--- title: "Introspective Reflection β€” Scanning the Body and Mind (P004)" heading: "Introspective Reflection β€” Scanning the Body and Mind (P004)" subheading: "" updated: "2025-11-18T00:00:00+00:00" words: 3938 url: https://ananda.icu/talks/practice-series/p004-introspective-reflection-scanning-the-body-and-mind description: "Self-knowledge is an essential fruit of our meditative practice. Through the practice of meditation, our sensitivity to observing physical and mental phenomena will increase. In today's training, we look at methodical techniques of introspective meditation, scanning through the various layers of the body and the mind, to deepen our self-awareness and meditative access." ... [β—‚ Practice Series](https://ananda.icu/cat/talks/practice-series) ⁘ [πŸ“Ί Video β–Έ](https://ananda.icu/video#P004) [🎢 Audio β–Έ](https://ananda.icu/audio#P004) ⁘ [LINK πŸ”—](https://ananda.icu/talks/practice-series/p004-introspective-reflection-scanning-the-body-and-mind) [PDF ](https://ananda.icu/files/pdf/talks/p004-introspective-reflection-scanning-the-body-and-mind.pdf) [MP4 ](https://ananda.icu/files/video/talks/p004-introspective-reflection-scanning-the-body-and-mind.mp4) [OGG ](https://ananda.icu/files/audio/talks/p004-introspective-reflection-scanning-the-body-and-mind.ogg) **Words:** 3938 ⁘ **Length:** 38:21 min ⁘ **Created:** 2024-08-11 ⁘ **Updated:** 2025-11-18 Self-knowledge is an essential fruit of our meditative practice. Through the practice of meditation, our sensitivity to observing physical and mental phenomena will increase. In today's training, we look at methodical techniques of introspective meditation, scanning through the various layers of the body and the mind, to deepen our self-awareness and meditative access. Including: - General Introspective Reflection: Covering Our Being with Awareness - Awareness of Internal Phenomena as Gateways to Deeper Awareness and Practice - Physical Body: Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Gastrointestinal, Neural, and Muscular systems - Vital Body: Subtle sensations and energetic presence in focal areas - Perceptual Mind: Workings of the landing plane of inputs from our senses - Reactive Mind: Formation of valence or positive, negative and neutral reactions - Cohesive Mind: Generation of structures, meanings, narratives and self-identity - Causal Mind: Dynamics of unconscious, subconscious and surface-conscious awareness [ Table of Contents ] - ΒΆ Initial Focus and Insight β€” Into Deeper Practice ↴ - ΒΆ The Basic Scan Spectrum of Self-Reflection ↴ - ΒΆ Detached Self-Reflection β€” Integrated Practice ↴ - ΒΆ Fields of Attention β€” Into Body and Breath ↴ - ΒΆ Fields of Attention β€” Heart and Circulation ↴ - ΒΆ Fields of Attention β€” Other Biological Systems ↴ - ΒΆ Fields of Attention β€” Subtle Energetic Centers ↴ - ΒΆ Into Cognition β€” Observing the Perceptual Mind ↴ - ΒΆ Into Cognition β€” Observing the Affective Mind ↴ - ΒΆ Into Cognition β€” Observing the Cohesive Mind ↴ - ΒΆ Into Cognition β€” Our Unconscious Storehouse ↴ - ΒΆ In Summary β€” Reflective Introspection for Self-Knowledge ↴ **Greetings from the doorway.** Remember to stretch your body before and after your sittings or any other activity that puts strain on your body, so you remain in a flexible state. Things are flowing, streamlined, in your body and in your mind. ### Initial Focus and Insight β€” Into Deeper Practice ΒΆ We have been looking into preliminary practice, training with the help of practice of mantra, with two basic objectives. Three really, but two that we are pursuing at this time. One is obviously simply the insight, the wisdom that arises from a particular suggestion, a particular assertion on the nature of ourselves and reality. So that's always there and that carries with you through your practice. Second, we have been using the mantra to reel in the mind, playing in its orbits, to center it, to bring it to a point of concentration β€” and specifically we have been using sound with various modulations in order to bring that concentration to a particular area, areas of our physical body, our vital or energetic being, and also the different areas of our minds. Now these focal points, as it happens, function as entry points, doors, passages, doorways to something that lies beyond. This initial experience of concentration we are taking as a matter of concentration and contemplation unto itself, in order to discover what's beyond. The mantra has brought us to the passage and then, at that passage, we look deeper β€” what lies beyond the gateway that we have discovered through our initial practice. ### The Basic Scan Spectrum of Self-Reflection ΒΆ Today we're looking at a very simple technique that is used in certain traditions as a technique unto itself, which is also something we can do in time, but at this point we are looking at this method specifically in order to, as a matter, of our means of self-examination, self-reflection. In the initial