Guided Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft
Welcome. Okay, so now let’s begin by checking in with ourselves, just take the weather report in your being right away. What’s it prefer to be you? Go inside. What are your thoughts like? What are your emotions like? What’s your body feel like? What’s your soul feel like? What’s the cosmic weather inside there like? And whatever is occurring let that be okay. So that you’re each checking in very, very clearly, very distinctly, with lots of granularity. What’s it prefer to be me right away? But you’re also letting it’s that way, not trying to vary it, or control it, or reject it, or judge it. What if it was just okay to be the best way you’re right away? What should you even loved the best way you’re right away with none changes in any respect?
Okay, good. Now I would like you to assume meditating like a cloud, an incredibly fluffy white cloud against a vivid blue sky. That cloud is shining vivid, almost as whether it is illuminated from inside, and it’s got that form of thing where it looks like a mountain of marble floating within the sky. An unlimited white marble mountain floating within the sky that’s a cloud. And just picture this cloud as clearly as you may or feel it should you can’t picture it. Just imagine, whatever meaning to you, a cloud but I’ll use visual language vivid, vivid white, enormous like a complete mountain within the sky, and yet just floating there. Clouds can weigh 1000’s and 1000’s of tons and it’s just floating there, vivid white against a superb vast blue sky.
And also you see the cloud is slowly being pushed by the wind towards you, increasingly more majestic, increasingly more enormous, increasingly more good, shining white. And as you’re respiration out and in, just pay very close attention to that lovely white cloud, fluffy white cloud, allowing your entire body to loosen up as if it were floating like a cloud. So that you’re noticing the floatiness of the cloud, and also you’re taking up a few of that property, the sense that the body is so light that it will probably float, so relaxed that it has almost no structure in any respect, but is as an alternative only a field of related particles temporarily floating together here. And just notice as you retain picturing this cloud very, very clearly, super vivid, brighter and brighter in your mind’s eye, the sky wider and bluer, shining blue against this almost perfectly white cloud.
Notice your entire body releasing and relaxing and letting go and opening in order that movement becomes unimaginable, every thing relaxes so deeply that it’s unimaginable to maneuver. Your eyes are relaxed so completely that they simply come to a rest, your jaw is relaxed in such a way that your upper and lower teeth will not be touching but you are feeling such a rest happening that there’s almost a sensation that your lips are getting just barely larger because of additional blood flow. You may feel them relaxing that much. And all tension goes out of your arms and hands, they develop into similar to wet ropes, just dangling there with zero tension, they’re unimaginable to maneuver. They may remain unimaginable to maneuver because (17:21)- they’re so livering there, like a spaceship fabricated from platinum, shiny against the blue sky, allowing your entire torso to release and loosen up and let go. A lot in order that you are feeling like a wave of energy moving through your body as various things loosen up and open and release and release. And you may just feel that wave of energy allowing you to loosen up much more, much more deeply, much more completely. Again, to the purpose where any type of motion becomes principally unimaginable since you’d should tense as much as do it, aside from respiration, it’s still easy to breathe. Although it’s possible you’ll find that becoming quieter and quieter over time as well.
After which feel that lovely energy, the relaxing energy, allowing your legs to release and open, your feet to loosen up. And again the sense that your feet are tingling, or actually barely warmer, as more blood flows into your feet. And your entire body becomes totally relaxed, so relaxed that it starts to feel really good to simply remain very still since the body has found a form of complete stillness and the mind starts aligning to that. As an alternative of the mind type of shoving the body around, the stillness of the body is now starting to be reflected, increasing stillness within the mind.
And the image of the cloud starts to be reflected within the mind in such a way that the mind looks like a floaty cloud, very relaxed, lighter than air, tremendously good, utterly awake.
