The Wisdom of Hypatia: Ancient Spiritual Practices for a More Meaningful Life (19 page)

96 the discipline of desire

Circumscribing the Self (Sitting)
: There are two ways to perform this practice, either as a sitting meditation or in ordinary life circumstances. For a sitting meditation, find a place where you can sit without serious disturbance from other

people or hard-to-ignore distractions (radio, TV, phone, etc.). However, you

do not have to be in a special place that is isolated, nor do you need to sit in

any special posture. Your eyes can be open or closed. The basic practice is to

go through the steps outlined above. (1) Put aside and judge as indifferent any-

thing that is not in your control. This could be things other people are saying

or doing, or other things that are happening in your world (pleasant as well as

unpleasant). If anything comes to mind, say to your self, “I am indifferent to

X,” and let it go. If nothing comes immediately to mind, then probe your day a

little, and you will probably find something. Gently banish it with a judgment

of indifference.
You are now in yourself
. (2) Next turn to the past and future. Are you worried about something, or happily anticipating something, that is not

in your control? Then affirm your indifference to it. Do the same with the past:

regrets, resentments, anger, happy memories; let them go.
You are now in the

present moment
. (3) Turn your attention to your current feelings. This includes discomfort or pain in your body, but also pleasant or unpleasant emotions

and moods. You cannot change these, but you can affirm your indifference

to them. It may help to inspect them from the perspective of bare reality. For

example, “My empty stomach is sending nerve impulses to a part of my brain,

signaling its emptiness.” “A bird is making sounds—vibrations in the air—that

my brain interprets as melodious.”
You are now in a state of indifference to indifferent things
. (4) Rest serene and tranquil in the present moment, experiencing your higher self as the imperturbable Empedoclean sphere: smooth, simple,

shining, perfectly reflective, suffused with tranquil wellbeing and loving-kind-

ness. Pleasant or unpleasant thoughts may arise in your mind, but banish them

gently with an affirmation, “I am indifferent to that.” You can rest in this state

as long as you like, but when you rise for your other activities, try to keep the

serene state of mind.

the discipline of desire 97

Circumscribing the Self (Active):
After you have practiced circumscribing the self as a sitting meditation, you can practice applying it in the circumstances of everyday life, especially when you are stressed, angry, worried, or suffering in

some other way. Wherever you are, go through the steps in your mind, brief-

ly acknowledging the impressions that are disturbing you and affirming your

indifference to them. Finally visualize your higher soul as the Empedoclean

sphere, tranquil because the exterior turmoil is reflected from it or slides off of

it. If you practice circumscribing the self, you will be able to use it when you

feel under assault from exterior circumstances.

Indifference to Misfortune

How can we be indifferent to disease, injury, death, and the like? We have to think differently about them, and one way to do this is to see them from the perspective of universal Nature. For the same Nature that has enabled humans to evolve and thrive also enables the viruses and bacteria that cause disease and death to survive. Indeed, without competition and death there would be no evolution at all, and we humans would not exist. If there were life on earth at all, it would be at the level of bacteria.

Our tendency is to judge disease, aging, and death negatively when they happen to
us
, but the expanded perspective of universal Nature shows us that they are necessary to the processes of Nature, which helps us to be indifferent to them, to consent to them, and even to welcome them. (This is a version of the Viewpoint of Science discussed in Ch. 3.)
Neutral Description of Disease
: Give a neutral description of disease in general, or of a specific disease, as a purely natural process, which allows you to view it