The essential elements for a good state are to be relaxed, calm, natural, integrated, unified and harmonious. We put so much effort into this because the state we are in is the total manifestation of what we are. If you have paid attention to your state, it should not be difficult to see that it is very changeable. At any moment the qualities of your state can vanish and be replaced by completely different ones. We can go from feeling positive and hopeful to depressed and negative in just a moment. Our state can so quickly and frequently because we allow what happens to dictate how we feel.
But this is not the whole story. Clearly even when under the same circumstances, different people react differently. What truly determines the quality of our state is the patterns of the consciousness (patterns) that process what happens in life. They determine what thoughts we have in reaction to circumstances and what feelings will entail. For example, when we hear something and our patterns interpret it as a personal attack, defense or even anger will follow that interpretation as the way we react.
If we wish to stay away from problems and live a healthy and fulfilling life, maintaining a good state is essential. This means the state we are in does not swing all the time and we don’t lose the good state easily. This would not be possible unless we are able to get a grip on patterns so we are no longer passively and unconsciously controlled by them. To make this happen, we need to firstly catch them in the act. Jue Cha is a tool for that.
Jue Cha is using Shen’s – awareness to observe everything we do, including our thoughts, feelings and action. Most importantly we need to observe our state and its changes, no matter how subtle they are. When there is a change, or more precisely, a deviation from the good state, we need to see it immediately and look at what has caused the change. At the initial stage of applying Jue Cha when it is not that easy for Shen to manifest, using the consciousness to observe is a good way to start. This is as though we have become an outsider, watching ourselves like watching another person. When this way of observing ourselves becomes a habit and we are constantly inwardly aware, Jue Cha will gradually show up. When Jue Cha is working well, we will be able to change the cause of the deviation as it is identified. In other words, it is possible to transform unhealthy patterns on the spot!
Jue Cha is a simple method but a difficult practice. The main difficulty is maintaining it. To most people, remembering to switch it on after losing it is the biggest task. The key is to sincerely make it a priority and take it seriously. With a true intention to maintain Jue Cha, we can establish a self-reminder mechanism to keep switching it back on. Gradually Jue Cha will become a habit and a new kind of awareness will establish.
Keep practicing and you will get there!!!
If you would like to learn more from Yuan Tze about the concept of Jue Cha check out our Learn REN XUE website for the Replay of his online workshop on Jue Cha that was six-part of the Be the Master of Your State workshop series run in 2020.
