 THE THREE POINTS TO REMEMBER A Powerful New Protocol for Teaching the Five Elements of Vivation By Jim Leonard Our purpose in Viving is to experience as much love as possible in each moment. Vivation is a specific method for integrating all human experience into love. It is a "meditation in action," which must be learned from someone who uses it regularly. I developed The Five Elements of Vivation, in 1979, as the basis for teaching people the skill of causing integration for themselves at the feeling level. The Five Elements are the essence and definition of Vivation. They form the foundation for our knowledge of how Vivation works. They are the essential components of the skill itself. The only consistently effective way to teach people to Vive is by leading them through experiential exercises that isolate the component skills involved. It is not adequate to just talk about Vivation, no matter how eloquently you explain The Five Elements or anything else. The same is true of almost anything where you are teaching someone to do something. You can't teach someone to play the piano, speak Spanish, or drive a car simply by talking to them about these activities—you must lead them through experiential exercises, then provide troubleshooting and further education as needed to develop your student's competence. The success or failure of a Vivation Professional lies in his or her skill at teaching The Five Elements to new clients who show up with astonishingly diverse backgrounds, personalities, and abilities. Nowadays I use two very different protocols for teaching The Five Elements: #1. I go through The Five Elements one by one, leading the Viver through experiential exercises for each, adding refinements as needed. For the past several years I have usually taught the Elements in reverse order, i.e., Fifth through First, because this makes it easier to understand how to use the breathing. #2. I teach The Three Points to Remember. I started developing The Three Points in early 1990, during a private session that required translation into Italian in the Republic of San Marino. After two years of experimenting, I began teaching The Three Points to Remember as a full-fledged training system during my Spring 1992 European Seminar Tour. The Three Points to Remember can only be taught through experiential exercises. When I'm teaching people to Vive, I choose one or the other of these two protocols, depending on the circumstances. The purpose of this article is to introduce you to the Three Points to Remember and explain the relationship between the two teaching methods.
The main difference between the two protocols is this: Each of The Five Elements represents a substantial body of knowledge. Each Element would require at least one full seminar day to be taught with absolute thoroughness. While such a thorough knowledge of The Five Elements has immense practical value, it is too much to keep in mind while actually Viving. The Three Points to Remember, in contrast, are not bodies of knowledge. They are simple, practical things the Viver does on the inside during the session to produce optimal results. A major benefit of using The Three Points to Remember is their simplicity and ease of use. The Three Points to Remember cannot be understood from their names alone, any more than the Five Elements can be. In this short article I will only give a brief introduction to each one. To be grasped well they must be defined, demonstrated, tried and refined — that's why we teach Vivation in seminars instead of correspondence courses. 1. “Explore the subtle changes” means you focus on whatever feeling in your body is strongest, concentrating continuously on the subtle changes that happen in it from moment to moment. Everything you ever perceive changes in subtle ways continuously. A major benefit of focusing on this during Vivation is that it keeps you in present time. 2. “Inhale through the strongest feeling” means you pretend to pull each breath into your body directly through the skin and tissue where you feel the most sensation. Among other benefits, this makes it much easier to coordinate the breathing with the feeling. 3. “Enjoy this moment as much as you can” is not a re-statement of the Fourth Element. Indeed its main purpose is to support the Third Element. If you intentionally take as much pleasure from the present moment as you possibly can, then whatever is preventing you from enjoying the present moment infinitely will stand out in sharp contrast. Each one of the Three Points to Remember contributes to the Viver's session in many important ways, far more than the single item I emphasized for each one, above. Used well, any one of The Three Points to Remember keeps the Viver in all Five Elements. The three used together produce the best results, and are easily maintained throughout a session. I crafted The Three Points to Remember to especially support the Third Element, which is the Element the vast majority of people need the most help with. To compare the two protocols: The Five Elements convey a tremendous depth and breadth of understanding. They not only teach a person how to Vive but also direct a person toward an “integrative way of life.” Anyone who wants to go into depth with Vivation, and certainly anyone who wants to share Vivation with others, needs to develop an excellent understanding of The Five Elements. When used as preparation for someone's first session, however, The Five Elements can be too much mental material for the new Viver to keep in mind while doing what is essentially a physical process. Many people need to experience a Vivation session first, before they can receive much meaning from The Five Elements. The Three Points to Remember have the benefits of simplicity and of virtually guaranteeing that new people have excellent experiences the first time they try Vivation. The Three Points make the initial presentation of the skill of Vivation much shorter. However, the Three Points do not give the new Viver any sense of why they do these three things or how Vivation works. No matter how deeply you develop your understanding of The Five Elements, I still suggest using The Three Points to Remember as what you concentrate on actually doing during your session. Using The Three Points to Remember has made a tremendous difference in my own sessions. I stay more present in my body than ever, and my integrations come faster. In particular, The Three Points to Remember have greatly improved my Vivation in Action. In private sessions, I find it best to teach new clients the Three Points to Remember at the beginning of their first session. I begin going into detail on the Five Elements in subsequent sessions, tailoring the presentation to the individual needs of the specific client. With experienced clients, already familiar with the Five Elements, I consistently find that teaching them to use the Three Points makes an immediate, obvious improvement in their sessions. Of course I always have new clients read the first twelve chapters of Vivation: The Science of Enjoying All of Your Life, before they come for their first session, so they have some idea what they're getting into. In weekend seminars I try to alternate, in each city, between teaching The Three Points and The Five Elements. In Professional Trainings, I teach both. In evening seminars in which the participants have Vivation sessions, I teach The Three Points, due to their simplicity, and only mention The Five Elements to point the participants in the direction of deeper understanding. In evening seminars that don't include sessions, I explain the Five Elements, because they convey a better understanding of how Vivation works. A note to Vivation Professionals: I strongly recommend that you start experimenting with using the Three Points to Remember in your own sessions immediately. However, I suggest teaching The Three Points to Remember only when you are experienced at using them yourself and are clear on how each one of The Three Points, by itself, keeps a Viver in all Five Elements. It is best to learn this method of teaching either directly from Lans and me or from someone we've recently trained, before relying on it for teaching Vivation to your clients. Meanwhile, continue using whatever protocol you most prefer for teaching the Five Elements. I consider the Three Points to Remember the most important breakthrough in Vivation methodology since I invented Vivation in 1979. They make the process much easier to teach and far more powerful. Everyone has better sessions when they use them. For some people The Three Points to Remember make the difference between having consistently satisfying sessions and not being able to Vive at all. The Three Points also make it possible for Vivation Professionals to give much more effective short, introductory presentations to the public. It is ideal for every student of Vivation to learn both: to use The Three Points to Remember during sessions and to use The Five Elements for added depth and understanding. The Five Elements, presented in either format, provide enduring and profound guidance for living a life of continuously expanding love. Copyright © 1994, Jim Leonard Jim Leonard is the originator of the Vivation process. Since 1979 he has conducted more than 45,000 Vivation sessions in 22 countries. For more information on Vivation or to experience it yourself, feel free to contact us on our toll-free number, or use the simple form below.
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