phase we are looking at the body and the mind as a whole, as a singular field without differentiating the different layers of our composition. As to when you do this, as noted, you can also do that on its own at any time and anywhere. However, what we'd like to do here, to build up on the practice that has been going on so far, rather than introducing something separate. We are integrating it, we are incorporating it, splicing it in into our practice as it were. Suppose I have been sitting here for a given time. Suppose my session is 45 minutes. For the first five minutes I'm getting into the zone, then for 15 I'm doing my repetition, concentration on a particular aspect of my being with the help of a mantra. It is felt physically here, it is also felt β€” the particular pitch and frequency that I just brought on β€” also felt very much at the base of the cranium, and there is a certain impact on the tuning of the mind. So I've done that β€” and now I sit here and I study my being like a scanner. Examining the feelings, the sensations in all of my being, from head downward, descending through the torso. Revisiting the upper body, in my arms all the way to my fingertips. Again returning to my body, through the hips, the lower body, legs, to the tips of my toes. Any sensation, anything that is different, anything that we did not feel before we began our session? And again, back, traveling upward in our bodies. The sequence in itself is not really important β€” and don't need to move your arms about, this is simply as a matter of illustration. Back, through my throat, you can visit the face first if you want, back, through the cranium to the crown of your head. Registering any sensations, any presence that is stronger or that may be weaker than before. ### Detached Self-Reflection β€” Integrated Practice ΒΆ And in here, do not attach to anything that you discover β€” it's simply as good as any other part while you are probing your state of being. There may be a pleasant ticklish sensation, there may be heat, there may be cold, there may be an unpleasant sensation, there may be stimulation, agitation, there may be peace. There may even be a sense of depression, something being shut down, activated, shut down, pleasant, unpleasant β€” it doesn't matter. What matters is that you attend to it. You recognize that it is there, and as such, you gain an attunement into your internal state of being. You gain deeper insight into the phenomena that is going on all the time. Phenomena that we typically overlook, that we neglect because of our absorption in the external world. We neglect the state and dynamics of our body and our mind. So, I take an interval in my practice, just quietly examine my being, and then I continue my primary practice. And in this you may feel that there is an increased depth that is happening, because your sensitivity has increased. There has been a certain internal sensitization by means of increased attention, your body becoming filled with awareness β€” and through that, again, continue your practice. And when you conclude, again, at the end of your practice, don't get up immediately. Take a moment, absorb. First you can feel your body as a whole, in its entirety, just for a quick baseline to see what rises to the surface. After that, scanning your body thoroughly for any sensations. Whether they are related, apparently, to the practice we did or not. For example, there is a bit of jingling in the toes of my left foot here. They are not related to the practice itself, they are related to a particular nerve that is slightly pinched in here β€” and I can take note for the next time, park in a manner where I am more convenient for a longer period of time. Okay? ### Fields of Attention β€” Into Body and Breath ΒΆ That is the very basic practice of scanning for sensations, deepening our awareness of what exists within our being. Now, from there onward, we can take specific planes for our attention, as a matter of our exploration and discovery of the body and the mind in its various aspects. First of all, the pure physical body, without any subtle, without any mysterious phenomena β€” just the breath. Here I take a moment, and I attend to my breath. Not trying to breathe in a particular way, I just watch my breath β€” how is my breath after this meditation? It is reasonably calm, flowing in and flowing out, relieving me of tensions, as it has been doing throughout my practice. For example. Or whatever your experience of the breath may be. If you have been exerting strenuously, you may find that your breath is a bit on the short side. You may need to oxygenate your body better, that is fine. In here we are not evaluating goods and bads β€” we are simply learning to observe as the very first necessary measure β€” learning to observe without reaction, and by that, reaching a certain perception of actuality, things as they are. Things as they are, are a valid base of further examination β€” but