Commutative tension

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Driving on a highway, somewhere.  The small specter warm on my nostrils then cool, lungs slowly fill and empty in soothing rhythm.  The slower it goes: sleep may pull down already heavy eyelids, or pull awareness so far back into that open-eyed white velvety darkness.  "A darkness shining in brightness which brightness could not comprehend".  An opening for an overlap: smashing metal, scraping skin, slow-motion cartwheels, shattering glass, a sharp blow, sleep.  These things I know.

Bright lights batter, I don't like them.  Under my hands, the steering wheel sheds epidermal layers.  Sweat, white knuckles, this despite deep breathing.  Strands of overworked muscle hook higher up the chain, my shoulder hurts at the end of the week and I can't figure out why, even though I watch it build up.  Energy used for tension.

On a cushion, pull my legs into an unusual shape for this side of the world.  Lately my legs fall asleep only a little after half an hour.  I consider this progress, at least in so far as it keeps things interesting.  Back takes a long time to fatigue now, not sitting on my 1st lumbar vertebrae anymore.  All is vanity.

Eyelids light, like they want to open.  Body tall, like a radio antennae.  Toes hold the lower pentagram's tendons.  Knees stay loose, but regular and organized. Sinking bones, expanding breath.   Tongue tip back two front teeth.  What will I do after I sit?  Remember... Sinking bones, expanding breath. Bottoms of the thighs are pushing the right side of the pelvis, relax.  This story should really...I think I see something.  Sinking bones, expanding breath. A ball, rolling up and down the ghost ladder.  Cut body lines.  Energy used for awareness.

A blank white space.  Needs some order?  Based off the last one?  If a ruler keeps a line straight, why can't I draw a straight line with it?  This one will fill one blank white space.  Get out of my way.  Out of the whale?  yes.  Then he will walk in the woods?  Yes!  Maybe he sees three paths? Which one will he take?  His brain, his process, the place where the process stands to grip the lever.  Clear sight after years of preparation.  The world behind the tree will begin its slow creep in no matter which one he picks, as he digs deeper and deeper.  The path of the priestess through Daath.  Will he pass through and discard knowledge?  Breaking through the rough soil of the underearth.  Yes.  Pencil to paper.  Maybe like this.  Like this.  Just like this.  Up for air, did I breathe?  Energy used for work.

Spine bent uncomfortably for 8 hours? 10 hours? 3 hours?  Hand gripping the pencil, body curling up like a drying leaf, crumpling.  Gripping, this energy whips through, fire extinguishing fire.  So many physical signals demanding attention.  Some of work's energy, misappropriated.  Tiny screams all over.

Hot water loosens up my hands.  Devoting awareness to work: Sit up taller, breath softer, less tension.  How can I hold a pencil or a pen, making marks without hurting my hand? This way?  Yes...no.  This way?  Yes...much better.

Shoulder shrugs, fist gripping, legs taught, tension.  Take a deep breath, grip with a muscle in tandem, stronger grip: deeper breath.  Open up and say ahh.  deflate and relax.  That sighing ahh, drops the weight of the world.  The weight of the car keys.  Tension to energy.

Habit of Heart and Lungs

That (Asana) Having Been Perfected, Regulation Of The Flow Of Inhalation And Exhalation Is Pranayama (Breath Control) 2.49

That Pranayama Has [1] External Operation (Vahya-Vrtti), [2] Internal Operation (Abhyantara-Vrtti) And [3] Supression (Stambha-Vrtti).  These, Again, When Observed According to Space, Time And Number Become Long And Subtle. 2.50

The Fourth Pranayama Transcends External and Internal Operations. 2.51

By That The Veil over Manifestation Is Thinned. 2.52

The Mind Acquires Fitness For Dharana [Concentration]. 2.53

~Yoga Sutras of Pantajali, Samkhya-yogacharya Swami Hariharananda Aranya

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The skillful magician often fits the description: low tension/high energy.  Although most of the rest of us achieve moments of this which contribute to flashes of insight and occasional smooth transitions during life changing situation, the magician cultivates this state so that it may be more permanent, useful and ultimately predictable.  The rest of us tend to move between high tension/low energy and low tension/low energy (archetypes of the hanged man, and the hermit) some are fortunate enough to excel to high energy/high tension (the emperor archetype).

The push and pull of tension can be useful in some practices, specifically those involving ecstatic movement, but the goal of ecstasy is essentially to overwhelm the senses to a degree that tension is completely impossible and these senses then collapse inward on a single point of focus.  However, The outcome of these practices has a tendency toward greater result if the practitioner begins at a low state of tension then consciously or unconsciously directing their flow of tension into ecstasy.  So willful tension seems good in some cases.

