1 Path of Surak ______________________________________________________________________________ The Path of Surak The following is a collection of material by James W. Meritt and does NOT represent his final efforts and is not to be taken as canon The Philosophy of Surak 4 Summary of Surak's teachings 7 Intuition 8 Patience 8 Vulcan Specialty Schools 9 T'an sahat 9 .Kalinahr 10 C'thia 10 Meditation 11 Logic 13 Lyras Lecture on Logic 15 Philosophy of Logic 17 Mathematical Logic 18 Motivation 19 Reason 20 Emotion 20 Similarities to Zen 26 Zen 26 What is Zen? (the simple question) 27 What is Zen? (the real question) 27 Satori or enlightenment 27 The misconception of self 28 Beyond illusion 28 Some thoughts on zen and modern physics 29 Quantum physics and intuitive knowledge 30 Inter-dependence: interactions and non-local variables 32 Another dimension in reality 32 Time in physics and instant 33 The universe 35 Modernity: So Dignified, So Disconnected 35 The Problems of Modernity 37 Who is a Modern Buddhist? 37 Six paramitas 43 The Transcendence 44 Mystical Zen Buddhism 49 The Teachings of Mystical Zen Buddhism 50 The Future of Zen Buddhism in the West 58 Monkey in the House of Six Windows 61 On The Use Of Words 67 Applied Yoga 68 Training 71 Language 72 General Semantics 76 Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 78 What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? 78 What are the goals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? 78 2 What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? 78 What are the goals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? 79 Ellis' Rational Emotive Therapy (RET) 79 Beck's Cognitive/Behavioural Therapy (CBT) 81 What Is Cognitive Therapy? 83 Cognitive Distortions include: 85 Cognitive Restructuring 86 How Cognitive Therapy is Different. 86 How effective is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy? 87 Stoicism 87 Background 88 Principal Ideas 88 General Description 92 Basic Ideas of the Stoics 93 Stoic Philosophy 93 The Major Tenets of Stoicism 94 The Basic Tenets of Stoicism 94 The four essential tenants of Stoic Thought 95 The Stoa 96 Stoic Logic 97 Stoic Physics 97 Stoic Ethics 98 Moral Development 99 The Emotions 100 Preferred and Rejected Indifferents 101 Answers to Objections 104 Stoicism and Christianity 106 An Imaginary Conversation on Ethics Between a Stoic and an Aristotelian 106 Characters 106 Agreements between the Two Views 106 Differences Between the Views 108 External and Bodily Values 109 External and Bodily Disvalues 109 The Value of Life 110 The Emotions 110 Emotions and Judgments 111 Pain 112 Once Again: External and Bodily Things 113 Moral Reasons and Ethical Conservatism 113 Pragmatism 114 Objectivism 115 Humanistic Principles 116 Sayings attributed to Surak of Vulcan 120 Sayings attributed to Spock of Vulcan 121 On Being a Vulcan 121 On Logic 121 On Existence 121 On Death 121 On Killing 122 On the Warrior Mentality 122 On Intelligence 122 On Fear 122 On vegetarians (sort of) 122 On Computers 122 3 On emotion 122 On knowledge 123 On Humans behaviour 123 On Humanoid behaviour 123 On Fascinating 123 On diplomacy 123 On madness 123 On Appreciation 123 On Beauty 124 On Creativity 124 On Wanting 124 Spock’s mental rambling 124 Conclusion 126 A voice out of the darkness spoke softly about improving the mind. This voice was that of Surak, who gained numerous followers over the years. Surak's philosophy was that of peace and disciplining the mind. However, while many people were absorbed in Surak's teachings, others were unwilling to accept this passive approach. The essence of Surak's teaching is in arriving at the truth through logical process. Emotion is illogical, thus making them impure, and deterrent to truth. However, Vulcans are born with the same emotions that afflicted their violent ancestors, but the continual mind conditioning, the t'an s'at, gives them the impassivity sought after by almost all Vulcans. The t'an s'at is an intellectual deconstruction of emotional patterns, a lifelong process that strives for absolute detachment from all emotion. Though not all can arrive at the penultimate pure logical state, the exacting process of mental control gives Vulcans enough to conform to the ideals of Vulcan society. Vulcans of this creed are impervious to greed, deception, anger, and all other vices that still plague the Terran psyche well into the 24th century. Vulcans believe knowledge to be the only defense against unknown dangers, and pursue them with the intellect and logic that makes them some of the finest scholars in the Federation. Their pursuit of knowledge and impassivity of emotion are the driving forces in a Vulcan's life. Logic is the cement of our civilization with which we ascend from chaos using reason as our guide. ~T'Plana'hath The Philosophy of Surak A movement toward a lasting peace on this planet will not magically appear, nor will its goal be achieved by those who cease reading this now, but it will be achieved, and for those who put forth the effort, there will be a greater reward than we have ever lead ourselves to believe exists. The solution is, simply stated, to keep our passions in check so that they will not cause entropy. Use logic so that you will know what causes entropy and how to stop it. You may say, “That is not simple ” Indeed the trip we must take as a civilized people is not a simple one, but it will be a fulfilling one. It is much like a trek across the desert, where the terrain is inhospitable, the creatures unfriendly, and the journey seemingly endless. But like the sight of the occasional oasis or green edges of the fertile land, the value of what destination is reached is tantamount to any suffering along the way. It is a joy that cannot be taken away from one’s katra. The essential ingredient is that of the abhoration of violence. This is the permissible passion; the one that leads to its mastery. This is not innate in many of us, and must be taught. One does not learn this from another person, or from one’s teacher, but rather from an event one sees that encourages the opening of eyes, and the acceptance of diversity. 