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Hi Colleen,
No problem! It's a pleasure to help others make progress! I also get new reference points myself! Well, first of all I need to say that I consider myself a beginner still. Take whatever I say with a pinch of salt. Last year I had a period of a couple of months when I had very little external negative influences (I was rarely restimulated and I could quilky replenish my importances) and I could develop great momentum with Level 2. And that progress was also due to the help of people here from the list. But Level 2 is where I still am. I'll try to answer your questions each in one paragraph. You ask: what do I mean by 'when it gets dull'? I think I should've actually said when it gets very dull, maybe. These are the two main ways I will definitely leave a command: 1) When I'd have achieved the maximum speed in repeating the 'creations' and then it gets harder and harder to continue, almost like a temporary amnesia of how I was doing (I believe this is a full overrun but I'm not sure). 2) When I use Pete's criteria of the interest level, it starts getting boring, my attention may drift away accidentally; thenI try to check, through a couple more rounds, if that creation produces any type of feelings or ideas inside me when I place it there. If the answer is no I go to the next command. Two of the things Dennis says about RI is to have a high quantity of creations and a certainty that one has created, despite the inability to perceive. He doesn't go into details though on what would classify as certainty-filled thought. I currently consider it as believing in thought - in other words, it must be any thought (or postulate) that one had full intention in creating. So I just try to keep creating the same thing over and over, quickly and correctly, while trying to not doubt it's validity, even though my mind keeps trying to invalidate it XD. You ask: what do I consider as change occurring? During RI I get an increasing sensation of heat in my hands, feet and face; yawns; teary eyes; increase in alertness and attention; shifts in point of view (like, before session I didn't feel it would be good to do RI even though I logically consider it positive; then after a few minutes I'm doing it easily enjoying and wanting to progress); sometimes I get a new point-of-view (and a new solution) to a real-life problem. But, those are not always present. I try to first create the objects in my mind's eye (getting the idea of it) and then I place it somewhere. Your experience was similar to mine with the glass balls. I initially would change them a lot, having difficulty deciding, viewing and judging the validity of their features. Eventually I discovered I'm pretty satisfied with transparent mellon-sized balls (this took many weeks for me though). You wonder about Dennis saying that change must be occuring for one to stick with creative RI. I think the only way change wouldn't happen would be with someone close to a mental breakdown or doing the exercise incorrectly. If you can make 2 rounds of creative RI without any major internal distraction I think it's impossible to not get a change (you may invalidate it, but it still happened). You referred to a resistance to continuing creating the glass balls as you first tried. I guess that was a change. I remember being close to a mental breakdown (or maybe it was just an acute stress crisis, not sure) and I couldn't do neither perceptual nor creative RI. I'd just play videogames in my free time XD. Good Tromming Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2016 16:09:33 -0500 > From: The Resolution of Mind list <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: [TROM1] RE About RI > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > True, so true - compulsive, complicated minds have difficulty duplicating > the bare simplicity of Dennis' instructs - bring something into existence > and put it around you 360 until no more change - and the being with that > kind of mind is a bit at a disadvantage due to weak command power > concerning his own mind. It CAN be done, however, and is preferable to > hours of Perceptual RI, IMHO. > > The funny thing about me is that I totally "grokked" Level Five and see it > in its beauty, but RI and Level Two have been a real bear for me to tackle > smoothly, and it is only the beauty of the exercises as laid out in Level > Five that keeps me going. Dennis said it might be that way for some people > - Level Two that is. > > A person with a busy, chattery mind can start to notice that when they do > RI they're doing RI and not something else .... and where did all that > noise and emotion and figure-figure go? "Hmmm, well, maybe I'm better off > doing RI than letting my mind go all over the place trying to solve > problems that might not even exist anymore." It's a good decision point: RI > or swamped by the mind's usual turmoil, since you can't do both (for long) > at the same time. A sage once said, "Stop thinking and you won't have > anymore problems." Sardonic, eh! yet I think it applies here. Let's face > it: as long as we have a mind - unless we are sleeping - we are always > doing something to satiate it - a learned habituation (for example, eating > junk foods) which we are more comfortable with than Dennis' RI. > > The RI instructions simply direct the being to do what is his basic native > ability, and can be quite restorative. For example, in my creative