Guided Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft
Introduction
So let’s start out by just stretching up and if you happen to can rise up in your tippy toes and really, really reach as much as those ceiling tiles and just get as much of a pleasant nice stretch in your torso as you may—really feel that, okay?
Then if you happen to can, keeping your knees pretty straight, come down and touch the ground. Get a very, really nice stretch within the back. If you happen to’ve got to bend your knees or if that is uncomfortable, don’t do anything weird. Make it feel good.
If it does feel good though, you recognize, bend one knee and get the stretch at the back of the opposite leg after which bend the opposite knee and get the stretch at the back of the opposite leg—feels great.
Come back up again, stretching towards the ceiling. Then get your legs a bit further apart and we’ll do a few of these real fast, nevertheless, you wish to do them, whatever feels good. Be sure that it feels good, nice, and slow. We’re not attempting to impress anyone or break any records, we just wish to form of get our body happening here a bit bit.
All right, there we go, that’s it, that’s the massive movement program for tonight; simply to get everyone stretched. And now we’ll begin meditating. We’ve got some SFDC-ers showing up, hi you guys.
Meditation
Okay, so we’re going to meditate for an hour, so prepare to take a seat still for an hour and the concept is don’t move and once I say don’t move, I mean don’t move—if you may have to, . But aside from that we’ll just sit and do whatever meditation it is advisable to do for an hour. But additionally I’ll guide one that you would be able to follow if you wish to, or you may ignore completely. If you happen to’d relatively just sit in a room and meditate with some folks and do your personal guidance, either way, is wonderful.
In order usual let’s speak about our posture and it’s easy on our cushions, right? So on the cushions, you wish to sit in order that your lower back has a pleasant little curve in it, right? That’s what the cushion does after which that permits your upper body to simply form of naturally, almost like, lift upwards with none effort. Get in that one nice, balanced spot together with your spine where it just keeps itself upright. It doesn’t feel such as you’re doing anything. And the very tip-top of your head feels, like, in a way it’s almost like, suspended from the ceiling in a really nice manner, okay? And as you’re doing this, as you’re stepping into your posture, you’re just letting go of every little thing. Just drop every little thing you’re frightened about, stop fascinated by shit if you happen to can, if you happen to can’t, that’s okay. But I invite you—you may have total permission to simply drop it for the following hour.
After which allow your shoulders to calm down and form of open, right? And your arms may be just loose either—you recognize most individuals got the concept—either in your knees or in your lap like that, okay? So that you’ve got this posture that just feels each very alert, very upright, and yet may be very, very stable and really relaxed, okay?
Now let’s just breathe for a moment, just check yourself respiration, easy respiration. And the query I would like you to ask yourself at once is: what’s it wish to be me at once? What’s it wish to be me at once? That is just a really general, open query. The reply is likely to be, “it really sucks” or, “I’m, you recognize, I’m feeling a lot joy” or perhaps, “I’m just form of, you recognize, busy” or, “my leg hurts,” or whatever. But any answer is wonderful so long as it’s the way you’re doing at once. So just check in with what it’s wish to be you at once and regardless of the answer is, for the length of this meditation, let that be completely wonderful. No less than for the length of the meditation, whatever it’s wish to be at once is okay, you’re allowed to be that. And just feel like yourself letting go of trying to vary yourself, trying to manage yourself, attempting to dominate and boss yourself around, attempting to be any individual else, attempting to be something different, attempting to look different, attempting to act different, attempting to be higher, smarter, skinnier. Whatever is in your mind, just set that aside and let yourself be whatever you’re at once; exactly the best way you’re at once. And see if you happen to can settle into that a bit bit. Just let that be a spot you get form of ‘homey’ with. And you would possibly feel the urge coming back, “oh no, I don’t want it, not that.” Let all of it just be just the best way it’s.
Okay, good, now for our opening metaphor. We’re going to have a metaphor for our meditation which we could, you may just take into consideration, or do as a visualization, or whatever. Last week we used an alembic, a sacred vessel of transformation, because the image. This week I would like you to meditate just like the sky, okay? So the metaphor for our meditation is—be the sky. And the properties of the sky are that it’s vast, it’s open, it’s effortless. Every part happens within the sky however the sky doesn’t do any of it; it’s just resting because the sky. It accepts every little thing, rejects nothing and it’s beautiful. The sky is so beautiful with none effort. So just either picture that sky at once or be the sky, but either way just notice any of those properties in your experience at once, irrespective of how small, irrespective of how partial or very, very quiet they is likely to be. Notice vastness and openness. Notice this total receptivity, every little thing is welcome. Sky is uncomplicated, every little thing can occur, every kind of crazy stuff can occur within the sky however the sky itself is totally uncomplicated and the sky is gorgeous.
