Lesson 6
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    Flying High

    Preparation.
    Relax your whole body as completely as you can, beginning with the top
    of your head, your forehead, face, throat, chest, abdomen, legs, and
    feet. Be patient. Relaxation cannot be willed or commanded; relaxation
    must be coaxed and wooed. If you are not completely relaxed, repeat the
    process, silently verbalizing the areas of your body as you allow
    muscle after muscle to lose tension...

    The Exercise.
    Now you are completely relaxed, from the top of your head to the very
    tips of your toes. Your thoughts roam easily, and they are taking you
    to the airport. You see yourself at the departure gate; there is an air
    of expectancy and excitement among the passengers, and the airline
    staff communicate a sense of confidence. As you hand your boarding pass
    to a stewardess, you enter the covered walkway leading to the plane.
    Outside it is cold and raining; but here, on this sheltered ramp, this
    extension of your plane, you are protected from the elements.

    Now you enter the plane, hand your coat to another stewardess, and walk
    down a carpeted aisle to your seat. It looks even more comfortable than
    your favorite living room chair. You sink into it gratefully, relieved
    of all burdens for a while, insulated from the everyday world by the
    body of this beautiful silver bird.

    You fasten your seat belt, and your chair begins to feel like a
    cradle. The engines start, and as you listen to the mounting roar, you
    realize that the power behind it insures your complete safety in your
    cradle. The plane taxied slowly across the field to take-off position.
    The jets begin to increase their force, affirming the plane's
    incredible energy. The brakes are released, the plane begins to surge
    forward faster, faster, faster. You feel it vibrating toward an
    ultimate burst of power, and then you are floating, almost weightless,
    above a bank of white clouds, seeing only this soft white foam which
    supports you, and the brilliant blue sky above. You are flying, and
    everything here looks beautiful and bright.

    The sheer beauty of this new environment opens a new dimension of your
    mind. Safety is so assured, so much a matter of course, that it has
    ceased to be a concern.

    What absorbs you now is a sense of unity with all things and with all
    of time, as you float suspended between heaven and earth, for a brief
    while belonging to neither, yet inevitably an intrinsic part of both.

    The murmur of your fellow passengers' voices reaches your ear. Your
    new-found sense of unity prompts you to turn toward the person next to
    you and to begin a pleasant conversation, a conversation that will
    last, enjoyably, until you have arrived at your destination.

    NOTE:
    Repeat this sequence once or twice a day before a flight. Visualize
    vividly and in detail, especially the moments which are recurrent
    elements of flight routine, such as handing over the boarding pass,
    fastening the seat belt, etc. Each such detail will have a powerful
    reenforcing effect when encountered in reality, and will in turn
    enhance the effect of the other pre-experienced details.