build > projects I've always experienced a frustrating dissonance between the > concept and actual 3-D construction (instead trying to figure it out as I > go along), but now I'm finding I can sit for hours and design and build in > my mind and in the actual space around me in great detail to the point that > when I actually do put my hands to some material to craft the object ... > that's if I still wish to. My non-mest designing and building is becoming > so much fun - who needs mest??? I'm beginning to see working with 3d (what > Dennis calls "TIPM") as a compulsion, a substitute, a step down in the > hierarchy of Life, and not the other way around. > > That above would satisfy your instructs in "RI#1", for my mind compulsively > creates in that area, and then compulsively opposes areas of it. So when I > consciously create I do also have to continue through the "not-know" too. > For example, I was not-knowing on the exact details of how to most simply > and effectively, yet with sophistication of craftmanship, get one board to > lift and slide over another board. I had to push through the not-know by > continually putting the design around me and working on it. Then, once I > "know" that detail I can test out the design over and over again to make > sure it works and how it effects the whole creation I'm working on. It's a > lot of fun and I have not yet lifted one tool nor purchased the materials; > only made some drawings and notes in case I forget, for of course these > things do not persist very well... my guess is that eventually the being > decided that was a "problem" - keeping creations persisting. "Darn, where > did that thing go!?" > > And for purposes of preparing oneself for a session and during the session > and after a session, as you say, it can be kept simple and short to > whatever is favorably important to one. For example, I can take my > affinity/compulsion for creating with plywood and put a sheet of plywood > all around me - or six-directions, as you say. I daresay that might even > ease off the fixation, and that would be when it "gets dull"? as you posted > is your experience. > > At the same time, timebreaking the past is what likewise rehabilitates that > native ability to bring things into existence without dependence upon TIPM. > I see the two exercises as a complementary stair-step motion - towards > Level Five and through to the completion of Level Five. > > Let me ask you: what do you see for yourself as "change occurring"? Dennis > was explicit that change must be occurring during creative RI or else one > should be doing perceptual RI. For example, when you were creating the > glass balls all around you was change occurring? How was that for you? Were > you putting them around you in your actual physical space or doing it in > your mind's eye? > > When I put the concept of glass balls all around me in my actual physical > space I initially feel a ridging somatic against experiencing them in such > a way and and can only create them small, dark and heavy; after a few > repetitions, discharge with yawning, repeat and more yawning, > repeat-repeat-repeat and then I get interested in glass balls (which I > always was, along with the opposer). The glass balls can now be larger and > lighter and light transmitting and more "real". All this is "change > occurring", right? Then they can start to take on colors, according to the > scale of color. So everytime I repeatedly put the concept of glass balls > all around me in my "here" actual physical space I get a nice surprise, > compared to how it started out. I'm discharging on the other side of the IP > state (or duality) so I continue. So it appears I'm running through an > aesthetic IP condition re something about glass balls, and/or just about > putting things in my actual space around me. It does feel awkward. > > Eventually, depending upon the significance of the subject matter, there is > no more change occurring and I can repeatedly put them around me. And, > before no-more-change, AMAZINGLY, it also releases any charge I have re any > current and repressed stressors because now that too is coming up to view > while discharging. All I'm creating now is a pure and refined colorless > glass ball - almost nothing. I can also make it dark, heavy and solid and > put that all around me and I can know that too. Nor more ridging, feel > relaxed, no more discharging. This of course, takes a lot longer than it > takes to type about it and I left out some tedious details re all the > aesthetic attachments and aversions encountered because not everyone has > the case on aesthetics that I do. Let's just say I feel very relaxed right > now and would be ready to have another bring something into existence and > work through any changes that occur there. > > A person with fewer IP states or fewer or lesser charged up items and a > relatively peaceful time with others would breeze through RI and find it > tons of fun. > > I'm not dogmatic on Dennis' instructs, and it is okay to question > everything, even Dennis. I'm simply seeking understanding of it, and the > first paragraph of your post greatly contributed to my understanding of why > Dennis wrote the way he did, thank you. > > I'm now going to take a look and duplicate what you wrote about RI using > "another". > > I can't tell you how much I appreciate your detailed feedback, thank you. > Very encouraging. > > Colleen
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