So notice any of those properties which are present in experience at once. And see if you happen to can absorb that sky or allow yourself to be a bit skylike. You’ll be able to’t do it flawed and it’s not a contest. Nonetheless skylike you’re is the suitable amount. But just notice those skylike properties and sit with that now for a number of moments.
And the sky is stuffed with air, so now just notice the sky respiration. If you wish to you may do some deep respiration with really long out-breaths, really slow, extra long out-breaths, if that’s comfortable. Or you may just breathe naturally—regular, old sky respiration with none change—just natural respiration, whichever works for you. But allow this awareness, this skylike awareness to simply concentrate on that respiration. We’re not, you recognize, drilling down into our respiration and we’re not attempting to follow it right at the purpose of your nose or anything like that. We’re just allowing the movement of the breath to be noticed in awareness. Totally effortlessly, the wave of the respiration in is noticed in awareness, the wave of respiration out is noticed in awareness. And see how obvious that’s. It doesn’t take loads of effort to pay attention to it, it’s right there. So let this be really easy, really easy; just aware of the breath moving out and in.
Awareness is of course aware, it’s aware of respiration. It doesn’t take any special focus, doesn’t take any special effort—awareness welcomes every little thing. So perhaps loads of considering is occurring, that’s wonderful. We don’t need to vary that, just let the sky of awareness notice the approaching and going of the breath, within the simplest way possible. If you happen to want a bit little bit of an anchor with that, just be certain that you notice the top of the in-breath and again the top of the out-breath. End of the in-breath, end of the out-breath and that’ll just provide you with a bit bit more to hold on to if you happen to want that. But this is just not like one-pointed laser beam focus. That is wide, wide open, vast because the sky awareness, simply noticing the breath arising.
Little by little, I would like you to see if there’s anything that just desires to sloth off, just fall off. You may notice you’re keeping yourself really tense, and that’s okay. But when it desires to, it may possibly just fall away, no tension required.
Or perhaps there’s loads of real planning happening at once but perhaps, only for the time of meditation, that just seems like it may possibly just drop off. If not, that’s totally wonderful. What can you only effortlessly and simply, what burden can you only set down at once? Set it down, it’s okay, it’ll still be there if you happen to need it while you rise up. Let it go—it’s gonna be okay.
Continuing to simply let the sky of awareness notice the respiration, that’s it—very quite simple.
It’s funny, you don’t really should pretend or imagine that you simply are just like the sky because that’s the actual nature of your personal awareness, your personal mind. Already, for the reason that very starting, your natural mind is wide open, utterly awake and aware and vibrant: effortless, welcoming, clear, and exquisite. So just notice that nature of your personal mind and just rest as that. It’s not something you’re generating, it’s all the time been there. It’s not something you may have to seek out, it’s the thing that’s looking. Rest as what you naturally all the time already are, before every little thing.
And whatever arises within the sky of the mind, just let it occur but don’t become involved with it.
If there’s only a bunch of considering happening, that’s okay. Just find what knows the considering and rest as that. Don’t spend any time trying to manage the thoughts, resist the thoughts, change the thoughts. It doesn’t matter in the event that they’re good thoughts or bad thoughts or ugly thoughts or beautiful thoughts or thoughts you’re presupposed to have or thoughts you’re not presupposed to have—none of that applies. Thoughts are identical to reflections in a mirror; be the mirror which is just not bothered by any reflection. Simply rest as what you already are—naked awareness itself.
Possibly some emotions are happening. But what if you happen to just gave up entirely trying to vary what you’re feeling? Whether it’s really difficult or feels too big or seems like the flawed emotion or, for whatever reason, you would like a special one. What if as an alternative you only allow them to all be just the best way they’re, exactly the best way they’re? Not controlling them, not suppressing them or denying them, were combating them, or trying to vary them. However the vast, open sky just welcomed any emotion that got here into it. It’s totally wonderful, the sky is just not bothered by any particular winds that move through it. Every part is totally wonderful just the best way it’s. Find the thing that knows the emotion, this natural mind, this naturally spacious, open wakefulness that’s already present with none effort in any respect—rest in that, rest as that.
Within the desert, there’s arches of sandstone carved by the wind. They make a good looking frame for the sky and that stone has been holding itself up for 100 million years. Eventually, something very slight, perhaps just the comb of a bat wing within the night, touches that rock and it just all lets go, completely drops and leaving only open sky, just as beautiful.
Is the moon bothered when a stone in a pond ripples its reflection?
