in your family, social and professional transactions.

Controlling our desires of negativity is still more challenging as compared to our thoughts of negativity.

End of Chapter 8.