• Part 4 - Tactile Imaging

    Tactile imaging (T.I. for short) is the active use of body awareness. This is used to directly stimulate and manipulate the energy body in a controlled way. T.I. is a simple extension of M.B.A., and is very easy to learn and do. When body awareness is focused in a specific area, and that point of awareness is given motion, this motion stimulates the energy body in that area. When this motion is done at the site of a primary or secondary energy centre (major or minor Chakras), that energy centre will be directly stimulated. Individual energy centres can thus be targeted and stimulated in a strong and dynamic way.

    Using Tactile Imaging


    Tactile Imaging exercises are only a little different from the simpler M.B.A. exercises given earlier, where body awareness is moved along the skin from one place to another. The only difference here is that your point of body awareness is often focused on a specific area, and a variety of repetitive body awareness actions are used to further stimulate that area.


    Note: Focus body awareness alone on the specified target area and try not to use your eyes unless you really have to. Many people, however, find they cannot learn T.I. techniques without using their eyes for targeting. Do what is necessary for as long as you need to, but try and wean yourself off using your eyes as soon as you can. Many of the more advanced exercises and techniques given later in this tutorial do not allow the use of the eyes, or any other form of targeting or highlighting aid.


    The best way to learn Tactile Imaging is by doing it. Rest your hands comfortably in your lap, or on the arms of your chair, palms down and fingers slightly spread. Close your eyes and relax, then shift your point of body awareness to the base of your right thumb, topside. There is an important secondary energy centre (small Chakra) in each of the thumb joints, and you are now going to stimulate one of them. Most people will feel one of their thumb centres activate noticeably the first time they work on it.



    Exercise 1


    The area to be worked on first is on top of the large joint where the thumb joins the right hand. If you have trouble locating this joint (the second joint in from the thumbnail) flex your thumb while pressing this joint between your other fingers until you can feel it. Lightly scratch a circular area clockwise on top of the thumb joint, approximately half an inch (1.5cm) across, to highlight it with your awareness. Slowly trace a fingertip around this same circular path while following this touch with your point of awareness. That point of touch must become your point of awareness. Continue following this action until you can remember the exact feel of this circular movement, and can recreate this action with your point of awareness alone.


    Feel the tingling target area on top of your thumb joint with your point of awareness. Recreate and feel this circular action inside your skin. Move your point of awareness in a small clockwise circle in that area, as if you were stirring it with an imaginary pencil or awareness fingertip. Concentrate and feel this action, continuing the motion with your point of awareness alone. Keep stirring this centre around and around with one or two circling actions per second. After a short time this action will gain its own momentum. It will then become almost automatic and take very little effort to continue.



    After a while (anything from a few seconds to a few minutes during a first attempt) you should begin feeling a slight localized heaviness or pressure, or a tingling, buzzing or bone deep tickling or fuzzy sensation in your thumb joint and thumb. This sensation indicates the energy centre there has been successfully stimulated into increased activity. Once you feel this, immediately move onto the next exercise. If you feel nothing after trying for a few minutes, move onto the next exercise anyway.



    Exercise 2


    Change the awareness action and move your point of awareness in a straight brushing action, up and down along the top of your right thumb, from just below the joint to just above the nail tip. Move your point of awareness continually back and forth through this area. You are now stimulating your entire thumb, including all the small energy centres within it. Feel this brushing action through the whole of your thumb as you do it. The sensations you may have felt earlier will intensify and spread throughout the whole of your thumb as you do this, as more and more small energy centres there are stimulated into increased activity.




    • Repeat both the above exercises on the thumb of your left hand.

    • Repeat both the above exercises on the big toes of both feet, one at a time.


    T.I. Stimulation Notes


    Often, there are inactive secondary energy centres on one side of the body, but rarely on both sides. If you feel nothing after doing any awareness action for several minutes, move onto the next exercise. While energy movement sensations will usually be quite obvious to most people, a few may feel nothing at all; although I have found this to be rare.


    No sensation at all simply indicates the energy body is for some reason blocked or inactive in that area. If this is the case, please continue with all these early exercises as best you can; you are still stimulating your energy body even though you cannot feel it happening at this point. It is more important to learn and practice these techniques at this stage than it is to cause sensations. Some of the exercises given later on in this book are designed to restore inactive areas and remove energy blockages. Once restored to activity, energy movement sensations will then be more easily and strongly felt. A hot shower or bath can also help, if done prior to doing these exercises. This not only relaxes the physical body and cleanses the skin, but also promotes a stronger energy flow through the energy body.