Dharma Talk / Q&A
Good. So now let go of that. Be happy to maneuver and stretch, allow your body to feel good. The truth is, let’s do our stretching together again. Get your legs back in motion a bit bit but make this give you the results you want. As usual, don’t do anything that’s gonna tweak your back or whatever.
So let’s very slowly, slowly, slowly stretch up. If you wish to you may go up in your toes. I feel that feels good. Then bring it back down. Then bring it back up, stretching up high again after which leaning a technique, nevertheless that feels good. The opposite way, nevertheless that feels good.
There we go, just a bit little bit of movement. Remind yourself and your legs, they get to maneuver to.
Normally this might be a dharma talk moment but I feel just like the guided meditation tonight was the dharma talk. I’m just going to open it as much as reports. So if you wish to say how that was for you or ask a matter, then consider it to be a meditation AMA. AMA about meditation, probably not anything, this particular form of anything. Just raise your hand—yes?
Q: Of all of the meditations you remember, do you may have a favourite?
A: All of them really. I mean, I’m just glad I did them. I don’t consider it as, like, particular this one or that one. But more just like the—it’s almost like, you recognize, what’s your favorite song you ever played? Or, you recognize, essentially the most beautiful walk you ever had, or something. They’re all form of great, right? So it’s more just like the practice in that real sense of practice, right? Where it’s the doing of it daily over a complete lifetime, right? A long time and stuff, that it just, that’s my favorite part. But, you recognize, I even have this relationship with the practice. How about you?
Good. Other questions arising for anyone?
Q: Last week the sequence was to have interaction after which let go of thoughts, emotion, sense of self and sensations and I’m wondering if there’s anything more to say about that sequence?
A: Yeah, good memory, right? That was the sequence last week and the thing is that the sequence doesn’t matter unless it does, right? If it really works for you in a specific way, right? Then great, use that sequence. What matters is that every of those things is, you recognize, seen as empty or dropped or let go of or not engaged with, or whatever. And we could go on, we could speak about, you recognize, the sense of time, the sense of space, the sense of doership, the sense of every kind of things, right? So anything that the mind is clinging to or congealing around or encrusting upon, or whatever, we notice the emptiness of that. Although it looks as if, you recognize, you’re, there’s something to carry on to, there really isn’t something to carry on to. And so the true sequence is—notice whatever you’re holding on to and let go. Not push it away, not do away with it but just, you recognize, literally such as you were holding on to it, just calm down. If it goes away, wonderful. If it stays, wonderful. But no have to hold on to it. In order that, you recognize, we notice that primordial, already existing groundlessness, right? The incontrovertible fact that we just pretend there’s stuff to carry on to because that’s ‘pretend safety’. It seems like, supposedly feels good. Although the more you notice it the more, you recognize, attempting to hang on to the wind is de facto actually form of anxiety-producing, right? So once we let go it’s a giant relief. So yeah, for every individual the mind is a bit different so there’s stuff that’s easier to let go of or easier to see the emptiness of and other things which are perhaps a bit stickier. So the sequence is: try the straightforward ones first and it kind of snowballs after which the things which are harder to release or calm down or simply let be, but not engage with, are gonna get a bit easier, right? So use whatever sequence works.
Q: Possibly that is just me but I appear to be most attached to my most painful thoughts. Why do you are feeling like we’re, I don’t know if that’s just me, but if you happen to’ve experienced that in any respect? Why do you think that it’s that our most painful thoughts are essentially the most difficult ones? Just like the ones that carry on wanting to resurface?
A: Why do you think that that’s? I’m curious, I’m not asking that, like, as to place it back, I’m just actually curious.
Q: Well my intuition tells me that it’s since it’s the parts where there’s essentially the most work to do. In order that’s what my intuition says. But, there’s loads of, essentially the most painful stuff comes from an area of memory, nostalgia, I’d say. Which is just not really real.
A: So are you, I’m just curious, you don’t should answer if you happen to don’t wish to. Are these painful thoughts of, like, something bad that happened or painful thoughts like nostalgia where it’s actually something good that you simply miss now?
Q: I believe for me it’s more current, more present. What’s happening today.
A: Yeah, so there’s a pair things to say about that one. That’s a part of our makeup as, not only as people and never just as primates but, like, any animal that evolved has negativity bias, right? So for classy reasons, difficult stuff is more interesting. Our brain sticks to it because, you recognize, it’s the thing to resolve, it’s the issue. So there’s a form of a sciency answer in there or, you recognize, ‘ish’ answer in there. But, you recognize, that sense of, that I used to be just remarking on over here—that sense of sometimes wanting something to hold on to, just so there’s to hold on to—I believe goes much more deeper. And that the protection and security even of a painful cage is healthier than the, like, the momentary scariness of freedom, right? And so there’s a form of a game you may play of just seeing what it could be wish to calm down, having to hold on to that only for, like, a half a second.