4 Once this rebirth occurs, it changes a person for good, and for the good. The planet has never been free of war. We have seen how nations send armed forces to keep peace instead of letting tyrants and terrorists fight amongst themselves, but the end result is the same. War. Fighting war with war is humanity's biggest mistake. We seem to be creatures of great intellect and the ability to learn from our mistakes, and certainly the mistakes of others (if history is taught to every generation), so why, then, do we continue to fight war with more war? The problem is that we are using the word fight . If we fight, so that we do not need to fight, we are still fighting, aren't we? It is an endless cycle that cannot be broken…unless...we don't fight at all. Now there is a novel idea When someone approaches you with hate, give him peace, and there will be no fight. After all, it takes two people to have a fight. If one is unwilling, then the other will not have his way. Their devotion to logical thinking came as a result of near self-extermination in ancient times when the Vulcans were a hostile, warrior race whose lives were ruled by strong passions. Surak, the father of Vulcan logical thought lived during the planet's last great war. After both sides were devastated, Surak met with emissaries from both sides to establish a workable peace. The philosophy of logic eventually prevailed. In the ensuing years since Surak, there has been little to disrupt the peaceful and logical existence of the Vulcans. The sayings, wisdom and teachings of Surak, and those attributed to him after his death, play an extremely important part in Vulcan culture and society. Although all Vulcans do not follow his teachings in the same manner and some have even rejected his teachings, the vast majority of Vulcans revere Surak above all other Vulcans past or present. It is unlikely this will ever change as long as an advanced culture lives on T'Khasi. Recent information has shown that selected items from Surak's teachings, approved by the government, are even taught in Romulan society Surak quietly began to convert those around him to his philosophy of logic and control of emotions. He developed rigorous disciplines. As more and more Vulcans accepted his way, the situation on Vulcan began to change. People discarded their weapons and destructive emotions. One myth is that the Vulcan discards all emotions. This is not true. The emotions remain but under tight control. The key is controlling external display of these emotions. As in all revolutions, groups of Vulcans rose up against Surak's changes. There were many attempts on Surak's life and ultimately he lost his life on a peace mission. Much of the history of this time is a mystery. The point is that Surak, against all odds, succeeded in saving the Vulcan race from its path of self-destruction and forever changed Vulcan society. It is now known that a large group of those who opposed Surak gathered a fleet of spaceships and left Vulcan to find a world of their own. These pilgrims were all thought to have perished while attempting this journey. But some did survive and the Romulans are living proof of this. The Romulans are a living reminder (and embarrassment) of the way many Vulcans were before Surak. Surak maintained that the root cause of all the problems on Vulcan lay in the uncontrolled outpouring of the people’s emotions. His followers swore to live their lives by an ethical system devised by Surak and based purely on logical principles. All expression of emotions, negative or positive, was completely forbidden. Although this new philosophy spread rapidly across Vulcan, a minority rejected Surak's ideals. Surak's philosophy entails IDIC, logic, control of emotions and peace, but even these are not truly fleshed out well, though they can be discerned with an eye toward the language developed by Vulcan philosophers and expositors and possible human philosophies which parallel or from which they could be derived. A cult, by definition, is a religious sect lead by a charismatic leader who often enforces an authoritarian form of power. The Vulcan philosophy does not require a leader. (Even the Roman Catholic Church has a leader, and furthermore, an army) The Vulcan philosophy does not promote, and does usually not permit suicide of any kind or demand money for membership. Vulcans promote peace and neutrality, not war and violence. Vulcans do not desire power (or anything); thus Vulcanism is not considered to be a cult. 5 Consider that, as it says in the Bible, that smoke comes before flame, and insults come before violence. If this is true, then in theory, we could virtually stop all war by simply using our words in a more respectful manner. We secretly fear each other. This causes us to hate each other. You see, war and violence stems from hate, which itself stems from fear. So I say to you, cast out fear. The question asked concerning why we have