Of the many methods of working with breath, we are going to focus primarily on just three methods. All these methods are breathing through the nose only, and not through the mouth. The assignments consists of:

• When doing these exercises, do a breathing method for twenty minutes, and then stop.
• Do each breathing method three separate times.
• The next part of the assignment is to just sit, after each period of breathing, for five minutes. Notice how you feel. No judgments; just kind of childlike; notice how you feel. Observe. This five-minute reflection period after an exercise will be included with other exercises that will be given later. This part of the assignment is to just sit and feel what changes, if any, are occuring inside you.
  • The first exercise uses only the chest, and of course, the diaphragm. The only thing moving when you breathe is your chest and the top part of your shoulders. Slowly and deeply breathe in through your nose, and slowly exhale through your nose. Again, the only thing moving is your chest and upper torso. Your stomach is not moving whatsoever. That's the first exercise, and do it for a twenty-minute interval. Slowly breathe this way for twenty minutes, then rest five minutes.

  • The second exercise is just the opposite. You do not move your chest or your shoulders at all, and just breathe in slowly, deep from the pit of your stomach. Now, only your stomach moves. Make an effort not to move anything else. You may have to exaggerate your stomach movement so you can do it. Please notice this exercise tends to pull air down deep into the bottom of your lungs when you do this. Slowly breathe this way for twenty minutes, then rest for five minutes.

  • The third method is a combination of the previous two. It is: when you inhale, you slowly and deeply inhale with the stomach. As you get close to the top of the inhale, you expand your shoulders and chest with air. Begin exhaling from your stomach. Then you finish the exhale with your shoulders and chest collapsing. It's like, you are filling your lungs up from the very bottom first and expanding your body all the way up to the top. Then when you exhale, you are squeezing it out from the bottom first and, finally, you squeeze the top.

I'm getting dizzy.

Oh yes, you well may attain altered states of consciousness. When you couple this altered consciousness from your breath with some of the other exercises, it is possible to get effects that are very interesting. One of the values of this exercise is to learn to maintain focus through consciousness changes (fDt). Just remember to breathe through your nose to avoid hyperventilation.

When starting these exercises, your focus (fDt) is only on breathing: the air going in and out of the body. With no thought, the idea is to just wait and observe. Watch it (air) and yourself, and if you drift, remember: what you want; what are you doing this for; and gently bring your awareness back to doing it again.

These breathing and focus exercises deal predominately with the Focus Control Buss and somewhat limit the amount of untruth that goes through choice in the matrix of Figure 4.4 (temporarily reducing untruth chosen (T_C), untruth perceived (T_P), and desires (D_S)). In addition, it somewhat manipulates the use of the subjective event loop in your matrix. It also can help the individual to foster an awareness of their body.

As I said, these breathing exercises can be applied with other meditations. Once an individual gets this breathing down, they can do breathing while putting their focus somewhere else. They are using the breathing in conjunction with focusing on something other than breath.

Again, the assignment is to do each exercise three times, for twenty minutes each, with at least a five minute break in between. Notice how different breaths have different effects. Any questions so far?

No, it all seems pretty straightforward.

Okay, the next exercise is blankness. No thoughts, zero, nothing, blank thoughts; "null + 0 = hold that thought." This is essentially not using the objective or subjective event input of your matrix. With this exercise, the choice is, "make no choice".

At first this idea may seem intimidating. Yet, there are many times in your life that you have had an empty mind and not known it. In athletics this can occur many different ways. In fact, when doing some athletics, focus must be maintained to such an extent that, if you think, you can easily mess up, or get injured. In this case, the individual's perception is fractured by objective and subjective events. Listening to, or playing music, many times can help one be devoid of thought.

No thoughts or perceptions -- that means attempting a zero for T_P and T_C (or T_P and T_C for that matter). In terms of Figure 4.4, it is an attempt to shut down the whole Perceptual Lens System Array. There are no, or very few, untrue perceptions chosen with no attachments, conjoined with an extended one-point focus and no subjective event.

In doing this exercise of a blank mind, the student must recognize that no thought is acceptable whatsoever. This shuts down the subjective feedback loop. If you think of something you feel is important, set it aside and think of it later. "Not now, I'm going to do this exercise and bring myself back to the exercise."

Momentarily, do your prioritizing again; then return to the exercise. Know what you want. All perceptions are approaching zero in this exercise, but still there is a one-point desire for doing the exercise.

So does it still shut everything down?