Okay, so I would like you only to note the respiration now. On each in-breath you are feeling nice, relaxing, healing, clarifying energy coming into the body. The body likes to breathe, that in-breath is like eating food with all its oxygen. In order that becomes very nice on the in-breath. And on the out-breath the mind flows out the nostrils and becomes only a cloud, just vapor within the sky. And that is just the mind returning to its natural state. Noticing now, as you proceed to breathe on this nurturing air after which respiration out as a form of vapor, that the cloud disperses. And all that’s left is sky in order that with each out-breath the mind returns simply and naturally to its original skylight quality with none effort.
Respiratory in, in such a nice way, feeling the relief the pleasure, the pleasantness, the clarity, the energy flowing through the body. And on the out-breath, the mind just flows out to return to its natural state of skylike vastness and openness.
So let’s proceed that for a number of minutes together here.
Allowing each in-breath to be nurturing, each out-breath to return the mind to space, absolutely vast, open, uncongealed space. If it desires to re-congeal, okay, it will probably occur on the in-breath with the nurturing quality, but then, on the out-breath, again it just falls open to develop into the sky with none effort in any respect, zero effort to try this.
Okay, the body becoming increasingly more healthy, increasingly more relaxed, more and
more still, tremendous stillness descending with this real sense of ease and pleasantness and openness and being nurtured, and the mind, in an identical way, just relaxing and becoming increasingly more vast and open, increasingly more relaxed and comfortable, tremendously awake, tremendously relaxed.
Now just let the body dissolve too. On the out-breath, the body becomes sky as well, not simply the mind, the body too. All thoughts develop into sky, all emotions develop into sky, all regular body sensations develop into sky on the out-breath, sky.
Meanwhile, on the in-breath, notice the sensuous touch of the air throughout the body, the pleasantness of sitting this fashion. Notice whatever emotions are arising in all their detail.
Allow the thoughts to be totally present in all their vivid display in the event that they’re visual or sonic. Symphony-like quality in the event that they’re verbal. Every thing there in all its beauty on the in-breath after which on the out-breath it just all dissolves into sky.
So relaxed you may’t move. Notice any tingling quality within the body on the in-breath, that sense of energy within the body, or Prana, a way of chi, sense of piti, sense of vibrant life energy within the body on the in-breath. And feel its various rhythms, its patterns, the places where it’s stronger or weaker, the places where it’s delicious, possibly other places where it’s more atonal. On the in-breath all that’s present after which the out-breath that just disappears into sky.
Letting go of it utterly until it returns on the in-breath, coming back to sky, vast expanse, wide open on every out-breath, totally without effort. It just falls back open on the in-breath. It’s possible you’ll notice perhaps thoughts are occurring. In the event that they’re visual notice all the intense colours and shapes, in the event that they’re verbal notice all of the burbling sound. But it surely might also be the case that due to coming back to the sky so often possibly not much thought is occurring. It almost can’t occur. It’s not an issue if it does just observe its beauty but when it’s not there just observe the great thing about the silence and stillness before returning once more to vast, open sky-like quality of mind.
Every now and then, it’s possible you’ll notice that you could have already simply dropped right into a much deeper state of relaxed openness, the sky even wider and more boundless. So that just about a form of forgetting occurs where we forget for there to be time, forgot the boundaries of the body.
Again, if emotions are present, feel every detail of that within the body, whatever qualities that emotion has on the in-breath really feel it very clearly, very deeply. It’s a body sensation, somewhere in your face, your throat, your torso, somewhere, your belly. After which on the out-breath all of it just dissolves into–and vanishes–into vastness. After which possibly it’s there again on the in-breath and we see its beauty yet again. Even when it’s a really difficult emotion notice whatever is gorgeous concerning the sensation just like the phenomenology of it will probably still be beautiful.
