Table of Contents
To the reader 1
Introduction 4
Lesson 1 Psychology and Spirituality 9
Psychology
Spirituality 10
Religion vs. spirituality 12
Psychology and spirituality: The meeting point 14
Psychology and spirituality: Interdependence 15
What stands is your way to living a full and free life: The concepts of personality and ego 16
Here and now exercise 1: Naming your ego concepts 18
Why must a personality/ego be created?
Psychological measurement 1: Personal need for structure questionnaire 19
An idea of your self 23
Weekly exercise 1: Discovering your ego concepts 26
Lesson 2 The Meditative Skill 29
The influence of meditation
Different kinds of meditation 33
Defining meditation
Here and now exercise 2: The wandering mind 34
Who is in charge of your awareness? 35
If you are washing the dishes, just wash the dishes 36
Meditative technique vs. meditative state 38
Breathing meditation 39
Understanding meditation 40
Weekly exercise 2: Breathing meditation 44
Meditation: Retraining your attention 46
Simplicity 47
Patience and subtle changes 48
Psychological measurement 2: Personal growth initiative scale 50
Beginning to meditate 51
Different meditation sessions 52
Lesson 3 Aware and Unaware Thinking 54
The thinking obsession
There is nothing wrong with the mind 55
Resting in your inner "home"
Aware vs. unaware thinking 56
Cultivating aware thinking 57
Here and now exercise 3: writing your thoughts 58
Ego concepts grow and shrink 59
Gradual progress 60
Breaking the attachment 61
Non-reactive attention
Psychological measurement 3: non-attachment scale 62
Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional 65
Weekly exercise 3: Observing your thoughts 66
Lesson 4 The Illusion of the Self 68
The concept of self
Trapped in patterns 69
Is there a container? 70
Separation 72
Here and now exercise 4: can you find the experiencer? 76
Attachment to the self 77
The mind fights for its existence 79
Enlightenment: An alternative to the ego formed self 80
Awareness of the layers that conceal your authentic self 82
Facing your self 83
What is the experience of enlightenment? 84
Psychological measurement 4: Compassion scale 85
Weekly exercise 4: Consciously choosing enlightenment 86
Lesson 5 Everything is Neutral 89
Here and now exercise 5: The clock experiment
Schema theory 90
Priming 91
Spirituality and schemas 93
The neutrality of life 95
Weekly exercise 5: This situation was neutral 96
Choice 98
Psychological measurement 5: Perceived autonomy in life domains scale 99
Taking responsibility 101
Opportunity 103
Lesson 6 The Art of Presence and Meditation Techniques 104
Being present
Here and now exercise 6: Walking meditation 105
Being and thinking
Meditation permeates life 106
Psychological research: Mind-wandering 107
Psychological measurement 6: Mindfulness questionnaire 108
Meditation techniques 113
Changing techniques 123
Weekly exercise 6: Meditation techniques 124
Meditation will not make you passive 125
Developing meditation 126
Lesson 7 Impermanence: This Too Shall Pass 129
Life is change
Stress: Psychological reaction to impermanence 130
Impermanence is sensed as dangerous 131
Psychological measurement 7: Personal meaning in life 132
Emotional polarity and the Authentic Self 134
The cycle of misery 135
Here and now exercise 7: Your cravings and rejections 136
Dependent and independent emotions 137
Weekly exercise 7: Engaging with change 139
Enlightenment is impermanent
Lesson 8 Freedom and Meditation - Bringing It All Together 142
Thoughts and emotions
Emotions and bodily-sensations 143
Psychological measurement 8: Body awareness questionnaire 145
Yoga, psychology, and spirituality 148
Thought, emotions, and bodily reactions: The link 152
Relevance to your spiritual journey 153
Observing? How? 155
Here and now exercise 8(A): Emotions & sensations 156
Here and now exercise 8(B): The rag-doll technique 157
The art of non-reaction
Weekly exercise 8(A): Body awareness 159
Weekly exercise 8(B): Reaction to events 161
Life-Long Exercise: Going deeper into your Authentic Self 162
Final words 164
References 167