Aido Session 1: Working With Physical Symptoms

Why does the body develop symptoms — and what is it really trying to tell us?

In this first session, you will learn how to work with physical symptoms through Aido — identifying the emotional root beneath them, feeling it through, and releasing it completely.

A notebook and pen are required.

Transcript

Welcome! I'm Ami. And this is your first session of I-DOL. Aido is a meditation practice designed to help us find and release. The emotional roots beneath the physical symptoms we experience. Such as discomfort. Injury. Or illness. Return to a natural state of balance, What we might call true health. Before we begin. Please make sure you have a dedicated notebook and a pen with you. This is an essential part of the practice. If you don't have one yet, Pause here. Prepare your notebook. And come back when you are ready. Ready? Let's begin! As we go through each step. I recommend pausing the audio after each instruction. Doing the steps. And then continuing when you feel ready. Take as much time as you need. There is no rush. Step 1. Think of a physical symptom you are experiencing right now. A discomfort Injury. Or illness. What situation does this symptom make you think about? Let me share an example from my own experience. Before I began practicing Aido. I would regularly develop a high fever. It always followed the same pattern. First, A sore throat. Then, A rapid rise in temperature to 38. 5 or 39 degrees. Followed by several days of gradually coming down. Every time it happened. I would think. Here we go again. I would take time off work and rest until it passed. So what did the high fever make me think about? Having to take time off work. The association. The situation the symptom brings to mind. Becomes your meditation item. In this example. The meditation item is. . . What if. . . I had to take time off work. Write your meditation item in your notebook. When you've written it down. Move to step 2. Step 2 Bring your meditation item to mind. What emotions arise in you? Write down every emotion that comes up. The emotions you've written are likely negative ones. Sadness. Frustration. Anger. Hurt. That's natural. We are going to walk through each of these emotions one by one. Here is something important to understand. Negative emotions. When fully felt. Will disappear completely. That is the nature of this practice. For each emotion on your list. We are going to feel it through. Until it's gone. How you do this is up to you. There is no single method. You may bring that meditation item to mind. And allow yourself to sink into the emotion. To move into the very center of it. And experience it. Until there is nothing left. That is one way. Find what works for you. When you think you've felt an emotion through, Here is how to check. Bring your meditation item to mind again. If the emotion no longer arises. You've done it. Move to the next one if the emotion is still there but weaker than before. That's a good sign. You are moving in the right direction. Keep going. Work through each emotion this way. Feel it through. Repeat. Until none of the emotions arise when you bring the meditation item to mind. When you've cleared all the emotions. Move to step 3 Step 3 Your meditation item represents a difficult or unwanted experience. Now. We are going to look at the ideal version of it. What would you have wanted to happen instead? Take the opposite of your meditation item. In our example What if I had to take time off work? Becomes. What if I didn't have to take time off work? Write the ideal form in your notebook. Then, Move to step 4. Step 4 now. Bring the ideal form to mind. What emotions arise? Write them all down. This time. The emotions are likely positive. We leave. Happiness. Peace. With positive emotions. We don't feel them through. Instead. We let them go. How you do this is entirely your own. Some people imagine writing the emotion on a piece of paper. And watching it burn. Others imagine. Cutting the thread that ties the emotion to the event. Find your own image. Your own way. Let go of each positive emotion. One by one. To check. Bring the ideal form to mind if that emotion no longer arises. You've let it go Move to the next one Work through every emotion on your list. When none of them arise anymore. Step 4 is complete. To summarize. Negative emotions. Feel them through. Positive emotions. Let them go. Both paths lead to the same place. The emotion dissolves. It becomes nothing. You have now completed one full cycle of AIDO for a physical symptom. If you work through the steps. With genuine attention. Something has shifted. Bring the original meditation item. The very first one you wrote. To mind now. How does it feel? If the practice has worked, Nothing arises. No emotion. No charge. The situation is simply a memory. Neutral. Like any other. This means you are no longer held by it. What once had power over you no longer does. This is what idol does. One meditation item at a time. You may find that. Some steps feel unclear at first. Especially what it truly means to feel an emotion through. Or to gently let it go. That's completely normal. On average. It takes about a month of regular practice before most people feel confident doing this on their own. So please be patient with yourself. And there is something else important to understand. A physical symptom usually connects to more than one meditation item. In our example. A high fever brings more than just having to take time off work. It might also mean. . . Missing something you had planned. Dealing with a headache. Or not being able to eat what you want. Each of these is its own meditation item. Write down everything that comes to mind when you think of your symptoms. Do a full cycle for each item. As you release them one by one. The symptom often begins to change as well. And when the deepest root is finally found and released. The symptom may disappear completely. And as you go deeper into the practice. Something even more profound begins to emerge. Through meditating on my high fever from every angle. I eventually arrived at a realization I hadn't expected. I had been creating the high fever myself. Unconsciously and repeatedly. As a way to give myself permission to rest. A mild cold wasn't enough. A silent headache wasn't enough. I needed something undeniable. A high fever. Sew that. I could take time off work without guilt. Without explanation. And without anyone questioning it. That was the hidden route. Arriving at that kind of realization. And fully releasing it. Takes practice. Patience. And a certain skill in identifying the right meditation item. The steps I've shared today are the foundation. But in practice. Each person's experience is different. And each symptom can lead in unexpected directions. That is why this practice is designed to be explored alongside a teacher. Someone who can help you find exactly what your body may be trying to tell you. In this session ahead. I will share more guidance to help you develop the skill of identifying your meditation items. So that you can go deeper with greater clarity and confidence. I look forward to practicing with you. Thank you for being here today.