Some of the aspects of the Big Mind process that I appreciate...

One of the beautiful aspects of the Big Mind process is that it shows - clearly and beyond a doubt - some of the ways this mind, here and now, can function. There is nothing in the future, nothing you are asked to believe in - just the direct experiences with this mind here and now.

We explore the ways the mind can function on a personal level - with anger, fear, vulnerability, desire, seeking, etc. - and how it can function on a transpersonal level - through Big Mind, Big Heart, non-seeking mind, the mind that sees impermanence etc.

Personal Voices

In going through the personal level voices, there is a process of clarifying the function of each of the voices, how they help the self, and the relationship of the self to the particular voice. This helps the participant to appreciate each voice - each of the ways the mind functions on a personal level - through clearly seeing that it is present to help the self. When we realize this, there is no longer any need to fight any of them - rather, we can welcome them and the information they each carry into our experience.

There is also a clarification process in seeing which of the voices the self may be too closely identified with, and which it is not able to access very easily. The imbalance in identification is usually supported by ideology, and specifically a fixed and limited/limiting self-image.

Bringing awareness into the voices and their relationship with the self (and each other) in itself brings about a healing and maturation process.

Transpersonal Voices

In accessing the transpersonal voices, there is an escape from the exclusive identification with the self - and an entering into a transdual view. From this perspective, everything looks different, and through the Big Mind process we can become more familiar with this landscape and bring it more into our everyday life.

Of course, it is only the view that is accessed this way, not the full blown experience. For that, it needs to deepen and clarify through sitting practice - allowing the mind to rest in itself and clarify and deepen its experience of itself.

Collective Talks

Another beautiful aspect is that the Big Mind process can be used instead of a regular dharma talk. Normally, there is the "guru" up on a podium speaking and everyone else listening. Now, there can be a facilitator (often the same teacher) who leads the participants into a particular view, and the participants collectively give the dharma talk.

Labels: big mind process