It shuts down or reduces the overall activity of the human matrix. You are making only one judgment or choice: not to choose. Reduce perceptions and there is little to judge.

When you set up this exercise, set a specific time limit at first. "I am going to work at having a blank mind for this period of time." You can use a little three-minute egg timer in front of you when you are doing it.

Then I'd be watching it all the time.

That was a bad example, but a cooking timer would work. One of those things you wind, set it for a certain time, and 'Ding'! It's over. A person can do it with their eyes closed that way. I will introduce the exercise with the eyes closed, but it can be done with the eyes open also.

The idea, though, is to set a specific time; a beginning and end to it. This is to facilitate not drifting while you are doing this, again using a one point desire. "There's only one thing I want to do for this period of time." So you bring desires to one and perceptions approach zero.

Everything should be empty or blank for that period of time. If you find yourself drifting, remember your purpose and correct. You are just sitting and waiting, empty. It's not as if you have to do anything, because there is nothing you have to do. You are just wait -- sit and wait until the time has passed and be empty. As I said, this can be done with the eyes open or the eyes closed.

With the eyes open, it can help if the eyes focus on only one thing. To narrow or simplify the objective event. That's where the mandala that was made in the second homework assignment could come in handy.² The student can also use the flame of a candle, a blue sky, or the ocean. Just focus, wait, and be empty.

The student will find that it's hard to keep a blank mind indefinitely. It is difficult. However, when we start getting into mantras and music, they will find that it can be done in distinct bursts for a relatively long time. Instead of blank and wait, it's blank, blank, blank, blank; do a series of 'blanks' while waiting. Very much similar to the exercise of moving the eyes we (Jeannie and I) talked about the other night.

That eye exercise consisted of moving the eyes in such a manner that the eyes would rest on something only momentarily. Then they would move to something else momentarily, etc. The eyes do not linger on any one thing. This is done for a specific period of time. The movement of the eyes tends to blank the matrix automatically as the two work together to establish focus and recognition. It is taking advantage of the brief moment that the matrix takes to focus to cognition, and moves before the matrix has cognition, repeating that moment with each movement of the eyes.

Instead of physically using the eyes, with distinct bursts exercise, the student is refocusing consciously with their mind -- blank, blank, blank -- bypassing the eyes/matrix mechanism, and doing it inside the head without using the eyes.

The blankness. Keeping it blank.

Yeah. And you are doing it in bursts. It can be done in short bursts for a significant amount of time. That's what we are going to do later when we get into music and mantras. Music is perfect for it -- blank, blank, blank: you are focusing on each note.³

You're not really thinking anything, just listening to the note.

Yes, there is no subjective event. The longer you have a blank mind, the greater the consciousness change. For effectiveness (if effectiveness is a consciousness change DC), the change of consciousness will be directly proportional to how long the exercise is done over a change of time. The expression Dt is in both: consciousness over change of time (CDt) and focus over change of time (fDt). There is a direct relationship of change of time to change of consciousness, because the change of consciousness is the effectiveness of the exercise of the formula.

The longer the student has a blank mind, the 'heavier' their consciousness change is going to be. As I said before, there are many different ways to have a blank mind and we do not know it. As mentioned, doing athletics, specifically when you have to focus on a ball. If you think about what you are doing, you are going to 'blow it'.

The mind must be empty to allow the objective event to pass through, in this case: no subjective event. In many ways, the perceptual lens cannot do two things at once. If you are busy thinking, then you are not watching what you are physically doing. Part of the euphoria of athletics comes from maintaining an empty focus.

Sometimes in driving a car or listening to music, we create a blank mind situation. The longer we do it, we get a consciousness change. This is why we are 'buzzed' after a long drive. The nature of the consciousness change is also dependent on the individual's motivation when they focus.

Consciousness? By that do you mean awareness?

Yes, it can be expressed as your awareness. There are elements of this blank mind in many of these other exercises.

This is a great exercise if the student has to stand around and wait for something. Waiting. Blankness and empty. I did this exercise a lot in the army. Hurry up and wait. In waiting, I would be empty.

• Because for the beginner it is hard to keep a blank mind indefinitely, the assignment is only for five minutes.⁴ The student is to get into a comfortable position (but not too comfortable), and do the blank mind exercise.
• Afterwards, the student is to sit and notice how they feel and perhaps make an entry in their notebook.
• This is to be done on three separate occasions.

