The clinging reflex constricts citta, causing the loss of intelligence and sensitivity. Allowing things to shift and change lets us live more harmoniously and respectfully. In meditation, practice bringing attention back to the entire body, not fixating on any one point. Where citta and body come together, the all-encompassing world can be reviewed with goodwill and compassion.
How do we heal the wounds and bruises of self? Recognize what is met: perception, contact, a cascade of memories. Don’t go into the stories, don’t try to fix or change anything. Let the feelings surge and move through your embodiment. Soften, widen, let citta do its work – keep the personality to one side.
Chanting is a resounding of the potentials of realization. Be part of the celebration, it’s very good for the heart. Put your voice in that and be part of the flow.
The tool of wisdom cross references thinking, emotion and body. Body helps reveal the heart. Use it to sense and handle emotion. This is using embodied wisdom for the purposes of calming and revealing. It’s how you get to know the bits you don’t know.
Dhamma is a direct experience. You can directly touch it and open up to it. Handle it more with curiosity than trying to figure out what to do about it. Patient, receptive, as the meditator becomes more open stuck mental states can fall away.
The energy of citta is conjoined with bodily energy. Steadying and brightening body gives citta a place to rest so it can withdraw from phenomena. With the disentangling from phenomena, the quiet center of citta, the knowingness, becomes more apparent.