Same thing with regular body sensations, possibly you’re noticing some numbness in your legs or something, really notice what’s beautiful about that; the main points of it, the exquisite textures and contours of that on the in-breath. Again, even an unpleasant physical sensation can have an exquisite phenomenology after which it just falls into open sky on the out-breath. Noticing perhaps, much more energy on the in-breath, much more awakeness, much more clarity, but especially that tingly, buzzy energy. A really nice frequency available within the palms of your hands, the soles of your feet, perhaps in your smile. After which dissolving on the out-breath into just sky again, at all times back to simply vast openness.
Even pain within the body becoming just sky on the out-breath. After which on the in-breath, we don’t resist the pain in any respect, not in any way. We let it’s there entirely in its full expression with none holding back and spot what’s beautiful about it.
The breath becomes much more interesting because on the in-breath the room around us becomes very clear, very vivid, stuffed with color, shape, form, texture, pattern, tremendously beautiful. And on the out-breath, it just dissolves into boundless space still there and yet boundless space. And the sounds of the room around us various hums and buzzes and breathings and stirrings, swallowings, shiftings, all of the sounds are beautiful on the in-breath. And on the out-breath it just becomes boundless, timeless space, wide awake, utterly comfortable.
Then we begin to get this very funny sense, this very odd intuition, that within the depths of the clarity of our own precise wisdom-seeing of this, the in-breath and out-breath aren’t any different. And the great thing about all these phenomena isn’t any different than the open space. The 2 are together as one thing vast, open sky totally dissolved into nothing. And this exquisite expression of all that’s appearing, it has no center and no boundary, it has no ground, and yet, there’s nowhere to fall to.
And we realize that the meditation is just doing itself, the respiration is just doing itself, and all this exquisite experience is just doing itself, even the sense of me doing anything is just one other appearance that dissolves into sky after which appears again after which dissolves within the sky, until the sky and the looks will not be any different, not any different…or, if there may be a difference, they’re simply two sides of the identical coin.
In order that we see that each appearance, our feelings, our thoughts, our body sensations, the others around us, the room around us, the sounds, the sights, it’s each incredibly beautiful, utterly exquisite, and absolutely spacious and awake at the identical time. Floating on air like a cloud.
And we start to note that every appearance has a spot,all of the appearances, all the various appearances in every moment has its right place.The difficult ones, nice ones, each has their very own perfect spot, their right place on this moment. They usually’re all balanced in such a way that the entire appearance and awakeness is gorgeous and balanced and whole. Every part belongs with nothing overlooked or left over.
It takes each piece of this moment to finish the puzzle of every moment, nothing overlooked, nothing doesn’t belong, every thing instead, utterly exquisite and utterly sky at the identical time.Tremendously beautiful and floating like a cloud, on empty air at the identical time. Wide awake and at the identical time utterly comfortable. You may’t make this moment more perfect than it already is.
Good, now join me in chanting the Prajnaparamita mantra
Let’s end the meditation there.
Dharma Talk, Q&A
So, the Paradox is that every thing is present and likewise form of not present at the identical time. And it’s very–like I used to be saying last week–it’s quite common that we actually, especially as starting practitioners, emphasize that part, that vastness, that openness, that clarity. Whenever you really get a taste for it, it starts to be super delicious to seek out this type of emptiness, emptiness, emptiness. But as I used to be saying last week that is de facto just halfway there. And even lower than halfway there. It’s essential and it’s an enormous advantage over being caught up in stuff. You learn to be uncaught up in stuff. After which just see openness, openness, openness, just the sky, just the sky, just the sky, just the sky. And it’s almost just like the things of the world appear to fade or dissolve or disappear time and again and time and again and all over again.
And there’s an actual release, and an actual letting go, and an actual satisfaction and relief that comes with each of those letting go’s. But eventually, that becomes its own form of place to cover. It becomes its own form of dead end because then the remaining of your life is just chasing this deeper and deeper nothing that you just just form of need to retreat to finding. You recognize, I’m going to maintain going to simply increasingly more still physical spaces with fewer and fewer individuals with less and fewer happening, so I can just try this. After which, you only form of–that’s it. If that’s your path, or whatever, cool. Go ahead and try this but so far as I’m concerned–again that’s higher than, I don’t know voting to remove people’s liberty, or whatever. So it’s a great thing on that level nevertheless it’s still only partially there so far as I’m concerned because what about every thing? What about every thing? You recognize, what concerning the feeling of your body? And the best way emotions run through you? And what concerning the thoughts? And what concerning the world around you? And the others around you? And the colours and lights and sounds? And all that?
