In general when being a witness, keep your eyes open and on the person you are guiding the whole time. Repeat back to them significant things to remember; for example, when they are moving the energy out of the body in step two, repeat the color, texture and temperature and location of the energy that they have found in their body and will personify in front of them. Remember that they should not be talking to you at any point in the process; they are talking to their demon or o r ally. Also remember to use the exact words they use if you are repeating repe ating back to them something they have said. Don't interpret the words.
Close your eyes and keep them closed until the end of the fifth step. Take nine deep relaxation breaths with long exhalations. For the first three breaths, breathe in and imagine the breath is traveling to any tension in the body, then hooking that tension and releasing it out with the exhalation. For the second three breaths, inhale into any emotional tension you are holding, feel where you hold it in your body, and release it with the exhalation. And lastly, breathe into any mental tension, feeling where you hold any worries or mental blockages in your body, and then release them with the exhalation. (When doing this while guiding a partner, don't announce the number of breaths, just watch and witness according to the number of breaths they take for each of the three steps.)
Generate a heartfelt motivation to practice for the benefit of yourself and all beings. Witness and partner do this together.
Step 1: Find the Demon
Ask your partner if they know what demon or god they want to work with. They don't need to tell you what it is unless you are their therapist, but they need to know themselves and can tell you if they want to. Remember that the process is confidential if they do tell you. Instruction: Think about this god/demon and scan your body. Locate where you hold it most strongly in your body. It can help to think of a particular p articular incident when this feeling was really strong. Become a ware of the qualities of the sensations in your body. Nod when you have located it. What is the…(ask one by one) and wait for the answer before asking the next: Location Color Texture Shape Temperature
Intensify this sensation for a moment.
Step 2: Personify the Demon and Ask It What It Needs
Now allow this (repeat the color, texture, etc.) to move out of your body and become personified in front of you as a being with arms, legs, and eyes. See it facing you. Nod when you see it. (If an inanimate object appears, suggest that your partner imagine what it would look like if it were personified as some kind of animate being.) What is the… (ask one by one): Color Skin surface Size Does it have a gender? What is its character like? What is its emotional state? What is the look in its eyes? Now notice something about it (or him or her) you didn’t see before
Now you are going to ask the demon some questions. I will say the question and you will repeat the questions out loud after me one by one. Ask the demon: What do you want? What do you need? How will you feel when you get what you need? Having asked the questions, immediately change places, keeping your eyes closed as much as possible.
Step 3: Become the Demon
Face the chair or cushion you were seated on and become the demon, allowing yourself time to “sit in its shoes.” Nod when you feel you are in the demon's body. Notice how your normal self looks from the demon’s point of view. How does it feel to be in the demon’s body? (allow time for them to answer you). Now answer the questions. I will begin the sentence and you will repeat the beginning and then finish it by responding to the questions: What I want is…. What I really need is…. When I get what I really need, I will feel… (witness: take note of this answer). Step 4: Feed the Demon and Meet the Ally Feeding the Demon Come back to your original position. Take a moment to settle in. Nod when you are back in your own body.
See the demon in front of you. Dissolve your body into nectar (or if they have told you they are working with trauma that causes dissociation from the body: suggest instead they imagine that they are creating an infinite amount of nectar) that has the quality of the feeling that the demon would have if its need were satisfied (this is the answer to the third question; repeat that feeling). Feed the demon to its complete satisfaction, imagining the nectar entering the demon any way you wish. Keep feeding until complete satisfaction is reached. If the demons seems insatiable, then imagine how it would look if it were completely satisfied. Nod when the demon is completely satisfied.
Meeting the Ally Ask: At this point you can go directly to step 5 or meet your ally.
If meeting the ally: Is there a being present after the demon is completely satisfied? If there is a being present in place of the demon when you end the fourth step, ask this being if it is the ally. If it is not, invite an ally to appear. If the demon has dissolved completely then invite an ally to appear. Nod when you see the ally. Notice all the details of this ally. What is the… (ask one by one): Color Size The look in its eyes
Ask these questions (one by one): How will you help me? How will you protect me? What pledge or commitment do you make to me? How can I gain access to you? Change places, become the ally, take your time to settle into the feeling of being the ally. Nod when you are ready. Now answer the questions, speaking as the ally: I will help you by… I will protect you by… I pledge I will… You can gain access to me by…
Return to your original position, then take a moment and: 1. Feel the help and protection coming from the ally to you (allow time). 2. Now imagine the ally dissolves into light and then that light dissolves into you (allow time). 3. You and the ally dissolve into emptiness, which naturally takes you to the next step. Step 5: Rest in Awareness
Rest in the state that is present when the ally dissolves into you and you dissolve into emptiness. Let your mind relax without creating any particular experience. Rest as long as you like without filling the space, not trying to make anything happen or rushing to finish. When they open their eyes ask them to recall the feeling of the ally’s energy in their body and to stabilize it .
Feeding Your Demons ™ is a process created and developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione. Please do not teach this method to others without express written permiss ion from Lama Tsultrim Allione and Tara Mandala.
PO Box 3040 Pagosa Springs, CO 81147 970-731-3711
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