EXERCISE 1- Perceiving Boundaries

Take a few moments to think of an area of your life that is important to you.

1.  Think about the boundaries that you encounter as you think about it.
2. What people, pets, or other things fit within that area of your life?
3. Now think about what happens to those people or things when you are not doing something with them? Do they go across a boundary to become part of another system? Do you cross a boundary yourself?
4. Is the picture becoming complicated? How do you know exactly where the boundary is? Does it move or change depending on circumstances?

Meditation can help you understand the boundaries you have created around yourself. You will come to understand how some boundaries are helpful, and some serve no apparent purpose. In the process you can expect your relationships with other people to change. You can also expect a dramatic change in your understanding of yourself.

Much of the stress you experience in your life is about boundaries. As you understand how systems—conscious, less conscious, social, and economic—interact in your life, you will relax in both body and mind. Meditation provides a way to explore your beliefs about boundaries among different systems.