Forcefully rushing into things has the opposite effect.
Urgency, necessity and forceful action, implies a lack of control.
This resistant and reactive disposition not only adds friction but also drains energy potential.
To be in a hurry to get the situation over with, constitutes a sense of fear.
To make forceful action, constitutes the action against fear.
The minute these two behaviors are inclined, the game can be considered over and finished.
Because as soon as submission to fear is made, there is not longer control, it is the act of sending oneself to jail, to be trapped inside a box.
In this regard, the game can be considered finished before it has even been fully attempted, all that has to be recognized, is whether the adherent is forcefully rushing into things, in a fit of over-enthusiasm. This is the dead giveaway, as to the level of control one has and where he stands, which is in the realm of fear.
In the first couple of attempts, an individual can get away with this kind of attitude and approach, it can go unnoticed. However, if this is an exercise that were practiced continuously, soon enough, the reality will be unveiled.
Forceful action can only go so far, in the game of longevity and consistency.
Excessive willpower towards ordinary habits adds up quickly and soon enough, there can be no energy leftover for the more demanding circumstances and situations that are more crucial.
Any worthwhile habit or endeavor requires a level of depth and seamless transition.
An example of this facet, is the act of taking a cold shower.
In the beginning stages, the inclination to excitement and willpower is considerably high.
There’s an inevitable acclimation period, that with time, calms the excitement and excessive importance.
This initial importance can drive one to forcefully jump in the shower, and crank the lever, as a means to get the situation over and done with.
But, that’s exactly what the trap is.
It took me some time to figure out what this trap was, but now I recognize it as fear.
The fear of pain, the fear of death, the fear of discomfort, any disposition relative or similar to these.
Most notably, the sense of fear that is the strongest, is the fear of death.
After taking enough of these showers, I realized, it is this particular fear that makes the initial act challenging.
The reason being, is that there can be no concept of the self on the other side of fear.
The concept of the self cannot exist on the other side of fear.
When a man faces his fear, his soul is tested, and as a result, he may find his true nature, and may be enlightened to his true essence, that which cannot be touched, and is in fact, untouchable.
One of the most profound and enlightening experiences is discovering the pain of taking a cold shower, in that, once fear has been overcome, that nothing can hurt the fundamental essence of thyself. The pain may be inflicted on the body, however that is not what I am, for what I am cannot be hurt.
In this sense, the initial pain becomes a source of motivation and vitality, it in effect, becomes a source of life itself, a reason for existence. This is what drives my nature.
To understand the meaning of what the other side of fear is, first and foremost, the concept of death must be considered.
It’s the act of letting oneself go.
To dissolve within the overstimulation of pain into nothingness.
After a certain number of these showers, once this basic concept and lesson is understood, discipline and addiction to this habit is unlocked.
The first requirement in order to foster discipline, is learning to recognize and associate strength with the courage to let oneself go.
The idea is that, association between strength and direct force has to be disintegrated.
Naturally, these showers will instill this realization, because of the extreme conditions.
Having the strength and courage to let oneself go, means to end the battle.
The battle, is the need to amp oneself up, prepare oneself, overthink, stalling, dreading, any number of these symptoms have to be detached.
In the inclination to these symptoms, constitutes a battle to be fought, but that’s the illusion, for there is no battle.
This battle can also be recognized as the protection and defense of identity itself or the need to secure one’s identity.
Another piece of the lesson, that allowed me to unlock a breakthrough, was yet another realization.
It’s the realization that there cannot be freedom in a sense of fear and in the realm of identity, for both of these are the trap.
Unraveling the concept of fear, is also a crucial part in this.
To overcome fear, you have to do more than simply attack it head on, you have to graze it into your psyche as if you were drinking up fear itself.
To overcome fear, is to realize that it cannot hurt the fundamental essence of your being.
In this regard, allowing oneself, and giving oneself permission to enjoy the act of letting oneself go, is to slowly taste and graze every particle of its construct or expression, that is, stress, stimulation, nerves, quivering, shaking, muscle spasms, etc.
To graze and finely embellish in all of these symptoms means to enjoy the process of giving oneself up. This type of joy is what demonstrates the strength and courage to shed oneself, to shed the cage of identity and to dissolve into the splendor of absolution.