Okay. Now to the mantras, the application of the focus bursts. Instead of blank, blank, blank, blank; it's word, word, word, word. You focus in on a word, and you are using the words for a vehicle in the blankness. More specifically the focus is on the word and nothing else. The student is using a set of symbols as vehicles to 'cruise' around in his/her own head.

As with the previous exercises, when you are starting some kind of chant or mantra, or any other exercise, ask, "What am I doing this for?" Do a motivational analysis: "What am I seeing? What do I want from what I see?" Any answer that revolves around the concept of 'One', is no problem. It's pretty much clear sailing.

As stated previously, some of the goals, reasons, and/or desires for doing these exercises are: God, union with the universe or Divine, love, kindness, harmony within yourself or with the world, truth, understanding, knowledge, or just experimenting. "What happens when I do this?" Just doing this to observe your own mechanisms is a very valid motivation. "I'm doing this to know me, to figure out how I work." This is how I started.

Remember again that there is a direct relationship between change of time (Dt) and effectiveness (E) with these mantra exercises, or anything else for that matter.⁵

Different mantras have different changes of consciousness. Because the desire/perceptions⁶ focus is in separate areas, when doing these mantras, the different desire/perceptions produce different changes within the individual. The change of consciousness feels different with this mantra than it does with that mantra, and different with this other one.

That's why I am going to give at least three different mantras to show three different changes of consciousness. The purpose of this exercise is to expose the student to these variations in consciousness change.

We are starting to link desires and perceptions in the human matrix. When we use these three different mantras we are altering the flows through the perceptual lens array. Instead of perceptions being zero (or as close as possible) as in the previous exercise, it will now be one perception. We are going to link together perception/desires with periods of intense focus and play with them.

Assignment 8A: Passive-Chanting
We will start with a mantra a lot of people know -- Om. It can be pronounced long o and with m or it can be pronounced as Aum. This chant is conjoined with breathing. I am going to say it out loud at first. So, I inhale through the nose. Then exhale and as I exhale I say: Aaaaauuuuuummmmmmm (or Ooooommmmmmm). This is one way of saying it. The aaauuu part is pretty short. The student hangs in their one point focus on the last part, mmmmmmmm, like vibrating. They vibrate or resonate to the 'mmmmm' part. One Om is conjoined with each breath only.

Are you breathing out when you do Om?

Yes. Then, take another deep breath -- Aaaaaaauuuuuuummmmmmmmmm.

Here's something else that can be added onto this to alter the response. Take the Om, together with your breathing, and go through your mind and remember a musical chord that gives you goose bumps. Some musical chord from some favorite song that gives you a goose bump reaction. Then you say that Om to that chord. **Aaaaaaauuuuuuummmmmmmmmm. **Aaaaaaauuuuuuummmmmmmmmm. Now there are three basic ways to chant Om.

• One out loud like I just did with my breath.
• One is very softly to yourself, gently coming out with your breath.
• The third is no vocal whatsoever, and do the word inside your mind. It's easier to go deeper with the silent one without having to say anything -- at least it is for me.

It is for me, too.

Generally speaking, the most powerful mantras are those done in stillness. Say this Om to the silence, in the stillness of your being. As you are doing that one point focus on Om, you turn your awareness and everything 90 degrees away from your thought/emotional sets. Remember I briefly mentioned turning 90 degrees away from everything? Essentially, what you are doing is turning your awareness 90 degrees away from everything and jumping into yourself with this sound.

As with the other exercises, when you start this, set a specific block of time. You have the cooking timer out. Do this for 20 minutes. Remember, this is the only thing you are going to do. If you start drifting, remember: "I don't want to do that now, I want to do this." And go back to the exercise. Kind of like a person on a roller coaster thinks, "I got to remember to write something down for the report. Oh, but I don't want to do that right now, I want to finish riding this." Maintain your focus!!!

As I said earlier, the third method, the silent one, is the most powerful one. This is true for all the mantras. No matter what mantra the student uses, they are going to find this true for all of them. I have found it is easier for me to enter a deeper trance when the body is not involved.

One trick of doing this exercise can be similar to swimming. When swimming, the action is stroke, glide, stroke, glide, stroke, and glide. With this exercise, the students are doing this inside themselves. They learn to stroke and glide in their own head. Burst of focus, rest, burst of focus, rest, burst of focus, rest. Wrap yourself up deep inside. Stroke, focus, glide. Go back deeper. Stroke, glide.

To me it's more like a dropping.