And so in this fashion of working here, you’re not attempting to stop them and it doesn’t matter in the event that they keep going, but notice the thing that knows the thoughts. As a substitute of aiming awareness on the thoughts, aim awareness on the thing, in quotes, of the thoughts. And rest in that. And also you’ll notice that is just not bothered by those thoughts even a bit bit. Like I used to be saying, it’s just like the mirror that’s reflecting. It doesn’t matter if there’s, you recognize, really ugly things being reflected within the mirror or really beautiful things or really boring things or really exciting things. The mirror is wonderful and yet it’s perfectly reflecting those. So as an alternative of attempting to do anything in any respect to, or with the thoughts, or to get them to go away or keep them from arising, or whatever. We’re being the one who knows the thoughts and resting as that and noticing that that knower is wonderful. It’s wonderful with any form of thoughts, they’ll never ever, ever harm the knower, okay? So it’s really once I say, like ‘rest as’ I actually mean that word—rest. Don’t do anything to them. Be the one which knows them and just rest as that because that’s all the time there.
Q: I find myself dropping into problem-solving mode. And I find myself having to stop that.
A: Or much more deeply, let problem-solving mode occur. Just be the notice that’s aware of the problem-solving. As a substitute of getting right in there in, with the gears and doing it, just almost, like, allow it to reflect. Okay—problem-solving is occurring, so what? Solve away. But I’m not giving it any energy at once, just knowing it, okay? It’s a bit little bit of a special move there. It’s a rather more of a ‘just letting be’. I would like to say letting go but sometimes people hear that as, like, pushing away. But I don’t mean pushing away, I mean, like, just let it’s just what it’s, okay?
Q: Along those lines, your experience with negativity bias, you recognize, this can be a deeply ingrained thing that happens across all creatures to maintain us secure. With practice over time do you are feeling that that fades, that bias? Or the capability to be okay? That’s happening.
A: It’s in regards to the capability to be okay with it. I mean, I believe it probably does shift to some extent but there’s nothing more dangerous than someone who thinks they’ve overcome their biases, right? It’s all the time a giant, red flag. So I’d say at the least you’re okay with the incontrovertible fact that that’s happening. That’s much deeper anyway, right? So, you recognize, what knows that this is going on? And just keep pointing back at that, point back at that, okay?
I do think over time once we don’t really feed that form of material it does diminish, but attempting to diminish it’s feeding it. So you only, it’s form of a hands-off policy, by way of meditation. Other stuff, yes.
Q: Sometimes once I lean into spaciousness or equanimity it’ll include this type of unpleasant flattening of affect for me. It’ll feel kind of dull and negative. I’m just curious if you may have any suggestions for approach that.
A: What’s leaning into this openness? What’s it that’s leaning into this emptiness or this openness?
Q: Awareness.
A: The openness itself. So is that going to one way or the other flatten anything?
Q: No definitely not. It’s what’s arising in openness.
A: And perhaps there’s some efforting of attempting to be open, or whatever. And that’s just like the imagination of what openness could be like, is flattening stuff out, or whatever. So don’t try so hard. Openness doesn’t mean there’s not so much happening. This, you recognize, there’s so much happening within the sky on a regular basis however the sky’s still wide open. So probably not, just don’t try so hard. But openness has all the time been there, it can all the time be there. You don’t should do anything in any respect, just rest because it. And if it’s flat for some time, okay, let it’s flat. It’ll—people pay good money to have, you recognize, some flatness occur of their affect, you recognize. It’s like, form of, it’s a great, old neutrality, you recognize? But if you happen to sit there like that for some time it’ll start bubbling again, right? In order that’s okay.
What else is in your mind, your single mind?
Q: What’s your experience with the connection between psychological work like trauma resolution, IFS, shadow work, and the continuing, deepening stability of resting in awareness?
A: They go hand in hand, they assist one another. So if you happen to’re doing numerous meditation and particularly if that’s loosening up the sense of identification with all those psychological processes, it’s going to be much easier for them to individuate, to grow, to vary. You’ll be able to improve them if you wish to, all that. Because they don’t seem as very similar to your identity. So loads of times what’s blocking our psychological growth is, “no, but I’m my depression.” You recognize, “who would I be without my depression?” Right? And in order that form of identification is locking it in place and so the meditation releases the identification. Then that may change, “oh I could be a different one that’s not depressed.” And that becomes much easier. So all of the psychological processes are form of like, lubricated by meditation.