It’s important to outline and define the two different dispositions, as a means to differentiate the two.
The first disposition is defined as, submission to fear; to be uncomfortable with discomfort; the necessity and importance to get over with and be done with.
The second disposition is defined as, attraction to pain or fear; to be comfortable with discomfort; the act of giving rather than receiving; voluntary service to end oneself out of free choice; enjoyment in the process of pain and fear; to be drawn to that which invokes fear into the self; to learn as to what makes this body or vessel destructible or fearful; to be drawn to it’s challenges and to anticipate them.
It’s about learning as to what makes this body or identity scared, fearful or challenged. as a means to unveil its true being. By learning these aspects and identifying what’s sustaining their emotions or obstacles, allows for liberation.
Expanding further on the second disposition, a crucial note to add, is the concept of overcoming fear.
To be free from fear, means to be drawn to it. To be drawn to that which causes fear and pain in oneself, that is the fundamental point.
To be drawn to fear and pain, means to anticipate and be attracted to it, as a means to and end.
What this means is, being drawn to pain until it no longer is viewed as pain anymore, but a source of motivation, a source of life, a sense of vitality, a reason for existence.
It’s the freedom of mastering oneself. To unlock challenges, to shed illusions, to break false-beliefs, to shatter limits imposed by the framework of identity.
The true basis of this process, is the process of realizing who you actually are, and what you are cannot be hurt nor touchable, it is pure and utter joy, and to associate oneself with that purity, means to grow increasingly unsatisfied with anything less than joy.
If there’s pain, if there’s fear, you are to be increasingly more unsatisfied with these symptoms, as a result, you become drawn to it, work through it, confront it, acclimate to it, as a means for it to no longer be recognized as fear and pain.
If there are undesirable symptoms along to lines of the aforementioned constructs, means there’s work to be done. If there’s a problem called fear and pain, which means anything less than joy, it means there’s a problem.
What do we do with problems? We work through them and solve them. When there’s a problem, there’s work to do, until there is nothing left and until there can be no recognition of those constructs, but instead the transformation into self-empowerment, joy, splendor, etc.
What the application of these principles and concepts look like in practice of taking a cold shower, would be, entering the bathroom without any contemplation, stepping into the shower as if you were walking to get a glass of water, turning the shower lever to the coldest setting as if you were turning on the tap to fill a glass of water.
When the water pours over, breathing is to be exercised as if it were a meditation. Breathing should be centered on the lower abdomen, with each inhale and exhale the breathe goes deeper, further and more full.
Deeper into the abdomen, and further into the perineum, squeezing the abdomen into the back of the lower spine, in a sort of sinching press. As the abdomen is being actively exhaled in a pressed action, the rectum is also being contracted tightly and upwards as to squeeze the abdomen closer to the tail bone and spine.
When this breathing process is mastered, you have successfully mastered and tame your own will.
To be trapped by fear, means to want none of it and get it over with.
To be free from fear, means to be drawn to it, to want more of it until the pain is no longer distinguishable.
When fear or pain is recognized, immediately it demands pain to be outsourced, it calls for a pain that is even more potent than the current symptomatic expression, in order to be relieved by the perception of that initial pain. A surplus of pain has to be exercised as a means to no longer distinguish the initial pain with anything associated as discomfort.
If you’ve managed to contract a surplus amount of pain, it means you have fostered the courage to be self empowered, because you have no longer condemned yourself to any limits. In a state of self empowerment, there cannot be a concept of limitation, but instead expansion and growth.
By confining oneself to the initial confrontation of pain, you become reactive, tempted into desperation, neediness for comfort, attributing importance to the symptoms, and therefore justifying oneself to be upset.
That is the opposite of self love, or unconditional love. True self love would not permit nor allow oneself to be upset, or tolerate anything less than pure joy.
True self love, means having the courage to let oneself go, no longer justify oneself to be upset, and having the strength to end the battle.
Ending the battle means letting go of the need for a certain outcome, to have things go your way, but instead allow life to unfold accordingly.
By allowing things to work themselves out, you free yourself from the need to think, exert and lose energy, but instead gain energy, as a result.