not seen that war is not prudent, can be answered by saying that, because of our passions, we are blinded to see logic. We must put logic first, and then allow our emotions to live out their lives, but always under complete control. There are biblical precedents to these claims. Sirach 18;30 Don't be controlled by your lust; keep your passions in check. Sirach 21;21 An intelligent person will smile quietly while a fool roars with laughter. Sirach 22;16-18 A wooden beam can be put into a building so firmly that an earthquake cannot shake it loose; a person can be trained to use reason and sense so well that he keeps his head when a crisis comes. A mind that thinks things through intelligently is like a firm wall, finely decorated. Small stones on top of a wall will not stay put when the wind blows, and a person whose stupid ideas have made him timid will not be able to stand up to frightening situations. Sirach 23;16 ...sexual passion is a hot, blazing fire that cannot be put out at will; it can only burn itself out. A man who lives for nothing but sexual enjoyment will keep on until the fire destroys him. Sirach 28;5 If you cannot get rid of your anger, you have no hope of forgiveness. Sirach 28;6-7 So give up hate and live by the Lord's commands... Instead of getting upset over your neighbors faults, overlook them. Sirach 28;11-12 An argument that blazes out suddenly can lead to violence. You can blow on a spark to make it glow, or you can spit on it to put it out. Either way, you do it with your mouth. Sirach 33;22 Keep control over all that you do. Psalm 46;9-10 He stops wars all around the world. He breaks spears, and destroys swords. Stop fighting, he says, and know that I am God. Vulcanism, by definition, is the intense study of logic to the point of impassivity. The philosophy that stresses that emotion is illogical and thus impure. It stresses that peace is essential and that violence should be avoided at all costs if possible. Even though Vulcans typically believe in a separation of philosophy and religion, outsiders may consider Vulcanism to be a monotheistic religion because it insists that the universe has a creator. Arie'mnu- This is the mastery of emotion--controlling it to fit your needs. Instead of passion controlling you, you control it. Logic stresses that it must be controlled in order for one to keep a clear mind and to attain all peace sought after. Impassivity- The state of not feeling or expressing emotions, or being dispassionate. Also, this state should complement a state of logic. The difference between feeling happy and feeling impassive is the difference between winning a war and never fighting one. Vulcans are advocates of peace, or pacifists. There are different degrees of Arie'mnu involved in Vulcanism. The following degrees are numbered in order of difficulty (which is directly related to the amount of control necessary for attainment). 1.) A control level of one implies that a person is capable of controlling the facial expressions normally exhibited due to an emotion the majority of the time, but still feels the emotion. 2.) Level two implies a person can control all expressions of emotion the majority of the time, but still feels the emotion. 3.) Level three is where emotion is there, but not expressed, or even felt. It has no influence, the majority of the time. 4.) Mastery level four is complete mastery. In this state, the emotion is completely cast out, and is no longer a part of you. This state is also referred to as Kolinahr. As there are different levels of mastery, there are naturally going to be different degrees of 6 liberalism when applying this philosophy. This is good, but potentially harmful if not closely monitored. The most liberal of Vulcans should still fall within mnu level two, or a radical could even fall under level one, but this will be looked at with distaste (but never prejudice). Summary of Surak's teachings Cast out Fear. There is no room for anything else until you cast out fear - this does not imply rejection of fear, by pretending not to be afraid. To cast it out you must first ACCEPT it; you must admit it is there. Say: I am afraid. and through this be reduced to total helplessness, this point is potentially the most powerful. Just past it is the great leap to true power: The move through fear, to beyond fear. Especially go past the fear of the Other, the Unknown. Cast out hate and rage. Cast out greed and envy. Cast out all emotion that speeds entropy, whether it be love or hate. Cast out these emotions by using reason to accept them, and then move past them. Use in moderation emotions that do not speed up entropy (e.g. compassion). Ideally, do not harm. Harm speeds up the entropy of the universe, and indirectly, your own. More practically, do as little harm as possible. Harm no one's internal, invisible integrities. Leave others the privacies of their minds and lives. Intimacy remains precious only insofar as it is inviolate; invading it turns it to torment. Reach out to others courteously: accept their reaching in the same way, with careful hands. Do not murder. All action has equal reaction: what force you inflict, inevitably returns. As far as possible, do not kill. Can you return life to what you kill? Then be slow to take life. Master your passions so that they are used to slow entropy. Do no harm to those that harm you - offer them peace: then you will have peace. Learn reason above all. Learn clear thought. Learn to discern that which seems to be, and that what you wish it to be, from what truly is. Learn the truth of reality, the reality of truth C'Thia. What is - is. This will set you free. We have differences. May we, together, become greater than the sum of both of us. There is no offense where none is taken. Nobility lies in action not in name. The spear in the other's heart is the spear in your own. He talks peace if it is the only way to live. Do no harm to those that harm you. Offer them peace, then you will have peace. There is no other wisdom and no other hope for us but that we grow wise. Reach out to others courteously. Accept their reaching in the same way, with careful hands. 