But additionally it really works the opposite way around. The psychological growth really helps the meditation. Because, in fact, if you happen to’re just sitting there, I don’t know, seething with rage and despair and you may only, like, take into consideration, you recognize, how awful you’re as an individual, or whatever, it’s hard to meditate. I could sit here and say, “be this guy” as much as I would like and if you happen to’re just really caught up, it’s psychologically, it’s going to be very, very difficult. Or let’s say trauma from the past just keeps bursting up and it’s hard, right? So we wish to try this form of work and that kind of clears the decks a bit bit and makes it easier to seek out some stability in awareness. Otherwise, the psychological knots and holdings and traumas and distress is so big that somebody telling you to, like, calm down is like, you recognize, “don’t tell me to calm down, shut up!” You recognize, you only get reactive. However the two help one another so much and dealing concurrently on each is like, you recognize, you get synergies, it really moves so much faster. But they’re different, right? They’re different. In as, you see, once we’re just sitting we’re not attempting to fix any of that stuff. Although actually, in fact, just accepting, accepting all of it with this tremendous openness and welcoming is definitely helping to repair it, right?
But we’re not getting in there and trying to govern it, so that they’re different processes. But when, like, after meditation or before meditation you’re doing therapy, you’re doing a little other form of work in your psychological stuff, those two things start really helping one another. The massive, big one is if you happen to’ve got loads of trauma to do, it’s hard to meditate. The truth is, while you’ve trauma work to do it’s hard to meditate in order that while you, you recognize, like, calm down and open, you’ll just, trauma will come up. And so if it’s sufficiently small, that’s okay. But when it starts really taking up it’s super essential to go do the psychological work on that trauma now. Because otherwise just having it, you recognize, volcanoing up when you’re meditating is serially re-traumatizing you. So that you don’t want to try this. So there, however the two really, really engage one another very powerfully, okay?
Q: Are you able to talk a bit about stream entry and, like, what could be a few of what, are a number of the indications if you happen to’ve entered it?
A: Right. So stream entry or , it’s the unique term, it’s like a technical term from early Buddhism, right? And I’m not super fascinated about the technical details of that, the way it’s, like, really specifically defined.
But, as using even a term like that in a rather more general way, the essential thing is just noticing directly that you simply usually are not the thing inside you called the self—it’s that straightforward. And, or that there’s no such thing in, you recognize, an object in you called a self. And we are able to notice that shallowly and perhaps, you recognize, like form of bounce off it or we are able to notice it a bit more deeply, a bit more deeply. But in some unspecified time in the future, you notice that with such an intuitive and visceral, experiential impact—that you would be able to never unnotice it. And even if you happen to do, the minute you remember, it can just, you recognize, be totally present.
In order that form of, “oh I’ve had such a visceral impact of this that it may possibly never be forgotten,” I’d say that’s principally stream entry. And again, that’s form of different than how it could be traditionally described, okay? It does, I mean why do you care about that term, and you recognize?
Q: Well if I had I’d say… I’m just kidding. I’m just, I believe that a number of things, there’s a certain once I attempt to speak about my experience each meditating and never meditating, within the last 12 months or so I just noticed I hit some place where I can’t put words to it. And I keep hearing about this term, stream-entry, and something wiggles inside once I hear it. I’m not quite sure exactly what it meant.
A: So if we go, like, right into the true tradition, there’s this concept of, like, a lineage transmission from the historical Buddha, like moving down through time, okay? And it’s a stream of, like, this . And many of the world is, you recognize, just going to live and die and, repeatedly and never touch that. But eventually at a certain point with enough, you recognize, clarity and realization you get into that stream.
Q: That’s gorgeous.
A: It’s a great, it’s a pleasant image. After which when you’re in, you’re in perpetually, you recognize? You’ll, you’ll never leave the stream. And it just deepens and deepens and deepens until, you recognize, you’re—I’ll say it in a ‘later’ Buddhist way—but your innate Buddhahood is realized. In order that’s why they call, that’s the stream you’re entering, you recognize? The stream of this enlightened wisdom. But, you recognize, it has a complete bunch of other properties which are presupposed to occur with it, and so forth. But generally, that thing, that quivering or, you recognize, the incontrovertible fact that it’s indescribable, or whatever. That’s good, go into the indescribable of that place, right? Like that spot where there’s just nothing to say about it and yet it’s, it’s not nothing or flat or boring, or whatever. It’s really powerful and yet there’s nothing to say. And just rest there. There’s nothing to do there either. You don’t should be anybody there otherwise you don’t should imagine anything, right?
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