as long as we are enmeshed in our hallucinations, in our ideas of what is, those are unfit to be taken further. The layers, the veils that we create, that we project, they need to be dispelled with a reaction-free reflection on what actually is. So here in the physical body, my breathing, and I simply attend to the breathing β€” and as I attend to the breathing, I also may feel the impact of the breathing. The ebb and flow of my lungs, throughout my body, so that is a field of tuning in attention. ### Fields of Attention β€” Heart and Circulation ΒΆ Now beyond the breathing, the second easily accessible biological system is the cardiovascular system, aka. circulation, and the heart. The heart is always there, beating, pumping. Often we are not aware of the sensation of our heartbeat, what to speak of the pulsation, circulation of blood throughout all of our veins and arteries in the body. Only after strenuous exercise we may notice, damn it's the heart beating, but when we are in a more restful state, or when we are distracted, the heartbeat often disappears. As a starting point, you can take your palm, the edge of your palm, or your fingers, whatever that works for you, place it on your chest, and through that sensation, enter into the sensation that is your beating heart. Find it there, and again, you may find the same pulse beating elsewhere. For example, here, right below the ribcage, there is a significant point of pulse that is easily felt. Down here, at your pelvis, you can easily find the pulse. In these big pipes in here, you can easily feel the pulse. You may feel the pulse easily at the temple, over here in your head, in your wrist β€” and in any number of other locations throughout your body, that you can initially physically contact in order to locate them. And once you have gotten the sensation, see if you can hold on to it, if you can feel the pulse and the blood coursing through your body, through that particular location, without bringing external attention to it, simply as an internal sensation. Then stay with that. Feeling the pulse, feeling the blood coursing through your veins. In time, you will feel the entire circulatory body in action, and you can sit down here, and all of your body and your field of awareness is simply a beating heart with blood flowing through the veins and arteries of your entire being, from the center to the extremities, with various delays, in waves. And in here, a layer of your being has been identified. ### Fields of Attention β€” Other Biological Systems ΒΆ A third biological system that is easily felt β€” the gastrointestinal system. The guts, the stomach, some related organs less so. But the stomach and the intestines in particular, are a particular focal point of sensation β€” when they are empty, after we have had a full meal, or when it is simply balanced in a restful state. And also through the practice, we may feel certain tensions and certain relaxations happening in the guts. A field of attention, a part of getting to know yourself. And underlying all of this, the nervous system, in and of itself β€” feel the nerves. Each and every sensation, every touch that you may hear, every touch, contact, internal, is carried by a network of nerves, which in itself is also a field of attention, a field of concentration. Now there are many more systems. The muscular system itself is also something that you can feel, you can attend to. Initially, larger muscles, for example, the muscles in your abdomen. Muscles that you can, with your intention, activate, deactivate, tense, relax. Muscles in your arms, the muscles that you often use in the course of your daily activities. What are the sensations in there? Is there tension? Is there relaxation? Etc. Another layer of your being identified and attended to. A layer that, just like any other layer β€” gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, nervous system, respiratory system β€” they are each impact points from our activities and our practice and deserve our attention. They are aspects of a greater internal realm. They are the most concrete incarnations of a certain layering of our existence. And there is a certain power, presence and wisdom found in all of them, so they are worth attending to. Then there are more. There is the endocrine system, the lymphatic system, the renal system, the reproductive system, etc. These may not be as easy to attune to, so I've mentioned a couple of the simpler biological, physical, physiological systems that you can attend to. The breathing, the heartbeat and the blood flow, the activity in the guts, the muscles, nerves themselves. One at a time you may attend to these, in order to gain a better insight into your state of being, and also the composition of your being. All right? So that's your biological system. ### Fields of Attention β€” Subtle Energetic Centers ΒΆ Now, as may happen in your practice, there are certain subtle or energetic sensations that arise, that