Introduction
Welcome to tonight’s guided meditation. I’ll be talking throughout the sit, guiding, leading your meditation, and, as usual, you don’t should follow along if you happen to don’t wish to. Do your personal sit, but I’ll be leading a guided meditation, you possibly can follow along if you happen to wish. It can be an hour, after which I’ll talk a bit, after which we’ll take questions. But if you happen to’re not used to sitting on the ground for an hour, it’s probably going to harm, so it is advisable to quickly, as an alternative, get in a chair. When you’re not used to it, there’s a wiggle room tonight, if you happen to really do want to sit down on the ground, but you possibly can’t sit still, go in there as an alternative of here, and sit on the ground, or in a chair. The social contract is you’re going to stay pretty still.
Let’s begin by performing some movement sitting down. Just rotate your hands indirectly. You don’t should do it the way in which I’m doing it, just do nevertheless you wish, but let your wrists be loose. Then let your elbows be loose and rotate them in some way, and let or not it’s fun and feel good. Then do your shoulders, but do it nevertheless you wish. We’re not exercising, we’re just sort of freeing ourselves a little bit bit here, so it’s not necessarily about stretching or figuring out, it’s just, what does your body feel like doing that may feel good along with your arms and shoulders. Then you definately can do your entire back a little bit bit–get that whole spine moving in a way that feels very nice, and unconstricted, and open, and free, and relaxed, and smooth, and friendly. You’re just inviting your body to indicate as much as the party a little bit bit.
Then, as usual, we sort of decelerate, and let go. Just let the arms turn into super super super relaxed, but let your trunk, your spine proceed to rotate a little bit bit and proceed to rotate a little bit bit, until eventually, you possibly can’t tell if it’s rotating or not. Then just let that be that way right where, whether it is moving, it’s moving so small, perhaps it’s just still.
Meditation
Then, resting there on this, “am I moving or not moving” place, just ask yourself the query, what’s it wish to be me at once? Then, simply look, feel, note, notice, what it’s wish to be at once? The thoughts, and the emotions, and the body sensations, and sort of the weather around you, and just let that be that way. Whatever it’s, just allow yourself to let go of the continual need for it to be different, and as an alternative, what if only for some time, you simply let or not it’s that way, nevertheless it’s.
The best way I normally recommend doing that is you sit up nice and straight and have your eyes open. You don’t should have them open, but it surely’s really useful that you’ve gotten them open. They don’t should be staring straight ahead–you possibly can just sort of softly stare upon the ground in front of you, but you possibly can look forward, too.
Then, step outside the clunky, rusty, squeaky, heavy industrial machinery of your mind, and as an alternative, just be within the space of awareness itself. You’re not attempting to stop pondering, or suppress pondering, or deny pondering, or control pondering. You’re letting the thinker think if it desires to, but you’re not engaging with that in any respect. You’re just pressing within the clutch, and just stepping right outside the entire thing, into just easy presence, into just feeling your body, being within the room, hearing the sounds, seeing the sights, feeling your feelings. But not engaging in any chains of considered any kind. You’re just letting them do their thing, but you’re not engaging. When you end up engaging, just step outside again.
Sometimes, it might be that sort of thing, where each time I drive by that bar, I find myself within the bar, drinking, before I even know what I’m doing. It might be like, oh, I just got a little bit too near the thoughts, now I’m in there pondering. But, you simply step back outside, out into the wide open space of straightforward presence. Feeling your body, seeing the room, hearing the sounds, in the only possible way. There’s no strategy in any respect. Let’s do this together for a little bit while.
When you really can’t stop grabbing onto it, then, while still simply resting on this open, easy, wide open presence, then, you possibly can very, very, very, very, calmly, with only a tiny little bit of attention, stick with the rising and falling of the breath. A really small amount of attention on that–like 97% of attention just being wide awake in easy presence, after which just a little bit bit on the rising and falling of the breath.
When you’re sleepy in any respect, sit up, open your eyes. Otherwise, there’s not much to do–just be present.
Good. Now, the query is, what’s it like while you step outside your mind for a moment? Just do it, just drop out of any pondering. Again, we’re not suppressing, denying, controlling, stopping, thought in any way: We’re just not engaging. What’s it like while you do this? Just notice there are body sensations, there are emotions, there are the sights and sounds of the world around you. It’s quite simple, it’s really brilliant, it’s really clear, it’s really present, it’s very embodied. When you start desirous about it, just disengage from that. That’s the sport–you don’t must do anything special along with your eyes or anything like that. They don’t must fixate. This is straightforward, this is easy, you simply disengage from pondering, engage with being.