That's another way to look at it. Letting go and entering serves as the glide. It is similar to the blank mind exercise given earlier. It is shutting everything down and riding the sound, empty. I wish I were more fluent in communication. I become tangled up in words. The stroke in this instance is the inhale and the initial sounding, the glide is the exhale and the vibrating.

Stroke-glide is more active while dropping is more passive.

Yes, that's a relatively accurate reference. Om is one of the passive chants I wanted to introduce. The stroke-glide aspect can be relevant when we get into active aspects of focus as with music.

The idea is there is more than one way to do any one of these chants. What you are talking about is equivalent to floating in the water rather than stroking. But no matter which way you look at it or do it, whenever you drift, recognize it and re-evaluate -- "What do I want? Why am I doing this?" Gently bring your focus back to doing what you want in this case the exercise.

It keeps striking me that it doesn't matter what you're doing. If you just keep asking yourself that question, you can stay focused.

You got it. It is a key to maintaining focus.

Assignment 8B: Affirmation Chanting
The second mantra I want to introduce is an affirmation exercise. An excellent example that's already out in world religions is the Nichrin sho-sho Buddhists chant: Nam-My-Ho-Renge-Kyo. However, because that happens to be a mouthful....

What does it mean?

Essentially it means, "I will follow the chosen way to peace and enlightenment." At least that was what I was told by the people who teach it. Actually, it is an affirmation /reaffirmation chant. An affirmation chant can be done with or without devotions. It's an affirmation of a direction you want to go in chant. "I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this."

With this chant, say a number of your chosen affirmation with one breath. When you run out of breath, inhale. It is even possible to say one chant while inhaling. How stroke and glide may be appropriate is through the inhale. The inhale is the glide where the affirmation is the stroke.

Since the Nam-Myo-Ho-Renge-Kyo is such a mouthful for non-Japanese speaking individuals, part of this homework assignment is -- if the student wants -- to have each person in the class make up their own affirmation chant. For example, "I will _______. I will follow the chosen way to peace." You may prefer to have it shorter. "I will go to peace, I will go to peace, I will go to peace." Or, "I will go to God, I will go to God, I will go to God." Or, "I will be one with Creation, I will be one with Creation, I will be one with Creation."

So you still have to recognize the "I" and the choosing...

Yes, you are right. It's an "I" and a choosing. It's exercising aspects of the human matrix (D_S, T_P, and T_C). It is playing with desire, perception, choice; desire, perception, choice; desire, perception, choice. The use of this exercise with constancy will also affect the total programming through the exercise of choice using repetition.

In this chant, as with the others, the operator develops a rhythm with the breath. Whatever words or group of words the operator uses, they put their breathing into that rhythm. At the same time, if you do it with your eyes closed, you can turn 90 degrees and drop into yourself. "Nam-Myo-Ho-Renge-Kyo, Nam-Myo-Ho-Renge-Kyo, Nam-Myo-Ho-Renge-Kyo", etc., just dropping into yourself.

If the operator does the exercise with eyes open, it would be very helpful to have something for their eyes to look at to have a one-point focus. This is how mandalas could be used in this class. The operator would keep their eyes on the center of a mandala while saying: "I will do this, I will do this, I will do this, I will do this." Or, "I choose peace, I choose peace, I choose peace, I choose peace," etc. It is most helpful if there is only one thing to look at. Do not let the eyes drift while chanting. There are a couple of advantages to doing it this way -- one is you are maintaining a physical focus as well as a mental one. Also, there are less visual distractions this way.

The student may want to experiment with different chants. Then, pick one they like to do constantly.

Doing this exercise, again, exerts the students' focus over a change of time. It can strengthen focus. All of these exercises do in the end. They are applications of the formula and the matrix. The stronger your focus is, the more effective the chant is going to be. No thought while chanting. Just do it:

• Do this affirmation chant for at least 20 minutes, just as the Oms are done for 20 minutes.
• To say the affirmation chant out loud in at least three separate periods.
• Then say it softly to themselves three separate times and develop rhythm with their breath. If eyes are closed, focus behind the eyes, go all the way back in. With eyes open, focus the eyes on something specific and do not let the eyes drift.
• Sit and wait afterwards, in order to get a perspective on how it feels after the chant.

I can imagine that as a beginner, especially, it would be easier to have words that make sense to you.

That's why I have people start making up their own. "I choose this..."

No. I mean I would imagine it would be easier to get into that kind of focus if you don't have meanings to the symbols you're using. Like Om...

Yeah, but you see, the only reason they do not have meaning to you is because you are not versed in that particular tradition.

That's what I meant; or nonsensical syllables that mean nothing.