7 Time is a path from the past to the future and back again. The present is the crossroads of both. Wide experience increases wisdom, provided the experience is not sought purely for the stimulation of sensation. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one. Intuition ...doesn't the concept carry over with Spock in Unification, when he tells Picard he had gifts his father never understood, namely intuition and the faith to follow that instinct? I think he adds that he had found it a source of great strength. Surely 'reason-truth' is only a part of the character of the mature individual. intuition and faith may be somewhat alien to Vulcan philosophy, depending on who is constructing it at the time ;) Patience Patience - The universe is not perfect, and many things may take quite a bit of time to work, especially dealings with others who do not necessarily share ones beliefs. Patience is a virtue of many more quietist philosophies and cultures. This does not always derive from a presumption of the imperfection of the all, however. Indeed, Impatience may speak to our immaturity given the perfection of c'thia (the way (things are)) A Vulcan ordered to sit and wait would do so only if it was logical so to do. If it was logical to act when inaction was required, the Vulcan would have no compunction in disobeying the order, even if it subsequently got her into trouble. The Vulcan would maintain that her actions were entirely logical, you see, as if that gave her justification. At this point it becomes clear that c'thia/logic begins to have a faulty significance to it if we are not careful. it is not that an action is deducible to the intellectual mind but almost begins to take on an ethical character. there may be presumed to be a 'Way' which may be discerned, and if this Way leads one to violate reigning authority, then we may also presume that this Way is elemental to the individual's being, a kind of barometer against which acts are judged however, quickly we enter into a Thelemic (cf. Rabelais/Crowley) dilemma. if at any moment the Vulcan (or indeed any individual) may discern that an action is against c'thia (Terran 'illogical'), then how an any sort or reliability be maintained? it is a Thelemic dilemma because in the philosophy of Thelema the individual is presumed to have a 'true will' by which she regulates and discerns her most perfect activity, and thus it compares directly with this example of disobedience as I say above it appears to enter into a type of 'ethics' in that it cannot be completely presumed that what the individual establishes as c'thia is necessarily to be so in the overview of the action taken. the authority will probably review the action and determine itself whether it was 'right' (cf. officers ordered to perform heinous acts of violence in situations like WWII Germany; this exact ethical dilemma is resolved by the courts in support of disobedience even by Terran standards within the film 'Nuts') Vulcans are extremely capable of waiting. One of the best descriptions of patience is having something to do while you wait. The Vulcans are capable of high order calculation and thought inside the mind. If you can work on your projects while you wait there is no reason 8 to be in a hurry. Perhaps so, and yet again perhaps it is a cultural difference in a similar manner that, given the endless rebirths and focus on the present moment that is often emphasized within Buddhism, perhaps such practices as sitting has enabled the Vulcan to remain absorbed even without a lot of stimuli (this may be the essence of 'nirvana' or 'zazen' despite their mystical and practical descriptors (the first an extinguishment of craving the objects of desire, the second a static absorption in the present moment) Vulcan Specialty Schools T'an sahat The t'an sahat is the intellectual deconstruction of emotional patterns. It is to be understood that the t'an sahat is a lifelong process, and that one will only very slowly attain the mental control they strive for, which is why a daily regimen of the following steps for the rest of one's life is necessary. Acceptance: You must know that you are a freethinking individual, who can make a choice for yourself. If you understand logic, then you will see that it is logical to adopt the Vulcan way of life. Others will surely tell you that you should not, but give you no logical reason. They will insist that you are violating their rights by not laughing at their jokes, and jumping into a fight with them, but you must realize that, as I said, you have the right to do what is logical, and no one can take that away from you. You will find that it is difficult to make friends, and that certain people may no longer wish to be your friend, or vise versa. This is due to the fact that you are different. You should explain to people that you have chosen a new way of life, and ask them to accept and respect your choice, if they do not, then