Reference: The Discipline of Subject Clearing
Let the mind un-stack itself naturally through patient contemplation on whatever comes up. Observe the issue uppermost in the mind, and then the next, and the next. Let the mind deal with issues in the order it wants to. There should be no effort to recall, to dig for answers, or to interfere with the mind in any way. Simply look at what is right there in front of the mind’s eye at any moment. The mind will never present anything overwhelming when allowed to un-stack itself.
Purpose:
To discern how the mental chaos may best be unstacked.
Pre-requisites:
Complete Exercise 5: Mind as a Sense Organ.
Instructions:
In this exercise you become aware of how the mind un-stacks the chaos it faces. You may do this exercise while sipping coffee in a café or strolling along a river. You may even find a place where you can sit comfortably for a while without being disturbed. Then patiently observe the world go by.
Notice the physical and mental environment in a causal, easygoing manner. Look at the physical and mental objects present. You may find the physical objects to be relatively stable, but mental objects to be in a chaotic state. Use physical objects to stabilize your attention, and let the mental objects settle down by not interfering with them. Identify the topmost issue that needs to be resolved in the mind.
Notice if the mind is trying to avoid, resist, suppress or deny something on this issue; or if it is trying to justify something. Simply become aware of all the inconsistencies as much as possible without interfering with the mind. The issue will start to clear up on its own accord, and another issue will become more dominant.
All these issues are entwined with each other. Always work to reduce the most dominant issue as much as you can. Then take up the next issue, which has become dominant. Thus, un-stack the chaos, by reducing the dominant issues one after another.
Expand your span of attention to as wide a context as possible, and let the physical and mental perceptions pour in.
Continue this exercise for at least 20 minutes. You may repeat this exercise as many times as you wish.
End of Exercise:
When you can discern how the mental chaos may be un-stacked, then this exercise is passed.
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