General instructions for Inside-Out online program
Reserve 45 minutes to one hour of quiet, uninterrupted time for each lesson.
Read through the material and watch the videos. Take time to do the daily exercises. Don’t be in a hurry to finish the lessons.
Begin with Lesson One and work your way to the end. Do not skip the chapters. You’ll learn certain things early in the program that will be useful in later lessons. The chapters are designed for progressive assimilation.
Try to take each lesson in one sitting, but if circumstances prevent that, you can split the session into two parts.
We advise not to give too much time gap between two lessons. Consistently completing one lesson every day or two is the best approach.
This program has been specifically designed for lasting impact. A lot of ideas in this program might appear simple and intuitive. Only regular practice will reveal their true impact.
The methods and techniques in this program are designed for a healthy mind and body. If you have any specific and severe physical or mental health issues, do not discontinue any medications, and do not perform these exercises without advice from your health professional.
If you have any trouble logging in, please email your username to [email protected], we will reset your password.
Program Topics
Life is difficult only because our minds and bodies have different personalities.
– Avi
Just for a moment reflect on this: What if we have completely misunderstood the fundamental realities of our minds and bodies? What if we have the relationship between the mind and body totally wrong? Let’s look at what we know through mainstream medical and biological science.
We have generally accepted and concluded that the brain is the seat of all our thinking, feelings and emotions. We understand the mind to simply be a component of the brain; therefore, we believe that if there is something wrong with our minds, part of it has to be blamed on a “chemical imbalance” in the brain or on some genetic defect of the body.
Treating the symptoms and not understanding the cause of the problem leads to the use of antidepressant drugs, psychotherapy and other medical interventions. Even the use of the phrase ‘mental illness’ assumes that the mind is simply a component of the body.
What if this understanding is wrong? What if our mind is a bigger phenomenon than just a part of our brains? What if the mind is the seat of all happenings? What if our bodies are simply extensions of our minds? What if the mind is the ultimate reality that is making all our experiences possible?
There is a vast reservoir of ancient knowledge woven through various cultures and traditions around the world that indicates that the mind is a totally different transcendental phenomenon. Now, even the latest developments in the field of quantum mechanics are proving that the world around us, including our bodies, are not made up of physical matter but instead made up of pure energy.
We are discovering more and more that the nature of our reality and experiences resembles a dream more than anything else. In fact, the words “Man” and “Woman” come from the ancient Sanskrit word “man” pronounced “Mun” (as in sun) which simply means mind. The ancients knew that we are more a mind than a body!
There is an enormous field of ancient science dedicated to experientially understanding the nature of reality within us. Mindfulness, meditation and yoga are some of the contributions to this ancient science.
This subjective science has been a part of major world cultures including the ancient Vedic people, Egyptians, Sumerians, and lots more. This ancient stream of knowledge has been silently flowing through human cultures, giving us meaning and purpose.
While religion has been concerned with the glorification of a few individuals who have fully transformed themselves using this science, we are concerned with the practical implications of this science to bring about human well-being.
Here are some of the most fascinating findings of this almost five-thousand-year-old science of living that will help us to better understand the mind-body connection:
a) The mind is a vast reservoir of memory, intelligence and consciousness. At a deeper level, our individual mind is connected to the universal mind. The more one explores the depths of their mind through a systematic and scientific approach, the more one connects with a deeper universal harmony.
b) The mind is the foundation of our individual experiences and reality. By understanding the nature of our minds, we can better understand the nature of our bodies and the nature of reality around us.
c) Our bodies are functioning extensions of our minds; this is why the state of the mind affects the state of the body. Mental well-being has a direct correlation to our physical well-being.
d) As individuals, when we talk about the mind, we are usually referring to the collection of thoughts, desires and emotions that we have accumulated. We tend to assume that the mind is nothing but this collection of experiences, but in reality, the mind is a vast expanse of undivided space that extends well beyond our individual thoughts and experiences.
e) There are methods, systems and practices through which we can explore and understand the mind better, but remember this: The only way to understand the nature of our minds is by observing it in the present moment. The mind cannot be understood either in the past or in the future.
Time spent on the body in one typical day
This chart is an example of how much of each day we spend caring for our bodies. “Other” is time not spent on the body, but time spent at work, watching television, or on hobbies, at the computer etc. Your situation will vary, but use this as a guide to explore just how much time is spent caring for your body. You’ll be surprised!
As you can see in the chart above, more than half our lives are spent taking care of our bodies. This chart doesn’t include things like doctor appointments, time spent sick and incapacitated, shopping for groceries or clothes, etc.
If we put all these activities together, we can see that our entire society is structured on the basis of our physical needs. We have simply assumed that taking care of the body is equal to taking care of the mind.
The practical implications of understanding our mind-body connection correctly are immense. When understood correctly, we can see that our mental and physical well-being is completely in our control.
By understanding how our mind functions, we can gain control over its dynamic processes. Most of our mental problems stem from uncontrolled and unobserved thought processes that escalate into fearful imaginations.
By using the right methods and techniques, we can make perfect sense of our lives and direct it toward our desired destination.
The mind is a totally different mechanism with different needs from that of the body. Our basic needs of peace, love, connection, purpose, happiness and contentment have absolutely nothing to do with the body.
Of course, the needs of the body are real and have to be tended to, but when we begin to care for the body at the cost of our minds, we are inevitably moving toward an unbalanced, unhappy and meaningless life.
“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”
―
Methods & Techniques
Throughout this program, we will be exploring various methods and techniques of mental well-being. We will explore meditation, mindfulness, focusing, centering, breathing, yogic, and psychological exercises. These methods will help you to begin and systematically continue the journey into your inner world of thoughts, desires, and emotions.
These techniques will open up a new world of inner clarity and joy within you. All these techniques fall under the category of “Subjective Science”. The results and proofs of subjective science are always experienced within you. Your honesty and sincerity is the only proof of any particular technique working or not working.
The simplest of techniques you can use to understand the mind-body connection, and also to understand how vast a phenomenon your mind is, is to categorize your day’s experiences into “Experience of the Mind” and “Experience of the Body”. When done with full sincerity, this one-day exercise will change the way you look at your mind and body forever.
Choose a day for this exercise and every one hour during this day make a note somewhere if the past hour of your experience was an experience of the mind or of the body. Experience of the body happens through sensations, so count the experience as that of the body only when you were fully aware that you were doing that particular activity.
For example, if you have been working out for the past one hour and you were fully aware during the workout, then count it as an experience of the body. Experience of the mind happens through thoughts, so if you’ve been driving, taking a walk, or sitting in front of a computer and not paying any attention to the body, then count it as an experience of the mind.
Here is what most people conclude at the end of this exercise:
- I am most of the time simply lost in my thoughts. I observe my body only when it needs my attention, otherwise I am always in my mind.
- I am constantly talking to myself, even when I don’t have to. It appears like my mind has a mind of its own and I don’t have any control over it.
- I found it hard to remember to write down the results every hour. I also found it difficult to keep my focus and awareness throughout the exercise.
Questions For Reflection
Question 1: List 3 ways in which you have experienced your mind affecting your body.
Question 2: What one thing did you learn from the “Methods and Techniques” exercises in this lesson?
Question 3: Do you think taking care of the mind is as important as taking care of the body? Do you think it’s necessary?
Question 4: What is the mind?