they are not truly your friends. Those who stick with you and encourage your individuality will be worth more to you than any other of life's riches, for they are true friends who do not wish to discourage you. You will find that it is more difficult to make friends, but that is only because your definition of a friend has changed. Instead of finding someone who acts the same, and dresses the same and looks the same, you will have a more meaningful relationship with someone who can understand who you are. Seclusion: It is important not to be influenced by the emotions of others. It is possible, with Vulcan mental control, to be exposed to emotional stimuli and not be influenced. However, in the first stages of the t'an sahat, where there is a lack of control, the individual must prevent themselves from being influenced. DO NOT watch television that is considered to be emotionally moving. That will only complicate the situation. Use time carefully, and ask yourself whether emotion or logic motivates a particular action. If your answer is that you are acting on emotion, then stop immediately to reexamine the situation. It is not implied that all friendships and associations must cease, only that there should be a period of solitude (a week or two) to attain mental control. Emotions should be avoided to an extreme in this first stage. Later on, after more control has been established, one will be able to reintegrate oneself into their normal social life with the mental control needed to act logically despite the irrational behavior of others. Please note that the presence of fellow Vulcans is encouraged in this and all stages in order to influence one in a positive way. The Study of Logic- During your periods of solitude it is essential that you truly understand the nature of the principle that you have devoted your life to. Therefore, you must study logic by reading encyclopedias and various other materials on logic and the science of reasoning. If you have not been taught that certain things are right or wrong, then you must decide for yourself. Through your newly found logical reasoning, ask yourself whether certain actions are logical or not. However, logic is not about convenience. What is logical to do may not be what you want to do. That's a good sign that you are having a conflict within your mind, but don't let your wants overtake your needs. Force yourself to do the logical thing instead of the emotional thing. This will quicken your progress toward becoming 9 dispassionate. You will come to realize which actions are moral and which are corrupt through means of logic. Hopefully, once you have a respectable knowledge of logic you will be absolutely certain that logic is the key to knowledge, and that emotion must be mastered in order to reach that state of knowledge that we as Vulcans strive for. .Kalinahr Kalinahr is the equanimity of the way is not simply a kind of emotional control, though I know it may have been portrayed this way at times by Terran media. Instead, look to the measured perspective of the Masters of taoism, their acceptance of the twists and turns even of exciting times (a story relates a sage nodding and saying 'so it is' each time a new twist of 'fate' render an inversion of the circumstance) focus and attention would seem to be a very important part of the more rational species or culture, and I presume the Vulcan no exception to this (cf. Japan and some Chinese). Meditation (by its various forms) would probably be essential to early training in any disciplined system of education if these qualities were considered 'standard' C'thia Respect: This may actually be a subset of logic. Respect for others would seem to be necessary in order to achieve peace and is of course the foundation of IDIC. Respect for oneself is necessary before respect for others can be achieved. Plus, we have seen examples of how Vulcans respect elders in the clan and their parents. Compassion: To me this is summed up in The spear in the other's heart is a spear in your own . Is that not an ultimate statement of compassion for others? We also see that Vulcan's have great compassion from their reluctance to take life - sentient or not. Desire for knowledge: This is actually just a Vulcan trait, and not necessary for Surak's philosophy. However, how can one have logic if there is no knowledge on which to base it? We see this in almost every Vulcan. They see it as a waste not to learn as much as they can. Discipline: Practicing the emotional control of c'thia or the rigors of Kolinahr requires a considerable amount of self-control and meditation. Meditation Meditation encompasses an extremely broad array of practices connected to many of the world's religious and philosophical traditions. Meditation generally includes avoiding (though not harshly) random thought processes and fantasies, and a calming and focusing of the mind. It is not effortful, and can be experienced as just happening. Different practices involve focusing one's attention differently, and a variety of positions and postures including sitting cross-legged, standing, laying down, and walking (sometimes along designated floor patterns). The stated purpose of meditation varies almost as much as the practices. It has been seen as a means of gaining experiential insight into the nature of reality (religious/spiritual or not), or communing with the Deity/Ultimate Reality. Even without the spiritual aspects, many have gained concentration, awareness, self-discipline and equanimity. Meditation is one of the most important tools in the process of mastering emotions. Mental control is essential, and that control can be achieved through meditation. One must customize a routine and engage in it daily to have the desired effect. Later on, after more control has been established, modifications can be made to this routine. These modifications will be discusses later. The following are some meditation exercises. Always go through step one to attain a meditative state, then move on to other steps. 