I understand -- and what syllables you do use reflect your perceptions and motivations. If you want to go to one, it makes it a lot clearer if you choose the one thing, or something that is unity, etc.

I remember this guy who taught meditation in college. He said, you can use any word, and he is right -- you can use any word whatsoever. He used hamburger. "Hamburger, hamburger, hamburger", etc. However, what you choose is going to reflect in the change of consciousness because it reflects your perceptions and desires -- how you look at it.

One of the reasons why I chose this specific type of exercise is, it's an active affirmation, whereas Om is a passive and a dropping in. This exercise, instead of a dropping in, is going out and involves a perception. What I am trying to expose you to -- when these different exercises are done over a period of time -- are that they help effect different changes of consciousness. They have different effects on the matrix. That's why I picked these three categories.

Assignment 8C: Devotional Chanting
The third mantra is in a devotional category, also known as the heart chakra. There are all types of devotional chants in world religions -- the Psalms in Hebrew and Christianity, Hari-Krishna from India; they are all devotional. The rosary is a devotional form of mantra.

It's like a prayer or something?

Psalms are prayer vehicles. Prayer is a heart song communion from the Created to the Creator. Some heart songs have words and there are others that are wordless. What I am introducing here is the heart song -- through mantra -- for the student to develop their own heart song to their Creator. The psalms are very old heart songs to God.

In the previous two mantras, desire was kept at a low volume or no strong desires at all. We kept desires singular and low volume -- one perception and one desire. When the student gets into devotional, they start turning up the volume of their desire. This is the desire for the One, and it is made stronger, more specific, or cultivated.

With this exercise, as with the previous ones, we are using words as vehicles (or a series of perceptions). We use these word vehicles for one point focus. With this exercise we are not only using words where the words do not mean anything, or have very simple meanings. Instead, we are throwing in whole concepts involving your perceptions/desires into the words.

We are turning up the volume on desires, and perceptions are increasing. But we are still doing a one-point focus. For example, one devotional is a simple 'Glory Be'. Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, etc. However, I have found a lot of people have trouble with popular Christianity and a Christian God.

I just don't understand exactly what the word devotional means.

A desire for union with something greater than yourself is one reference. The earlier mantras are more steering in, steering out, this way, that way. They were dealing mostly with steering. Now we are turning up the drives, turning up the fire. We are working with the fire aspect of the spiritual, the emotional, the desires.⁷

So, lots of times I sing Amen to myself over and over. That's a devotional?

Yes, as long as there is a sense of a Creator/Creatrix. There are so many directions it can go. It even carries all the way to Shamanism. It is an element that is at the core of almost every religion. The whole concept -- recognition of something greater and the desire to be with, or at one with -- is used different ways. It's the same concept. I am just trying to expose you to this idea that's being used in so many different religions. I am trying to expose you to use this mechanism within yourself.

The problem with most existing devotionals is they tend to be long and there is a large amount of memory work with them.

Like the Rosary beads...

Like the Rosary beads, or the prayer of St. Francis, or any one of the Psalms. It's usually a long wordy thing. You know: "Yeah, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil because God is with me, etc."⁸

Hari Krishna is done as: "Hari Krishna, Hari Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hari, Hari, Hari Rama, Hari Rama, Rama, Rama, Hari, Hari".⁹ Most devotionals tend to be long and wordy. Whereas your word Amen: "Amen, amen, amen..."

That one's easy.

Yeah, that one is pretty easy but most existing devotional chants involve a lot of memory work or a book.

The heart song music begins in the heart, not the voice. It's the heart that's singing. The voice is only expressing what is in the heart. The student would use these mantras when they have a desire to be union with God or the Whole.

Like the other mantras, this chant is to be coordinated with breath. It is to be done with the desire at medium or low volume within yourself. It is better to avoid a devotional at a high desire volume, because it can be somewhat destructive if perceptions are not one.

If perceptions are not one?

Right, to be one is to unify the perceptions, to be inclusive. When perceptions start being skewed and one desire starts getting at very high volume -- that is when the individual starts getting into fanaticism.

That person is not listening to what is happening, and their perceptions tend to be divisive. When perceptions and desires are many and at high volume -- without any exercise of choice control -- that's when the individual starts entering the psychotic realm. Which, may not be that far from a being a fanatic.

• As with the other mantras, the student is to do three 20-minute sessions.
• The assignment is for the student to use 'Glory Be', create their own, or find an existing devotional mantra.
• Do it.
• Then sit afterwards for 5 minutes and perhaps enter how they feel in the workbook.

