The sanyama transformations occur on consciousness but consciousness focusses on an object. The object can be of the mind as in the moment of now (see above). Or it can be of the senses or physical body or even something outside the body. Whatever the object is it contains everything we need to transform. It has its past present and future already within.

Every object is itself the result of transformations. The Buddhists say the essential nature of everything is emptiness or stillness. This is true when the transformations are worked through.

Sanyama shows us the inner workings of the thing we focus on regardless of what it is.

In fact, sanyama on the three transformations gives you knowledge of the past and future! 

Next topic: Understanding others

Using the three processes on yourself will allow you powers which I will explain. However, all powers become hindrances if they are cultivated for themselves. First, how to remove unhappiness.

In the space left by a thought ending and before a new one begins there exists a moment of now. Focussing on those moments transforms the consciousness into silence. This is Process 1.

Gently restraining new arisings brings a continual flow towards stillness. This is Process 2.

Continuing transforms the consciousness towards one-pointedness. This is Process 3.

Continuing still further transforms the consciousness until unhappiness is resolved.

Next topic: The scope of the sanyama transformations

Sanyama is more important to haleness than the eight aspects to dwelling in the self and perfect haleness (see §15). Rules are always there to be broken and superceded and using sanyama may allow you to do this. However, even sanyama is outside pure haleness.

Next topic: How to remove unhappiness

Understanding sanyama is crucial. Here in the west we do not have the words for some of these mental processes but we probably know them. This lack of vocabulary might be why our spiritual development is stifled.

Process 1: Holding the attention on an object. The object might be physical, like a candle. The object might be a process, like the breath. The object might even be mental like a thought or a feeling. Being able to just watch it is crucial. The more effort you have to use to stay focussed the more exhausted you will become and the harder it is to restart.

Process 2: Allowing your awareness to flow towards the point of attention. 

Process 3: Being aware that the awareness just is. You are just being - unbounded - in stillness.

The movement from process 1 to process 3 means focussing on an object and ending in a place of stillness. It is called sanyama.

Sanyama can be mastered and when it is perfect clarity shines. Try it now on any object.

Next topic: Sanyama part 2

Looking after your body requires you to allow all the joints to move freely. As you get older your range of movements will be reduced unless you do something about it. Yoga poses take the joints through all possible positions. The postures should be held until they are steady and comfortable. Pain and effort are not requirements to being healthy.

The physical postures are mastered when all effort is relaxed and the mind is not distracted.

When this occurs we are no longer upset by the play of opposites.

Looking after your energy also requires exercises. Exercises regulating the breath, often called pranayama, can increase ones energy. Pranayama is not exclusively practised with the breath. but can take us beyond the realm of duality to see things as they truly are.

And then the mind is ready for stillness and contemplation.

The senses will then naturally go inward and you will obtain complete mastery over them.

Next Topic: Section 3: Hinderances (and their associated powers) on the path to haleness.

As I have already said there are 5 rules for living: simplicity, contentment, purification, refinement and surrender to the Lord.

Simplicity brings freedom from grand philosophical ideas and destroys identification with the body. What follows is clear thinking, cheerfulness, mastery of the senses, and easy concentration which all lead to being hale.

From contentment, unsurpassed happiness is gained.

By purification, the body and senses are perfected.

Refinement allows you to know perfection.

And from surrender to the Lord absolute clarity is obtained.

When you are firmly established in non-violence all beings around you cease to feel hostility.

When you are firmly established in truthfulness action accomplishes its desired end.

When you are firmly established in integrity, all riches present themselves freely.

When you are firmly established in discipline, strength is generated.

When you are firmly established in non-attachment the nature and purpose of life is understood.

These are simple laws, easy to understand and just plain true. Either you follow them or, you don't and, suffer the consequences

Next topic: Following the rules for living

When negative feelings restrict us the cause should be found and the opposite cultivated. Sometimes just finding the cause is sufficient.