Is that every one that just there to be nothing? Or is it, worse yet, is it like some form of deluded fantasy that’s pulling you away out of your delicious nothing and it’s actually form of evil? Which is de facto common viewpoint. Or do you see that it’s never separate from that sky of emptiness? It’s never ever, ever even for a millisecond different. Or whether it is different, it’s different since it’s this, you recognize, effulgent, radically beautiful display and the opposite thing is type of non-display. But they’re arising together. They’re never apart and that–seeing that thing–is starting to come back back around to wholeness again.
It’s not only that we shut ourselves in a cave after which see nothing without end. We come back out. But we come back out transformed. I mean the nothingness, the emptiness, the sky is incredibly essential because you then see the world and yourself as it truly is it’s like hanging like a dream in vastitude, right? Every a part of it’s exquisitely beautiful. Every a part of it is strictly in its right place for that moment. And the following moment it will probably be in one other place. But every a part of it’s essential to fill the puzzle of the moment. If you happen to took any of it away it might be incomplete. So it’s like excellent, excellent, excellent, excellent, even while repeatedly changing. Each moment is excellent. And it’s excellent not since it’s void, regardless that that’s there, but because even all the looks is–it’s got a spot, so to talk, within the mandala, right? It’s situated. And all of them are essential. And in order that is–that’s coming back around to fullness. We don’t just want emptiness we would like to come back back around, all the best way back around to fullness and complete expression.
Otherwise, I mean to place it in form of a funny way, what are you even doing here? Why’d you even get born if it was just to enter nothingness? You possibly can have done that with no body. And that’s one other thing that arises with this that’s so interesting–is even there’s the sense that even–not only are you yourself in the proper place but each a part of you is in its right place on this moment, regardless that that may change in the following moment and so there’s a sort of lovely bouquet of selfhood that’s there just the best way it’s, even when a few of the flowers are dead or dried or strewn on the ground or it’s a weird arrangement. On this moment that’s exactly the proper arrangement. It’s whole. It’s complete. There’s nothing missing. There’s nothing to vary in that moment.
I’m going to read a quote, a really strange quote, which is I actually have to read from this piece of paper and except for individuals who I used to be talking to this afternoon, if anyone can guess who that is or you recognize who it’s, even higher, I’ll be impressed.
“I would like to learn increasingly more to see as beautiful what’s essential in things; then I shall be one in all those that make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I don’t want to wage war against what’s ugly. I don’t want to accuse; I don’t even need to accuse those that accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the entire: someday I want to be only a Yes-sayer.”
Michael: Does anyone know who that’s?
Questioner 1: Marcus Aurelius?
Michael: Because I take advantage of the word amor fati, you’re just guessing. Yeah, no it’s Nietzsche actually. But talking about amor fati that every thing, you recognize, that our fate the part is, in essence, not only something that we accept, I’m gonna accept my fate, right? No. It’s something that we actually love and see the great thing about. And that stance is obtainable to us regardless of what our condition. And in order that’s just funny. That’s written in just like the 1860s but he’s talking about what we’re practicing here tonight in a really direct way just noticing that every one that’s arising is strictly instead regardless of what it’s, there’s a form of perfection to the moment. And that we don’t simply form of grudgingly accept it, oh that’s you recognize that’s my lot but quite find it beautiful and even adore it.
I feel perhaps he’s talking about something a bit of more, form of, cognitive. But still, the mood is there of like understanding the well-platedness of every thing in each moment and likewise the undeniable fact that it’s got this cosmic depth to it, the vastness is at all times there.
