Subsidiary Exercises: #2
Initiative in Actions
At the beginning of a practice period
- Think of some action which in the ordinary course of life you should certainly not have performed..
- Decide on the time you will execute this action
Every day
- Perform this action at the set time.
At the end of the day
- Ask yourself:
Did I perform the right action at the right time?
If, through this exercise, this initiative of action has been achieved, then, with subtle attentiveness,
- Become conscious of the feeling of an inner impulse of activity in the soul.
- Pour this feeling into the body.
- Let it stream down from the head to a point just above the heart.
- Say to yourself:
I did not perform the right action at the right time, but I realize now that I can do it better and that tomorrow I will do it better.
Notes
- Choose an action which can be performed every day and will occupy as long a period of time as possible.
- It is better to begin with some insignificant action which we have to force ourselves to perform.
For example, to water at a fixed time every day a flower we have bought. - This exercise should last for one month.
- After a certain time of practice:
Add a second, similar act to the first; later, a third, and so on . . . as many as are compatible with the carrying out of all other duties.