Thus, rather than killing our aliens by shooting them, we give them what they want by noticing or noting them. We don’t invite the pretty ones to stay with us forever, nor do we ignore the boring aliens. We don’t kick the ugly ones from our door either. Like a politician on the campaign trail, we extend a hand to all, say, “Hello!” and then quickly do this for lots of others. When we meet them, greet them, get to know, accept and even love them, they go away happy. I realize that I’ve just gone from being excessively violent to being excessively sentimental, but somewhere in there is what insight practices are all about.

I have already mentioned numerous possible exercises, perspectives and emphases that may be used when exploring our reality for the purpose of awakening, and I will continue to mention more as we go along. However, I recommend that the foundation of your practice be 43

The Seven Factors of Enlightenment

investigation of the Three Characteristics of the sensations that make up your reality. If you find it too complicated to try to investigate all Three Characteristics at once, then I recommend quick and precise

investigation of impermanence. If this seems too difficult, I have found the simple practice of noting very quickly to be more than sufficiently powerful for gaining clear and direct insights into the true nature of thing. Should you find that the numerous instructions and avenues of inquiry I present to be too confusing, remember this paragraph and stick to these simple but profound practices. “When in doubt, note it out!”

ENERGY

So, we diligently investigate the ultimate truth of our experience, and this can actually be really invigorating once we get into it. Just as playing video games can be very exciting, we have lots of sensations coming in all the time that are just screaming to be understood. When we rise to this challenge, things can really begin to jump. Once we have sorted out what is mind and what is body and begun to see a bit of the Three Characteristics, this in itself can produce lots of ener gy , the third of the seven factors. This can be just a bit scary at first until we get used to how quick and powerful our minds can be. As mentioned in the Five Spiritual Faculties, energy is a very good thing, as it obviously energizes our practice. We can almost always call up just a bit more energy when we need it, and this is a good thing to realize. However, being mindful and investigating diligently can also lead to increased energy, so now you have more than one way to go about this! Thank you, Seven Factors of Enlightenment!

RAPTURE

When energy comes on line with mindfulness and investigation, this can produce something called rapture . Rapture has two general meanings, the first of which relates to deep joy, pleasure, and enthusiasm. These are valuable spiritual qualities, and Ye of Dark Puritanical Inklings take heed of this! It is much easier going on the spiritual path if we are generally enthusiastic about what we are doing.