So here’s the experiment; are you able to, for the following 24 hours, see each thing in your life not as something to vary and check out to do away with, or something to attempt to hold on to, or something that you just’re ashamed of, or something that you just wish was different? Oh my God, I’m within the incorrect marriage, oh my God, I actually have a silly job, oh my God, oh my God–the limitless litany of the way it should all be different. But moreover, not the form of nihilistic despair of, well it’s not going to ever be different so I higher just buck up and accept it or kill myself. But what’s beyond those things? Are you able to see its actual beauty just the best way it’s? After which, even adore it just the best way it’s? Doesn’t mean you may’t change it, doesn’t mean you’re locked in. But in each moment let it’s just what it’s.
For many people who, at first, sounds really bad like, oh my God I’m trapped, after which I’ll be, you recognize, I’ll surrender and never change anything. But what’s weird is you’ve already given up and aren’t changing anything since you’re stuck within the mode of pondering every thing must change on a regular basis, I actually have to work really hard to make, to hold onto good things, and do away with bad things, never recognizing that that’s limitless. There isn’t any ending that, or winning that. That’s everlasting incarceration.
And so, just as an experiment, it won’t turn you right into a vegetable, it won’t turn you into, you recognize, some form of agency-less victim, I promise, but you don’t should–just try it for a bit of while. What if it’s all excellent? And even changing it’s excellent however the mood is; it’s beautiful, and I even adore it. And it’s not an idea. I can see that it’s beautiful, and I actually do adore it.
The form of meditation we did is one strategy to notice that since you see this total space that’s there and the full vibrant display and perfectly placed-ness of the looks placidness nevertheless we are saying that, so try this. And see if it turns you into an agency-less victim or should you actually begin to form of feel higher.
So questions or comments? Or simply reports about your meditation? Questions on other things? Just opening up the ground here.
Questioner 2: I’m unsure if I’m properly distinguishing between the formless jhanas and samatha without an object. Okay I feel possibly I used to be doing samatha without an object and pondering that it’s jhana.
Michael: Sure, they’re closely related obviously fifth jhana is Infinite space, sixth jhana infinite consciousness. We’re form of doing them at the identical time consciousness and space. I’d say that they’re not quite the identical thing because normally a jhana is form of dualistic, type of me over here taking a look at the Infinite space, me over here taking a look at the infinite consciousness. And once we do it this other way where it’s not split up like that–now possibly some people do practice them in the opposite more non-dualistic way, it just is determined by the way it’s taught, and so forth but in one other way it’s like, high quality they’re similar.
Good, you may even have you recognize a mood where the space will turn to love a degree of nothingness, similar to the seventh jhana, although we’re not attempting to make that occur. And also you form of should–you’ll need to sustain that if it was a jhana. And if it just occurs in non-dual meditation you only–if it’s there, it’s there and if it goes away, it goes away, right? So we’re not attempting to do a scientific moving through, nor does it lead to those other, you recognize, necessarily to nothingness or to non-perception and perception or those sorts of other stages, right? So I’d just say they’ve some similarities needless to say and lots of people think that–remember originally they’re not called jhanas, they’re called ayatanas, which implies realms. And so, some people think that every one of–they speculate–that Mahayana Buddhism comes out of this concept of realms, so people doing not only the unique Buddha ayatanas but form of spreading out from there because when you discover ayatanas you’ll find a complete bunch of them, etc, etc. So it’s interesting, right? Way more interesting than saying well are those the exact same or not I don’t know we’re form of doing something different but actually a few of the territory we’re crossing over there may be pretty similar, right? Yeah, it’s cool, right?
What else? How was that meditation for you? What’s in your mind? Are you a blank cloud floating in an open sky? I feel like I’ve succeeded. I’ve pummeled you all into silence, I at all times be ok with that.
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