Within each category of the Ladder of Love we explore four levels of each chosen experience. This follows along the same line as going from the concrete to the sublime in the Ladder of Love. Only here we go from the particular to the universal.

Here's what that looks like, with some examples:

I. Particulars

Focus on one discrete experience. Look for examples of your chosen experience and then choose one to focus on. Tell the story of that experience. For instance, I am on the first level of the Ladder (My Body) and I decide to focus on food. Here I would focus on that ham and egg sandwhich I had for lunch yesterday, going into all the sensory details of my experience of that. I would look for details, then fill in any gaps where I am leaving something out that should be obvious, e.g. did I put salt on the sandwich or not? I didn't mention that on the first run-through of the story.

II. Commonalities

Focus on what is in common to a group of similar experiences. What is in common in the various particular stories you tell about this topic? In the example of focusing on food, I have chosen meals that I like eating, one being that ham and egg sandwhich. Here I would focus on, perhaps, foods that I like to eat for lunch, presenting many examples of good sandwiches I have had, what were the smells, tastes, textures, etc. that drew me to like them.

III. Generalities

Focus here is on the general kind of experience. What's the general story you are telling in all this? For example, in the category I have chosen I would now focus on my experience of food in general. I would examine my likes and dislikes, what smells, tastes, textures, etc are in general pleasing or disgusting to me - and the nuances of any of these.

IV. Universals

Focus on the category itself. In our example it is My Body. Ask "What, in general, is that all about for you?" I would focus on my bodily sensations and experience in general, not just specifically in relation to food. This may seem a little hard to understand at this point because it is exploring experiences that are so abstract. This becomes clear when you are actually doing the process For instance, I would ask deepening questions of my overall bodily experience, and then go on from there. This would open up a whole unknown dimension of my experience based on the lingering whole-body felt sense from the immediately preceeding explorations (as in I., II and III, above.)

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To continue, go back to the sub-section on Focus.