people refer to as the chakras, that people refer to as, well, I like to call them psychosomatic centers or focal areas. And many different traditions have different terms to them. That in itself is immaterial. What is important is the understanding that there is a higher plane of experience that is still in the realm of sensations mapped into the physical body, that may or may not be directly relevant. They are connected to the organs underlying a particular area, but we are looking at them unto themselves. For example, a strong presence around the heart, a strong presence at the crown or the base of the skull, or in the sacral area, pelvis and so on, or at the root, underneath, the center here, in the throat, wherever. These sensations may appear, subtle sensations, sensations of energy. These too we attend to, we recognize them. Without reaction at this point β€” we do not pursue them, we simply acknowledge them as a matter of our internal study. Okay? ### Into Cognition β€” Observing the Perceptual Mind ΒΆ That done, we still have the greater part of the work ahead of us. The mind, the composition of the mind. And that is something we are looking at later on in higher definition, with more detail. But for a basic lay of the land, the layers of our mental composition begin with the perceptual body. There is an aspect of awareness that is the input plane of all of our sensory experience. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, tactile sensations. There is a perception instrument within us, recognizing the objects that the senses bring to us, and also making reference to earlier perceptions β€” whether there is an immediate reference or something so far unknown has been experienced. Now in here, there is also an aspect of perception that takes internal objects of the mind as its sense. There are internal senses beyond the five physical senses. We do not need to get into these in any depth right now. The bottom line being that there is an instrument of perception at play as a certain base layer of the mind. And to look at that, try to find the part of our minds that simply receives and recognizes input from the senses. And how does it function? Is there an accurate perception of things in themselves? Is there a perception where things are lumped together, or do we, for example, in observing here underneath the phone recording this, there is a tripod. Am I seeing the tripod as a whole object, or am I seeing the whole object and its composition? All the knobs, all the extendable telescopic legs, the levers, etc., etc. What level of depth and deconstruction of the object is present? This is an aspect of the mind. To find that β€” the plane in which our perceptions land. ### Into Cognition β€” Observing the Affective Mind ΒΆ Next, this input goes forward into the reactive mind, the affective mind, that then assigns valence, evaluation. Roughly into positive, into negative, and into neutral inputs β€” that are then further colored as emotions through a more complex process. But there is a more immediate gut reaction of push, pull, or stillness, or as they come to be β€” I want, don't want, don't care, etc. This is a very fundamental plane through which we are conditioned on a very rudimentary level into pushes and pulls and ignorance. This reactive faculty of the mind β€” has it been transformed? Is there a change to be observed in there? Through my insight into the ongoings of my body, for example, before I began to meditate, there was an ache, in my pain, that immediately registered as unpleasant. Go away pain, I am distressed, I am aggravated by this pain, and this pain is a negative thing and should not be. Is there a change in the interpretation, in the immediate reaction that you experience? Well, this pain is still there, but okay, so many other pains, so many other pleasant sensations β€” don't care, it's not killing me as I sit here. Or, yay, there is pain β€” proof that I am doing something here. Then the pain is getting greater, that is, there is a certain perhaps masochistic drive that tries to prove that through hardship and through struggle accomplishments are being made. That is a type of reaction that is also as twisted as the other direction of reactivity. So, the reactive mind. ### Into Cognition β€” Observing the Cohesive Mind ΒΆ You have the perceiving mind, the perceptual mind β€” the affective or reactive mind. Then we come to a... These are still quite the animals of the mind β€” they have very base functions, they are more mechanical. We come to a higher plane of sensations, also the most complicated of the aspects of the mind to ultimately overcome. There is a certain cohesive mind, the mind that strings things together into groupings, into systems, based on our past experience, referring to our memories, referring to our desires and intentions we have set, referring to our self-image or ego, and constructs a certain narrative of a particular event or a particular