💡 Before proceeding with Part II, please ensure that all of the exercises from the previous part were thoroughly practiced: The subtle body feels even throughout, the flows are nice and strong, and the shell has been integrated for at least a couple of weeks. If you proceed without the shell, things could work at first. But ultimately, unexpected and undesirable effects can follow in the long term.
Let me paint a picture. The chapters in Part II will give you a fast car. You will be able to get from A to B quickly. But unless you have the shell, there will be a passenger next to you who is a bit crazy. He will be trying to grab the wheel when you least expect it, and steer you in an undesirable direction. That passenger is the collective thought and its after-effects.
After a few weeks of having the shell integrated, an uneasy feeling begins to visit you more and more. Imagine a child running away from the summer camp into the woods, thinking, “I am tired of all their rules, awful food, and stupid songs”. He runs around enjoying his freedom until suddenly he hears a growl. He realizes that he is all alone in the woods unprotected. From the second growl, the boy realizes that the sound is coming from his stomach because he hasn’t eaten anything for quite a while and there is no food in sight. Now it is also dark and scary. Suddenly the whole experience is no longer pleasant. Let’s break down the analogy. By setting up the shell, you no longer receive subliminal messages that were used to coordinate your social behavior. The shell is essentially turning you into an outcast. You no longer have the benefit of social coordination but also no longer have the zombifying effects that it brings. You realize that you were a gear in a machine, and now it does not need you anymore. Of course, the first reaction is to panic and run back to camp, apologize and try to forget the whole ordeal as soon as possible.
Or you could look on the bright side. You have an opportunity to learn to coordinate your behavior using the same methods that the environment was using on you. Only this time You choose the direction and the end goal, that will ultimately benefit you and those you care about. You choose what you want to achieve. We have a blank slate and a solid foundation on which we will begin building our future, whatever we want it to be. Part two covers setting that direction. Having the shell at this point is crucial as it will ensure that the direction we take will not be influenced by the collective thought, which can ultimately do us more harm than good.
Proceed to the next chapter to learn how to validate your goals.