Frequency Awareness

Detachment Perception

So many yogic practices, budhists, meditation and Zen disciplines make detachment a central part of their practice. When meditating this is one of the main focuses, to detachment from the mind and get to a neutral quiet space. Why such the focus? Why is detachment so important?

We cannot begin to master ourselves, to live our lives, feel our own feelings and solve our own problems until we have detached from the object of our mental focus. For some they are so attached, the object of their own obsession. Detachment allows the true aspect of our self to come forward which we refer to as the I AM or soul consciousness. Detachment allows the critical mind, the mind filled with erroneous perceptions, to quiet and thereby truth and clear direction can enter into consciousness.

What is Attachment Perception?

Before we explore detachment, let us take a look at what attachment is. Attachment can take several forms.

1) We may become excessively worried about and pre occupied with a problem or person (our mental energy is attached)

2) Or we may graduate to becoming obsessed with and controlling of the people and problems in our environment (our mental, physical and emotional energy is directed at the object of our obsession)

3) We may become reactionaries, instead of acting authentically of our own volition (our mental, emotional and physical energy is attached)

4) We may become emotionally dependent on the people around us (we are fully attached)

5) We may become caretakers (rescuers, enablers) to the people around us (firmly attaching ourselves to their need for us)

Over involvement of any sort can keep one in a state of chaos and keep the people around them in chaos. The key here is if we are focusing our energy on people and problems, there is little left for the real business, which is living our own lives. "If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a fact, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system." I love this quote from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer from Your Erroneous Zones. He is a straight shooter and I think this quote says it all in this section!

Worrying and obsessing keep us so tangled in our heads we cannot solve our problems. When this happens we lose touch with ourselves. We forfeit our power and ability to think, feel, act and take care of ourselves. We lose control.

So What Does Obsession Sound Like?

Have you ever seen someone who is obsessed with someone or something? That person can talk about nothing else, can think of nothing else. Even if he appears to be listening when you talk, you know that person does not hear you. His mind is tossing and turning, crashing and banging, around and around on an endless racetrack of compulsive thought. He is preoccupied. He relates whatever you say, no matter how unrelated it actually is, to the object of his obsession. He says the same things over and over, sometimes changing the wording slightly, sometimes using the same words. Nothing you say makes any difference. Even telling him to stop does not help. He probably would if he could. The problem is he cannot at that moment. He is bursting with the jarring energy that obsession perception imprints are made up of. He has a problem or a concern that is not only bothering him- it is controlling him. This is what obsession sounds like!

So with a better perception on attachment, let us go back to the original question, What is detachment? Well detachment is not cold, hostile withdrawal, a resigned despairing acceptance of anything life and people throw our way, a robotical walk through life oblivious to, and to totally be unaffected by people and problems, an ignorant bliss, a shirking of our true responsibilities to ourselves and others; a severing of our relationships. Nor is it a removal of our love and concern. Although sometimes in certain circumstances, these ways of detaching might be the best we can do for the moment.

Ideally detachment is releasing, or detaching from, a person or problem in LOVE. Detachment is based on the premise that each person is responsible for himself that we cannot solve problems that are not ours to solve.

Detachment involves "Present Moment Living". Which means living in the here and NOW! When we allow life to happen instead of forcing and trying to control it, we relinquish regrets over the past and fears about the future. This allows us to make the most of each moment. Detachment involves accepting reality - the facts now our beliefs overlaid on the reality! This requires faith in ourselves, in God, in other people and in the natural Divine Order and Divine Timing of things in this world. We release our burdens and cares and give ourselves the freedom to enjoy life in spite of conflicts.

Detachment does not mean we do not care, it means we learn to love, care and be involved without going crazy mentally! We stop creating chaos in our minds and our environments, allowing a more healthy, balanced and empowered masterful life experience.

What are the rewards of Detachment?

The rewards from practicing detachment are great. They are serenity, a deep sense of peace, the ability to give and receive live in self enhancing energizing ways and the freedom to live our own lives without excessive feelings of guilt about or responsibility towards others. Sometimes detachments motivates and frees the people around us to begin to solve their own problems! What a great plan, everyone MINDS their OWN business!

How To Practice Detachment:

How do we detach? How do we extricate our emotions, mind, body and spirit? We begin with humility, surrender and effort. It becomes a habitual response in the same manor that obsessing, worrying and controlling have become habitual responses - by lots of practice/repetition!

The following is a meditation technique you can practice:

Sit cross-legged in a comfortable position on the floor. Your head, neck and spine should be in a straight line. Those of you who are not able to sit on the floor may sit on a chair. Feel relaxed and close your eyes. Even after we close our eyes, we see forms and images from behind the eyelids. To counter this, imagine that your eyeballs have become as hard as stones, then the images will die.

Keep your lips together and produce the sound 'Mmmm...' from inside. If you were to put your face inside an empty aluminum vessel and make a humming sound, the sound generated will be similar to this. Note that this is not 'Humm...' or 'Omm...', it is simply keeping your lips together and producing 'Mmmm...' sound. The humming should be as lengthy as possible between breathes; it should be as deep as possible (from the navel center) and as loud as possible. There is no need to make an effort to take in deep breaths, the body itself will take breaths when needed. Don't become tense, just do it in a relaxed manner. Immerse your whole being and energy into creating this vibration. Try to minimize the gap between the humming sounds. After some time, you will feel that the humming continues without your effort and that you have become simply a listener!

After stopping the humming, remain silent and inactive for 10 minutes in a blissful mood with a smiling face. During this time, the Energy created by the humming will enter all the corners of your being and cleanse it. If any thought comes to your mind let it come. Simply watch your mind and don't resist any thought.

Here is another technique you can practice:

A universally-applicable methods of cultivating mental concentration is attentiveness on the in-going and out-going breath.

The breath is merely used as a point on which to fix the attention, at the tip of the nostrils. The attention must not wander, even to follow the breath.

In the initial stages it is advisable to mark the respiration by counting, but as soon as it is possible to keep the mind fixed without this artificial aid, it should be discontinued and only used when it is necessary to recall the attention.

A stage is reached when the actual bodily sensation of arising and passing away of the physical elements in the body, is felt.

When Do We Detach?

· Cannot stop thinking, talking about or worrying about someone or something

· Emotions are churning and boiling

· When we feel we have to do something about someone because we cannot stand it another minute

· When we feel we are hanging on by a thread

So if attachment to our thoughts that result from the energetic memory of our imprints, cause us to experience deep stress and chaos in our life, then it seems very understandable why yoga and meditation practitioners, budhist and Zen monks spend some much time practicing detachment. For the clearest perception and a life in line with our True Self, the habitual practice of detachment is a must.