Notice how really, really, wide open things are. When you’re engaged with machinery of thought, you’re way stuck down inside your mind, but, while you disengage and just come into being, it’s really broad, it’s really open, it’s really relaxed, and free. What’s it like while you step outside thought? It’s brilliant, it’s clear, there are feelings, there’s a body, it’s open, it’s fresh, it’s timeless, it’s boundaryless. So, for yourself, with none words, and without engaging the pondering in any respect, just notice what it’s like. Just notice–we’re not desirous about it–we’re just noticing. If any person said, do you see the bird within the tree over there? You don’t give it some thought, you simply look.
What’s it like while you step outside pondering and just exist?
When you’re drained, sit up, straight, straight, and open your eyes, so that you stay up.
This isn’t nap time.
Good. Now, just come back to this open, easy, presence, following the up and down flow of normal respiratory with only a tiny a part of your awareness. The remainder is just being present, naturally. When you’re not involved with pondering, there’s quite a lot of awareness left over–it’s a ton of additional to only come into easy presence, spacious, wakeful, brilliant, fresh, clear, presence. Following that breath wave up and down, really letting that be a part of the experience. Not engaging with thought.
Good. Now, see if you happen to can notice the energy around that breath wave, the very subtle, or perhaps, not so subtle, but subtle, flavor of buzzy, tingly, vibratory experience that goes up and down the body with each breath. You may also feel it in your hands and feet, perhaps in your face, but it surely’s also going up and down with the breath wave. There’s a way of vibratory energy. As an alternative of following the breath wave, follow that energy wave up and down. Remaining wide open, remaining brilliant and clear in the current moment, very, simply present. Disengage with thought.
On the in-breath, a really normal in-breath, not changing your breath in any respect, feel the energy gathering within the belly, perhaps a little bit bit below the navel. Respiration in, you’re feeling like a ball of energy within the belly below the navel. On the out-breath, the entire spine lights up. That looks like energy within the spine and in addition sort of goes out the highest of the top, and just expands into space.
So now, as an alternative of stepping outside the machinery of thought, with each out-breath, let
the machinery of thought just flow out the highest of your head, and just dissolve into space. It’s not even possible to have interaction with, since it’s just completely dissolved into vibratory energy in space.
A few of chances are you’ll notice that the energy can get a little bit bit intense doing that. It doesn’t must be intense, so let or not it’s relaxed and open, but very vibratory. With each out-breath, the mind just dissolves into space.
Notice how the boundaries of the body turn into very indeterminate. The body appears to be boundaryless. If there’s any sense of the boundaries of the body, then, just, on the subsequent out-breath, along with the remaining of the mind, just let those go up and out, dissolving until the body is just wide open–a field of energy but and not using a particular discernible boundary.
When you’re having quite a lot of mental pictures of the body–my head over here, and my arms over there, and so forth–just let those mental pictures go up and out with the breath, up above the top, dissolving into space, so the body is vibrating energy, wide awake, wide open, vibrating energy, with none limiting visual images.
Notice how the complete body feels not like a machine, not like some sort of plumbing and pulleys and levers and stuff, but it surely looks like a field of vibrating energy, with no boundaries in any respect. Very wide awake, very alive, smooth and flowing, fully inhabiting it in open, easy presence.
Notice, as you’re sitting here, you is likely to be maintaining the sense of a personality, the sort of person I’m, my likes and dislikes, where I come from, the way in which I dress, the way in which I look. When you’re holding any of that in any respect, that’s only a subtler sort of thought. Just let that, with each out-breath, flow as energy out the highest of the top and just disperse into space–just dissolve entirely into space. So, we’re left with an unfixed, freely flowing, energetic, boundaryless, experience. Very free, very open.
If there are any thoughts of time, any thoughts of the past or present and even thoughts concerning the now, we breathe them out on the out-breath into space, allowing them to dissolve completely and deliver us right into the timeless present, where we have now zero thoughts about time. We notice that point is just one other construction–it’s a thing we’re making with our minds. After we stop making it, we’re right in eternity, at once, wide open, wide awake, relaxed, present, timelessness, boundarylessness, nice, flowing, energy. Remaining disengaged with thought, feel that energy filling the belly, after which just pouring upwards with the out-breath, and expanding out into boundaryless space.
