Supports
Opening for and stabilizing into Big Mind is a continuous process. Fortunately, there are many approaches that can be supports in this process.
Big Mind
The Big Mind process, an expansion on Voice Dialogue, is one. Through guidance, anyone can emerge into a taste of Big Mind in a matter of minutes. And with a little training, we can learn how to apply it in our own lives. It gives a sense of the terrain - where we are at, where we can go, and how to get there.
Meditation
Meditation, resting in awareness and allowing all experiences to unfold within awareness, is another invaluable support. It trains the mind in single-pointed focus, and brings a sense of spaciousness and expansion to awareness.
Relationships
As part of the process, we bring relationships into awareness. How do we relate to the inner and outer world?
How do we relate to formless awareness? How do we relate to our physical body? How do we relate to the fluid sensations, emotions and thoughts? How do we relate to other people? How do we relate to the larger social and ecological systems? How do we relate to the universe?
For each of these, there are tools and approaches that can be of great help. For me, these include...
- Awareness
Zen, Big Mind, Breema
- Physical body
Breema, yoga, tai chi, chi gong, walking, hiking, swimming, dance, etc.
- Thoughts and emotions
Councelling, different forms of therapy, jungian work with projections and dreams, Process Work, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology, etc.
- Other people
Nonviolent Communication, Process Work, meditation, Zen, Big Mind, Breema
- Larger social and ecological systems
Zen, Big Mind, Breema, systems view, sociology, ecology, Process Work, Zen, ecospirituality, deep ecology, The Great Story, The Universe Story, new cosmology.
- The Universe
Zen, Big Mind, Breema, systems view, ecospirituality, new cosmology, the Universe Story.
We also need a map of the terrain, an overall framework. I tend to use the Integral Model as the overall framework, as it helps me see how the different other maps and tools relate to each other. Other frameworks include Buddhism, Daoism, systems theories, any mystical tradition, science. This map is always evolving with different inner/outer situations - responding to different needs and insights.
Perspectives
All of the above helps us shift perspectives - to expand out of small mind.
One that I find especially useful is ecospirituality. From this view, the universe is awakening into awareness to itself through its awareness organs, including us human beings. We are distinct organisms, but also awareness organs for the Earth and the Universe. Through us, the Earth and Universe become more aware of itself, first as fragments then more as a whole. This helps us out of a view of ourselves as separate entities, and helps us see ourselves as a part of a larger seamless whole. It also opens up for a sense of meaning and belonging, and for a more transdual view.