Negative feelings, such as violence, are damaging to life, whether we act on them ourselves or cause or condone them in others. They are born of greed, anger or delusion (ie. prejudice), and may be slight, moderate or intense. Theie fruit is what feels like endless ignorance and suffering. To remember this is to cultivate the opposite.

Next topic: Becoming firmly established in the laws of life

There are five rules for living.

• Simplicity
• Contentment
• Purification
• Refinement
• Surrender to your Lord

Perfect Knowledge goes through seven stages. I will explain the stages later but first you need to know the route.

There are eight aspects to dwelling in the self and perfect haleness

• the laws of life
• the rules for living
• looking after the body
• looking after your energy
• contemplation
• focussing
• focussed contemplation
• and finally the settled mind

When the self does something it just does it. This is being in the zone, everything just works as it should. This is because there are no filters between the self and the self's actions. There is no karma.

The sole reason for the ego, for all egos, is to identify the self. The ego and it's world disappear for the self. When the self is in action you can not witness your actions they are perfect.

The self is obscured by the world but it happens for a reason. It happens so that both may be discovered.

It is prejudice that causes the self to be obscured and unhappiness to come about. But when all prejudice disappears so does the ego leaving only the self and haleness.

The way to remove prejudice is by employing the opposite. The opposite is undisturbed and continuous discriminative judgement. (For example, ask the question: Have I got it? answer and then ask the question again. And keep going through this loop. It ends in a still point. You have to do it to see it.

Next topic: Perfect Knowledge

Unhappiness is the root of karma. It is also creates egos. An ego is born, lives a limited amount of time and has experiences.

The ego experiences suffering and also delight, depending on the cause of the unhappiness that created the ego.

To the wise person all ego lives are suffering (even the delightful experiences) so they do not get involved with them.

Consciousness believing ego to be the self is the cause of suffering.

Ego can be recognised by its characteristics, they are:

• desire
• inertia
• obscurity

Next topic: The Self

Unhappiness in it simple form can be removed by seeking the root of the unhappiness. You ask yourself the question "Is this the root of my unhappiness?" while thinking of a possible root. You will get an answer. If you get to the real root you get to a still point and you know. If you get a lot of inner dialogue saying "Yes, of course it is, blah, blah, blah..." then you haven't. It is easy to fool yourself.

(In fact this is the basis of the Boulderstone Technique. We connect directly with the person and can feel what they feel. The 'question' can be in the form of an possible allergen placed on the person or a mental image either way the root of unhappiness can be discovered and removed.)

Unhappiness in its complex form can be removed using meditation. Basically, this involves breaking the unhappiness down into a number of simple forms.

Unhappiness is also the root of karma. Karma creates outcomes, with us in the present and also in the future. Remove the unhappiness and the karma also dissolves.

Next topic: Ego

Unhappiness can be:

• Buried
• Confined to certain areas (like work)
• Distracting
• Or obvious

Looking again at the causes of unhappiness

It is easy to read this and understand it intellectually but you have to do the practise. Practise means focussing, until you reach a still point, on the real you.

Doing this leads to haleness and removes unhappiness. Understanding unhappiness, where it comes from and how it works, allows us to properly deal with it.

The causes of unhappiness

 The causes of unhappiness are:

• Prejudice
• Attachment
• Aversion
• I-am-ness
• Fear of death

You can achieve haleness through contemplation, the more subtle the focus of contemplation the closer to emptiness you get to.

When awareness accompanies emptiness then you get knowledge of yourself. If you don't have this then you will be working from the ego, which will inevitably lead to unhappiness.

When there is knowledge of yourself, understanding and wisdom are available.

Knowledge gained from understanding and wisdom is different from other forms of ego based knowledge.

Understanding and wisdom do not generate unhappiness but even better than that they dissolve the causes of unhappiness.

