©2007 by George A. Boyd
The Sanskrit word Swarupa means a form of the
Self, or an inner vehicle. The concept of vehicles suggests that within
the mind, there are a series of functional states through which we operate.
Each functional state has its own reality, its own mode of interacting,
and its own nexus of perception.
These vehicles are organized, governed and integrated
by what we call integrative centers. In the personal band of the
mind, these are the ego and the Self. In the transpersonal band of the
mind, these are the ensouling entities of the Superconscious mind.
In the table below, we distinguish seven factors which
can be the focus of your contemplation to help you better understand the
operation of your inner vehicles. To perform this contemplative exercise,
select one vehicle of interest and explore each of the seven factors within
the vehicle by asking the questions suggested.
Factor
|
Observe in the Vehicle
|
Questions to Explore the Vehicle
|
Energy
|
the energetic state of the vehicle
|
What is my experience of energy here? What vibrations or resonance
am I feeling? What does this space within me feel like? What force
or energy is here?
|
Quality
|
apperceptive state
|
What do I perceive within this vehicle? What colors, sounds, shapes,
patterns, tastes, smells, and tactile sensations arise as I hold
my attention here? What is the feeling tone or quality here?
|
Activity
|
volitional state
|
What abilities are operating through this vehicle? In what ways
does will express in this vehicle?
|
Understanding
|
cognitive state
|
What beliefs are nested in this vehicle? What do I know or understand
about myself or about the world through this vehicle? What aspects
of intelligence or discernment operate through this vehicle?
|
Content
|
attentional witnessing
|
At what level of the mind does this vehicle exist? What are distinctive
markers or signs that would allow me to locate this vehicle in subsequent
meditations? What is the distinctive content of this vehicle that
allows me to recognize it?
|
Purification/ Development
|
spiritual evolutionary state
|
To what level has light and consciousness been awakened within
this vehicle? What is the potential development of this vehicle,
e.g., what areas of this vehicle remain unconscious or unawakened?
|
Seed atom
|
essence of the vehicle
|
What is the essential nucleus of this vehicle? What is the seed
atom of this vehicle?
|