BOUNDLESS INTIMACY: The Eye And Treasury Of Core-Self

by Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici, Ph.D.

Excerpt from Chapter 1 – “Abiding In Core-Self – Autonomic Balancing”:

When we experience the original somatic nature of mindfulness through our hara and the visceral center-point of our core-Self, we naturally stimulate the harmonious functioning of our autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system functions beneath our cerebrally generated mental awareness and is largely beyond the control of our ego-self and thinking mind. Our autonomic nervous system regulates digestion, respiration, metabolism, blood pressure, heart-rate, and glandular secretions. The total dynamic functioning of our autonomic nervous system is responsible for our felt embodiment of stress, hypertension, relaxation, edginess, alertness, fatigue, agitation, calmness, mental clarity, and emotional stability.

BOUNDLESS INTIMACY: The Eye And Treasury Of Core-Self

by Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici, Ph.D.

Excerpt from Chapter 1 – “Abiding In Core-Self – Body Of Mindfulness”:

When we practice shikantaza and zazen-only, we do not cerebrally focus the mind to be more mindful of our living, loving, being, and doing. To live from our hara and the vibrant stillness of our core-Self is to be somatically mindful in everyday life without the cerebral intensification of our conscious mind. To embody the sensuality of our hara and the still brilliance of our core-Self is to passionately engage our everyday life from a visceral composure, a somatic mindfulness, and a boundless intimacy that is far beneath the power of our mental concentration.