    The tingling in the skin caused by scratching to highlight a target area, is not the cause of energy movement sensations. Test this if you wish by repeating the above exercises in the middle of your forearm or bicep where there are no significant secondary energy centres. This test will cause no energy movement sensations to be felt. Alternatively, try this same exercise on another small energy centre, but without the scratching. It is the movement of a focused point of body awareness through the energy body, at the site of an energy centre or concentration of energy exchange ports, that forces energy movement and causes these sensations to occur. Some of the exercises given later do not allow any kind of manual highlighting, like scratching or rubbing, but energy movement sensations will still be felt.


    Awareness Hands


    The most natural way to use your point of awareness is to feel you have an imaginary pair of Hands. Awareness Hands are the business ends of Tactile Imaging, especially when it comes to raising energy. These are powerful awareness tools and you will become very familiar with them as we proceed. You will be using your awareness hands in many ways: for raising energy, clearing blockages and for manipulating many different energy centres. You have already started using these Hands in the above exercises. You will soon learn how to use them over larger areas and in many other practical energy related ways.


    Awareness Hands are extensions of active body awareness. You have a left and a right awareness Hand. While the awareness arms themselves are not important, each Hand should be felt as being attached to an imaginary awareness arm coming from each of your shoulders. Each Hand is related to a different side of your brain. One awareness Hand is usually slightly weaker than the other because of this, depending upon which side of your brain is the most dominant. Using awareness Hands is very progressive. The more they are used the easier they are to use and the stronger and more dexterous they become.



    Awareness Hands Exercise


    Close your eyes and relax, while sitting or lying comfortably. Take both your awareness hands down to your left foot, as if you were grabbing hold of it. Scratch or rub the top of your left foot and wiggle it a bit to highlight it first, to make this exercise easier. Draw your awareness hands through your left foot, to your ankle, and then slowly take them on up through your leg. Feel your whole leg, inside and out, as you move your awareness hands upwards through it. Draw your awareness hands all the way up your shin, through your knee, up through your thigh and on up to your hip. When you get to your hip, flick your awareness hands instantly back to your toes again and repeat the upwards stroking, energy raising action. Do NOT stroke your awareness back down your leg.


    Repeat this action over and over, taking several seconds per stroke, feeling the whole of your leg each time.



    Note: This action forces energy to flow into your foot and up through your leg. You may feel some peculiar sensations as you do this, like tingling, buzzing, warmth, cold, pressure, heaviness, or even a bone deep tickling. These sensations can be unbelievably strong in some people.


    Repeat the above exercise with your right leg.

    Splitting Awareness


    Splitting awareness actions is quite simple to do. As an example exercise:



    Splitting Awareness Exercise


    Split your awareness hands and feel both of your feet at the same time (after targeting them) feeling one in each of your awareness hands. Draw energy through both feet and up through both legs at the same time, exactly as you did with the previous exercise, repeatedly. Your awareness will split quite easily and with a little practice you'll be able to do this effortlessly. If you have trouble splitting awareness, however, please stick to working on one area or limb at a time until you feel more comfortable splitting awareness actions.



    When you have some practice at splitting awareness actions, increase the speed of the upwards energy raising action until you can draw your awareness up through both legs at the same time, taking two to three seconds for each upward sweep, from feet to hips; repeatedly.


    When you raise energy up both legs, imagine and feel as if you are sweeping or sponging water up through the whole of both legs with your awareness hands. Imagine your awareness hands are each holding a large sponge, and that you are sponging water upwards through your legs. The water keeps trying to run back down your legs, but focused awareness effort and concentration can be used to force the water (the energy) to rise. This addition will give your awareness hands a better feel and grip on the energy, which increases the effectiveness of the energy raising action.


    It is more beneficial to be able to use one point of body awareness (one awareness action) effectively in these early exercises than it is to be able to split awareness. So if you have trouble with split awareness actions, please stick to using both Hands together, working on only one body-part or limb at a time until you feel more comfortable with split awareness actions.