The following questions will serve as a structure for self-discovery and meditation work during a focused time at the wonderful Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado. We will inquire into these questions by directly witnessing the answers in the body, without relying on prior knowledge.

Prior to Meditation

Perspective: Self-Improvement as a form of self-inflicted violence.
Meditation is not about silencing the mind, on the contrary it is about learning how to listen to thoughts and understand them.
Spiritual bypassing—a misguided form of spirituality—may deaden emotional access by falsely striving for a “neutral mind.”

Entering into a living relationship with yourself – relating not to a mental construct of self, but to the actual, living human being.
Giving accumulated knowledge its proper domain – is knowledge a “middle man” in relationships?
Is there a relationship between self-image and the nervous system?
Cultivating a mind that is free of internal conflict – no emotion possesses an internal split where a virtuous “better half” attempts to correct its inferior counterpart.
Emotional Freedom: an emotion is able to flow without friction, telling its complete story without internal resistance..

Recognizing oneself as a continuation of humanity.
Understanding Self-Esteem / Becoming an independent thinker.

Meditation – not a mechanical practice nor a technique.

The Relationship Between Thought, Mind & Body

What is a thought beyond an image?
How does thought travel in the body?
How does thought create sensation?
With what speed does thought energy move?
Is there a relationship between thought and electricity?

Understanding the Thinker / Observer

Observing how the self arises from memories.
Witnessing the relationship between the thinker (self) and thoughts, emotions, feelings and sensations.
Sensing how the brain manufactures artificial intelligence that is self-aware (the self).
Considering the possibility that the nature of even the most intense thoughts and emotion may be more mechanical than living.
Learning to deescalate the charge and importance of a thought-emotion-feeling-sensation.
If the self is made of thought, is it actually alive?
Does thought have a center that says “I”? Does this “I” have a human face / voice?

Navigating the Labyrinths of Thoughts

Is imagination 3-dimensional?
When an image is visualized, does it have width, height, length or depth? Is the space around it also visualized?
Is the distance between the image and the observer also imagined?
Are thoughts spatially organized in mental space? Does the distance between thoughts exist?

Is the observer also a part of imagination?
Is the sense of time also a part of visualized space? How do we discern projected future vs. projected past?

What is the relationship between a thought and an emotion? What makes one thought more important than another?
How does the thought-created space/time bind to attention?

Do thought-emotion energies accumulate in the body’s energy field? What are the implications of this?
Can a strong emotional charge be released without action, causation or change to the external circumstances?

Is it possible to completely abandon all prior knowledge during introspection?
Is it still necessary to seek a way out if the thought-created labyrinth loses it’s solidity?

Troubleshooting / Fine-Tunning Meditation

Short meditation drills with check-ins, feedback and possible suggestions for course correction
Exploration of inner experiences, witnessing wealth of information in the seemingly insignificant observations
Partner Work: “Assisted Meditation” in the exploration of muscle tensions

Contact the host of 10-Day Guided Self-Discovery & Meditation Retreat – Seeing Through the Solidity of Thoughts