So you would think that understanding and wisdom are to be sought after. Indeed they are but when they are relinquished, in the same way the ticking of the clock in a quiet room is relinquished, haleness without cause comes into existence. There is nothing finer.

This ends section 1, with a way to be hale without effort, mainly theory but with some real hints about how to gain haleness. 

Next Topic: Section 2: How to work towards haleness.

Through contemplation unhappiness goes, individuality disappears, and you can see things exactly as they are. This state is called many things but it doesn't matter what it is called it is the experience that counts. For the moment I will call it Summer Party (as good a name as any.) In the end it leads to haleness.

A birthday Summer Party could be most enjoyable but the perfect Summer Party (for me) would be sitting on the South Downs of Southern England with warm sunshine, blue skies with those white, flat-bottomed clouds drifting by. Lying on a blanket with my wife, staring up at the sky. No thoughts, no worries just peace = emptiness.

The emptiness that is produced by a specific Summer Party (in this case birthday) is not as deep as that provided by a non-specific Summer Party (in this case lying on the South Downs.)

It's contemplation of subtle, non-specific, things that leads to the deepest emptiness. But even the deepest emptiness doesn't lead to enlightenment, perfect happiness or haleness. For that you need to follow what emptiness leads to.

Next topic: 9: Where Emptiness Leads 

There are many ways to happiness and haleness and it can be easy to achieve. Some of them are listed here but reading about them alone will not get you there. You must do the work but it isn't difficult unless you believe the crap that has been fed you.

Contemplation is focussed thinking, without effort. Try it now.

Haleness is achieved through contemplating:

• anything that has a steadying influence
• anything that doesn't make you sad
• another being that has achieved haleness
• or even remaining aware while sleeping and dreaming

Another way to perfect happiness and haleness is through use of the breath.

As you breathe in and out so your mind state changes, whether you are aware of it or not.

After you have taken a breath, and before you exhale, your mind is poised to begin something new. This is when a new thought can start up.

On the other hand, after you breathe out, and before you breathe in, your mind goes quieter, as if you have finished something. If you breathe out and hold it you can extend the quiet bit. If you breathe out, gently hold it and remember the state of mind that is produced and keep that thought into the next exhale and retention you will set up a chain of events that lead to perfect happiness. Practise makes perfect.

Next Topic: Other Ways to Perfect Happiness Part 4

Another way to perfect haleness is through identification. First you have to imagine the perfect person. (This is not necessarily a religious exercise but if you happen to be Christian and male you could use Jesus as your object of imagining.)

The exercise is to imagine you are the absolute perfect person. You then have to deal with all the 'stuff' that comes up. (If you use arrogance and egoism to overcome the 'stuff' you will not get very far - although you might end up running a country but how far is that?)

The absolute perfect person is someone not affected by anything they do, is unaffected by the past and does not have any current problems.

The absolute perfect person is the seed of all wisdom.

The absolute perfect person has been the teacher to everyone looking for truth because they are beyond time and are always available.

The absolute perfect person can be represented by a symbol, including a word. (That is personal to you.)

• If the symbol is recited, with understanding, it brings one into line with it. (Most people do this anyway in times of stress using "Jesus" or "God" or even "f***". Each are used for the same reason, to bring you in line with something more powerful than your failing self. Reciting a name of God without understanding is a waste of time.)
• It has the power to overcome obstacles and allows introspection.
• The obstacles that it can overcome are: disease, inertia, doubt, mistakes, laziness, lack of control, mistaken ideas, lack of perseverance and not knowing your path in life.
• These obstacles in turn cause distractions: pain, depression, physical unsteadiness, irregular breathing.
• Each distraction can be countered by focussing (see above.)
• Different religions do this differently. But they all have the same effect. You can contemplate a crucifix, recite a mantra or sing a song but the idea is to move you closer to haleness. Just because religions use something that works doesn't mean you shouldn't use it if you are not connected to that religion. Happiness is available to all.

Next Topic: Other Ways to Perfect Happiness Part 3