Assignment 8D: A Combination of Chants
The last mantra I am going to give is a combination of all three types. This one is very obscure. Most people never, ever think of this. The mantra consists of doing blank bursts at relatively high frequency: at your heartbeat speed or twice your heartbeat (using your internal rhythm). Blank, blank, blank, blank, blank.

The word you should focus on is very short such as: God, God, God, God, God (Jah Weh, Shiva/Shakti, One). As you are doing this mantra, bring the attention inside, 90 degrees away from everything. The power part of it is focusing and saying God. This is where you can use the power and rest, power and rest. God...God...God...God... You can float, gently float back into it, flutter into your being, riding this word.

Here, again, because it's a God concept, we can get into a devotional with this exercise also. Use the love that you feel for God with it. The student can do mind bursts and love bursts as well as they do this mantra.

I keep wanting to slow down...

You can do it at whatever speed you want. I picked that speed because it matches your internal rhythms. It might be better to do it with each heartbeat to begin with. That's why I say, the student has to experiment on their own and play in their head with this to see how it feels. Fit it so it feels right to you. Experiment on your own, as you (Jeannie) are doing now.

This mantra can also be done to instrumental music. Remember as you are doing all of these mantras, you are just existing. Your whole attitude is just sit and 'be' while doing them. Nothing to do but exist and do the chant. All these exercises are set up for you to explore within you.

Okay, questions?

When I was first going through my divorce, one of the things that I heard to music in my head one time was, "Yes I can"

Affirmation.

Yeah, so would that be like a devotional if I keep saying it?

It can be a combination. Devotional is in reference to a recognition of something greater than yourself. I just gave you three basic categories that mantras tend to fall in. You can now put something together that merges all those categories together with the God thing. "Yes, I can" is an affirmation. It can be devotional if a Creator/Creatrix is recognized. The devotional mantra tends to be referenced to something outside and towards a perception of a whole. It's not precisely geared for dropping inside into the depths of your being.

I would use it in such a way that I'd drop inside.

Well, you can use it any way you want. That was one of the goals of the class: to custom design the individual's pilgrimage along some Eternal principles. I am just saying it tends to be involved with you and your outside perceptions. It can go the opposite way, too. It's totally up to you which way you want to take it (motivations). When you are playing with this, see that there are different directions, vehicles, and ways you can take.

Yeah. I think it was a way that I used somehow to get to my feeling of God. That helped me get there.

Remember, no matter what you do: if you do anything over an extended period of time with one point focus, there is going to be a consciousness change within you. You do it to yourself. With regular breathing or deep breathing, if you do that one point focus for an extended period of time; there is going to be a consciousness change. The consciousness change is proportional to a longer period of time of focus -- longer the focus, the deeper the change.

Additional note: those who have a problem with the Divine or Divine concepts should do a reference toward the concept of Oneness, a Unity. They can facilitate the exercise using a verse from a song, any song they want, as a mantra. The important points of these exercises are: motivation, the breath, the mantras, and everything is focus, focus, focus, focus....

When we're doing the assignment, should that be time-limited too?

Yes, always with these and other meditations, you set a beginning time and an end time. When I do deep meditation, I use a clock. I see what time it is, and I will wait until the clock rings the quarter or the half or the three-quarter or the hour. It keeps things clearer and cleaner to have a block of time concept. "Okay, I'm doing this right now. OOPS, I drifted. I forgot. I've got to bring myself back." It keeps things clear. The time to stop is when the timer thing goes off.

Later the student can start thinking about some of the things that came into their mind while they were doing the exercise. When doing the exercise, do not think about any thing. You can always set the distracting thoughts on a shelf and say, "Later. I'll think about that one later."

• Do this exercise three separate times, and as with the other exercises, rest five to ten minutes afterward.

• Do this exercise for twenty minutes, on at least three separate occasions.

Up to this point, the assignments have been playing with the perceptual lens related to what choices we make. The meditation/mantra forms are playing with the flows through the lens array. Our perceptions and our desires (motivations) are part of this playing with available choices -- to make choices based on truths, the whole and unity.

We have covered many exercises using imagination and focus. Imagination exercises are now called visualization which, is just another way to play with the Perceptual Lens Array. Also what has been touched upon is using the brief moment in time the Perceptual Lens Array takes to focus. The eye exercise was an example of doing that. It constantly caused the matrix to refocus, and in doing so, no choices were made that directly affects programming.