state of being. There is that higher plane of the mind that needs to be β€” before we can hope to tame it, before we can hope to clarify it β€” it needs to be encountered, it needs to be reflected on. This entire revolution of dialogue, reflection, confabulation, conjecture, theories, dreams, dwellings in our past, etc., etc., they all go into this plane, the rather complicated mind. So also attend to that. First acknowledging that this plane of the mind certainly is there β€” and then simply observing, witnessing its workings, witnessing its contents, and witnessing the process β€” and if possible, the conditions through which we are bound, through which we are conditioned into a particular orientation of existence. Now it may happen, after your sitting, your practice of meditation, that there are changes in the tendencies and the dynamics of that particular plane of mind. That is something to take note of, to acknowledge. For example, in here I am, after my peaceful meditation, I am not as inclined as I used to, to contemplate on my self-image. Here I have sat, the meditator, aspiring spiritual person, and I shall go forth and others will notice, and I will perhaps say that I sat for 33 minutes in meditation and wow. You may have loosened that tendency. Again, back-reference memories, the ruminations on your past, you may notice that they do not arise as they used to. Just before I sat down for meditation, I was entrapped by a particular situation that happened earlier in the day, and somehow it was very important to my sense of self and to my path onward into the future. Having sat down and calmed myself, that is no longer there, it is no longer an urge. The information from that exchange and the conditions that existed in my mind, I do recall β€” but they no longer drive me, they no longer force a sense of future imperative in me. They are no longer a factor of my will and intention from here onward. Take note β€” changes happen in the mind β€” and in this manner, observe the contents of your mind on its different planes and get to know it. ### Into Cognition β€” Our Unconscious Storehouse ΒΆ Now beyond that, there is also a sphere of being we may call the causal self, the causal mind, which is largely the unconscious. Part of it the conscious mind, part of it the subconscious mind, a significant part of it the unconscious mind β€” the storehouse or the repository of all of our impressions. All the seeds waiting to germinate at a future time when the conditions are right. All of our potentials, all of our unseen conditioning, that from the unconscious is slowly journeying toward the subconscious, and in the subconscious becoming more consequential in terms of the workings of the conscious mind. In meditation, this totality of our existence can sometimes be penetrated deeper or things can be churned to the surface. Now do not hastily go there, because there is a lot there that you are not ready for. You do not want to crack open the Pandora's box and have every sort of plague and ailment and mental torment blasted into your orbits. They will come out of your unconscious to your subconscious and onward to the conscious in due time and in response to the cultivation that you do on the different aspects of your being. They will be arising in tune with your readiness to deal with them. ### In Summary β€” Reflective Introspection for Self-Knowledge ΒΆ So there is an introspective process that really underlies the meditative practices that we do, that gives us the most precious thing of all β€” self-knowledge, ever-deepening self-knowledge of the entirety of our being. From the physical to the vital, the energetic, to the mind on its different planes β€” the perceptual, the reactive and the cohesive, conjecturing mind. Use your practice of meditation toward the catalyzing of focalities, concentrated areas in your being. And those concentrated areas, first acknowledge them through your reflective process, and in time you will find that there are gateways deeper into what you knew not before, somewhere in the darkness β€” like there, behind the gateway behind me. Countless other gateways in the body and the mind, and our job is to discover them and to pass through into deeper insight and deeper experience. With this, we conclude today β€” and for the first thing in your practice, without being extremely concerned on the entirety of the fields of attention or reflection, simply scan in a general level the entirety of your being. And then, if you can identify that okay, this is a physical sensation... After your reflection there were particular physical sensations that were relevant, particular energetic sensations, or particular states of mind that were relevant β€” then return to them. But start with the general, simple process of self-reflection. Okay? And through that, your practice will progressively deepen, because your faculties become more sensitive and are able to accommodate higher depth. Okay?