1) When attempting meditation one must be relaxed and in a comfortable position. It is advised to only meditate when you are not very tired so that the fatigue of your body will not cause you mind to be distracted. First, fold your hands so that your index fingers are steepled together. With eyes closed, imagine all the energy in your body flowing to the focal point of your fingers. Feel all the physical space around you disappear. Your exist only in your mind. Your mind is all that exists. Remain in this state for a few minutes to help your 10 mind achieve a meditative state. Observe yourself in this meditative state, and try to move further into your mind where logic is centralized. Try to focus on nothingness. Focus on the focusing. There is no room in meditation for the things of the real world, so file them away to clear your mind. 2) Picture yourself on an island such as Manhattan, and place yourself atop a tall, sky scraping building. This building is the only one around though. You are now meditating atop this building. You see the many clouds of emotion surrounding the structure that is your logical mind. Notice the peace that is being disturbed by these emotions. You realize that you have the power to push them away with your mind. A strong wind coming from your building appears. It blows the clouds away from your structure. Concentrate on your emotional control. If there is little of it, you must establish more. That is what we are attempting. Watch as your emotions grow further away as you are being detached from them. They no longer control you. 3) Picture yourself on an old sailing ship such as those used by early explorers. The ship is in danger of sinking because strong waves of emotion have breached the hull of the ship. Before you can make repairs you must calm the waves of emotion. You start to meditate on the stern of the ship. You simply use your mental control to imagine that you waves are being calmed, and they are. The ship starts to regain attitude control, and you can now repair the damage done to your logic from this storm of illogic. 4) While in a meditative state, focus on a simple geometric shape such as a circle or a triangle (whichever is preferred). Because of the immensely powerful and undisciplined imagination, it is difficult to hold that shape for any period of time. The imagination tries to distort the shape in order to keep the mind occupied. The imagination, as well as the entire human mind has logical and illogical (emotional) tendencies. However, you can train you mind to use logic as means of entertainment, or occupation if you will. When logic is the means of entertainment there is no longer a possibility of feeling bored. Observe the illogical emotions trying to distort the image that you have consciously created within you mind and use logic to hold the image despite the tendencies that the imagination may be going through. If it is successful, you can move on to straight lines and quadrilaterals. Modifications to your meditation routine: 1.) After you have established a reasonable amount of mental control through meditation, usually after a month of daily meditation, you may find that the techniques previously mentioned are no longer of any help in your quest to become more logical. Here is what you should do. Instead of using a powerful wind to push away your emotions, picture yourself installing lasers to the top of the building by soldering them to several places on the top of the building. You can now use them to push away each cloud of emotion. Just simply picture the lasers pushing away the clouds, and you will attain mental control. As you continue to gain mental control you can make the lasers bigger and more powerful in order to illustrate how you can push them away easier. Note; as you continually attain a meditative state, you may not need as much time to do so, and you will be able to jump right onto your logical structure instead of waiting for your mind to do so. You now have a lot more control, so you can do things faster within your mind. 2.) While in a meditative state, go to the center of your mind where the Structure (logic) resides. Inevitably in step #2, you will see that the emotions will resist being push away and controlled. Changing the nature of the attraction can stop this. Since logic and emotion are essentially opposite poles, you may find yourself imagining the emotions trying to cling to your structure. You try and try to push them away but this is futile. I have already stated that felling nothing is like never fighting the war, so if one does not fight the emotion constantly, it is increasingly more likely that he/she will overcome it, for emotion is war. You must imagine yourself pushing the clouds that are emotion toward your structure. Since emotion will resist being controlled, once you let go of the emotion it's inertia will carry it away from you. Try to apply this to every emotional reaction in your daily life to keep control all day, and not just in meditation. When you do this, you will change the nature of