Low tension allows for greater powers of fixed concentration.   Fluidity in life requires low tension, otherwise disease (physical or emotional) infiltrates through the holes in the human matrix.  A skillful magician should be able to shift his or her unwavering concentration from one thing to the next without batting an eyelash or crashing the car.

There are many methods by which a practitioner can begin to cultivate this state of low tension/high energy.  As a trained hatha yogi and qi-gong man the ones I will herein describe require no additional esoteric equipment, no knives made of strange metals, no pentagrams etched in wax.  All you need is your hands, your body and your heart beat.

When someone experiences prolonged unhappiness and depression they tend to breathe quickly in and very slowly out.  When angry the breath comes out quick and goes in harsh, but stays shallow.  When surprised or shocked the breath comes in deeply and sharply then comes out quickly.  How someone breathes indicates a lot about their emotional state and therefore their state of tension.  Consequently, how someone breathes also has the tendency to change his or her emotional state. 

Patanjali,  paraphrased heavily here, indicates that the simplest technique towards Samadhi involves watching the breath and keeping it even and smooth.  The more conventional, traditional (?),  modern teaching has it that breathing slowly, deeply, without pauses, smoothly, and softly will get you there. 

The Vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) travels from the brain down most of the trunk of the body.  On the way it innervates  heart and many of the organs, therefore speeding up or slowing down our heart rate dependant on internal and external environmental factors.  Because of this action it serves as the most easily accessible switch between the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system.  The sympathetic nervous system provides us with the fight or flight stress response and the parasympathetic with the rest and digest response.  The diaphragm, our primary breathing muscle, may actually massage and stimulate a sensory portion of the vagus nerve if we are breathing very deeply.  After prolonged, controlled breathing of this nature the parasympathetic nervous system transitions on and the heart rate slows and tension diminishes.

So the first key to the magician’s state of low tension/high energy is this sensory portion of the vagus nerve.  Breathing deeply.  This also has the result of bringing more oxygen into the body and releasing more carbon dioxide resulting in more energy.

LIBER CCC part 1: Deconditio Prefundis

Preliminary practice: (breathe only through the nose)

(A) Establishing a Baseline

       1. Place one hand over the navel

       2. Place the other hand over the heart

       3. Breathe normally and notice which hand moves more

(B) Deepening the Breath

       1. Breathe so that only the hand over the belly button moves, practice until the hand over the heart
           does not move at all for 30 minutes, then continue to step 2
       2. Breathe deeply into the belly then continue to breathe until the ribs expand laterally.  Allow no
           movement in the upper chest,  when you exhale: close the ribs first, then allow the belly to fall
           back towards the spine as you allow the breath to leave. When you can do this for 30 minutes
           move to step 3
       3. Breathe deeply into the belly, then continue to breathe until the ribs expand, and now finally
           continue to breathe so that the chest (energetic heart) expands and lifts towards the sky (ceiling,
           whatever). Lower the chest,  then close the ribs, then allow the abdomen to fall as the breath
           leaves. When you can breathe this way for 30 minutes continue to C.

       Congratulations on breathing deeply!
   
(C) Softening the breath
       1. Breathe as in (B)
       2. Focus your attention on your nostrils and feel the breath moving in and out here, when you can
           do this for 10 minutes continuously go to 3
       3. Consciously soften your breathing until you can feel a cool touch against your nostrils as you
           breathe in and a warmer touch as you breathe out.
       4. When you can do this for 30 minutes continue to (D)

(D) Evening the breath
       1. Breathe as in (B) and (C)
       2. Count your heartbeat to see how long it takes to breathe all the way in slowly and deeply,
           while still noticing the touch of breath against the nose
       3. Match this number to your exhalation so if you breathe in to 5 you breathe out to 5
       4. Increase the duration of the breath incrementally until you reach 20
       5. When this can be accomplished continuously for 30 minutes move on to (E)

(E) Demiurgic Breathing
      1. Lie on the floor or sit in a steady asana
      2. Work your way into breathing as per the end of D, then discontinue counting
      3. Continuing to breathe deeply and slowly remain as still as possible
      4. Use as little muscle as possible to breathe in and out, keep the breath soft
      5. Try not to think
      6. Practice this for at least 30 minutes daily, record results, visions etc.

        Congratulations!  You have successfully begun the process of self-deconditioning and tension reduction that is essential to success.

        At first the breathing may stop and start and not feel very continuous, or you may have an easy time for the first few breaths then they become labored and uncomfortable with constant stops and starts.  Focus on each breath individually and just try to do your best.  With practice the kinks, as they say, work out.

      (RUACH)