Hi all. I'm a beginner and I just tried those awareness exercises.

However, there is a part there that says that you need to visualize a sponge going through your finger or something like that. Isnt the point of those exercises to teach you to shift awareness?

The sponge visualization thing doesnt work with me but when I visualize fire on the fingers or the parts of the body where awareness needs to be shifted, it works much better. Yes I do feel the tingling, as well as something that feels like air, electricity, or that part of the body becomes warmer.

I havent really read the later parts (because I'm going through this step by step).

Is it really necessary to do it the sponge way or is my alternative method of visualizing fire also doing the same thing?