Following instructions

Q: Suppose I don't sense a fine vibration, a tingling sensation, or any of that. Is that important?

It is important. But you may not sense it the first 10 or 15 times, because you are new at this.

In every facet of this relaxation, you are not as deeply relaxed as you would be the tenth time that you practice this, because everything is new to you. Consequently, you are not going to feel a lot of things. You might even go to sleep. Hibernation will take over and pull you into a sleep cycle, rather than go through the whole thing, because you are not accustomed to this.

So you see, so many things happen to you when you are first experiencing this conditioning. The fact that you don't feel this tingling sensation is one of them. You won't feel it the first time, but by the tenth time you will. You'll start feeling a tingling sensation, because you are totally relaxed at every level.

Now, is it important?

Yes, it is important. It is important because you are going to have to imagine and concentrate on that area where you want to feel that tingling sensation. That's important for your relaxation. It will induce your relaxation, and it will be a lot better than otherwise.

Q: You have talked about not holding anything back when you do the Long Relax. What do you mean by that?

To get completely involved. If you don't get involved completely in what you're doing, that means you have a conflict within yourself.

What could it be?

Possibly that you don't believe in what you are doing, that you might be wasting your time, that you have other things to do. So you must get involved.

You must offer yourself to either the lecturer's instructions, or if you are doing it on your own, you must be able to devote this hour or so solely to what you are going to do.

The reason that you are doing it must be established. The reason is very important, because that particular reason is going to be your desire.

There should always be a desire for you to practice your relaxation exercise.

A desire for what? A desire to accomplish what? You must establish this before you do the exercise.

So this is why it is important for you to get totally involved in this. Forget everything else.

Q: It seems like some people don't want to give up control.

If you don't get involved totally with this, then there is something wrong.

Now, if you do want to relax and still you have this tendency, then practice the exercise over and over. It will be a lot easier the second time to relax, and even easier the third time to let go of your control, because you have learned how to relax.

A lot of people don't want to relax because they are afraid. They are afraid because they think that they may pass out, or because they feel some sensations that are very strange. Maybe they start getting short of breath, or their heart beats faster.

These things do happen. They happen because you are relaxing.

How can you relax your lungs and your breathing mechanism evenly? One will relax more than the other, and this will cause this breathing rhythm that you will start noticing.

You have never felt your heart beating this vividly because you have never relaxed.

This is what scares these people and keeps them from trying to relax. But it is the best thing that could happen to you.

It is only natural that you will feel these things. You might feel them a little less the second time. As you keep practicing, you won't even notice them.

The other thing that happens is going to sleep. You go to sleep easily because you have never relaxed like this, and you don't have experience relaxing so much without going to sleep.

So rather than to follow through with this, you have a tendency of falling asleep, because you don't have any practice in relaxing.

Once you acquire the practice, you can stay awake and do just great.

Q: How do you learn that? A lot of people have a problem with falling asleep during the Long Relax.

You just keep on practicing, with conscious awareness.

We're talking about conscious awareness -- that we should relax with conscious awareness. So you should work harder to be able to activate yourself in the process of your relaxing -- using your imagination, or whatever, to stay awake. The first time it won't be easy, but it will be a lot easier later on, when you acquire expedience.

Continue: Continuing to practice