QUESTION: Lately, I have had mental blocks. Whenever I concentrate and work and use the methods you just described, there is just a blank. It is very difficult to go through it, and very tiring and energy-consuming. Can you help me in this?

ANSWER: In the first place, when you observe yourself very closely, you will find that when certain topics come up — topics that you want to discuss or meditate about, or even topics that come to you from the outside — you feel an anxiety. First this anxiety may register only as a vague feeling of unrest, of impatience, or irritation. Instead of immediately trying to penetrate the anxiety or explain it away, put down some key words in writing. It is important to do so, because otherwise it eludes you so easily. Just what are these moments when you feel uneasy? What was the occasion? What fleeting thought passed through you when the camouflaged anxiety came up? Try to pinpoint it. Hold it fast. When you collect this information over a period of a few days or a week, you will have a whole list of key words. Out of this a clear pattern or a common denominator will arise. This may be comparatively easy for you to do and you will soon sense an overall larger negative energy field which you block because you evade the truth. (142)