Good. Now, along with your eyes open, notice that, with all this boundlessness–and, we’re noticing here, not making something up, or imagining anything–just notice that there’s no separation in any respect between the sense of inside and the sense of outdoor. The wide open awareness during which body sensations and thoughts and feelings are occurring is that this very same wide open awareness during which the pictures of the room and sounds of the world around you might be arising. It’s one seamless field of knowing with none boundary in it in any respect. That your deepest, most intimate, secret feelings are only as near to you as the pictures of the room around you, or the sounds of the world outside. All are equally intimate, equally close, equally wide awake, wide open, vivid experience, with no separation in any respect.
If there’s any sense of struggle, just let that flow upward and outward, and dissolve. If there’s any sense of attempting to do it right, or trying to ascertain, am I doing right? Just let that flow upward and outward, and dissolve into space. This could be very easy, it’s just presence without boundaries.
Continuing to breathe, and to note just the energy freely flowing, wide awake, in wide open boundaryless space, with no inside and no outside, and no center. Outside of even time. When you’re attempting to do it in any respect, you’re already doing an excessive amount of. Just let go into boundaryless, openness, disengaged from pondering, and also you’re already there. It’s already wide open, it’s already brilliant and clear, and wide awake, it’s already outside of concepts.
Notice if there’s any feeling of any person doing something, anybody meditating. If there’s a way, I’m doing this meditation, just let that flow as energy up and out and dissolve into space. There’s no meditation in any respect, and if there’s any sense of, I’m doing a thing, I’m the one doing it, just let that flow upward and outward dissolve into space, in order that the entire sense of doing, doing, doing, just dissolves. As an alternative, there’s simply wide open, wide awake, boundaryless, timeless, presence, that takes no effort, that doesn’t involve anybody doing anything in any respect, that takes no concentration in any respect, because this wide awake, wide open, timeless, boundaryless, presence is, itself, tremendously stable. No person doing anything in any respect, simply noticing this presence, being the presence.
Now, letting the energy gather within the belly on the in-breath, feel that energy, then, radiating out in all directions on the out-breath. Radiating out the sense of wide open, wide awake freedom, wakefulness, clarity, joy, kindness, in all directions, to everyone, all over the place–the opposite people within the room. Then, on the in-breath, feel that very same energy of wide openness, wide awakeness, clarity, joy, brilliance, kindness, connection, getting back from all directions. Then, radiating out again, and, in again.
Moving up, feel the energy gathering in the guts on the in-breath from all directions, all beings, in all directions. Then radiating it back out from the guts–all beings in all directions. The bounds of the guts breaking, and opening, and breaking, and opening further–unguarded, unbounded, almost jumping out your throat, love, kindness, compassion, friendliness, connection, belonging, radiating out in all directions to all beings, and coming back into the guts from all directions, from all beings.
The guts opening increasingly, perhaps even a little bit painful, but good. Then, the energy moving upward gathers within the third eye, the sunshine of wisdom, the sunshine of clarity, the sunshine of brilliance. Gathering within the third eye with strong energy from all beings in all directions on the in-breath, after which radiating out like a superb white light, all beings in all directions, on the out-breath. Tremendous clarity, tremendous, vividness, openness, insight, depth. Then, feel all of it up and down the spine–the complete body filling up with energy from all beings in all directions on the in-breath–love, joy, beauty, connection, brilliance, wisdom, clarity, vivacity, liveliness. Then, respiratory all that out from the complete spine, in all directions, to all beings on the out-breath. Then, just letting go of all that, and sitting in easy open presence, disengaged entirely from any pondering, and just feeling what it’s wish to be, at once. Sitting in fundamentally, absolutely easy, presence. What even is that this? Sitting in easy presence, just simply sitting. What even is that this? Look, look.
In a method, that was an hour of just sitting there, with someone yelling at you to only sit there. In one other way, we’re pointing at something else, which is, all of the layers and layers and layers of conceptualization that sort of cocoon just simply sitting there, and changing it from an experience of brilliant, clear, boundaryless, presence, which is absolutely easy, and really direct, and really intimate, into layers of complexity, layers of conceptualization, layers of alienation, separation, aloneness, which are completely self-generated, right? We’re making those with our pondering with and our are subtle concepts, which I’ll call pondering, but most individuals would call some sort of unconscious priors or something. With a little bit little bit of coaxing, it’s not that tough to begin letting go of no less than a few of that. Although, in a way, we’re just habitually like a caterpillar.
Once I was a child, my brother was really into bugs–he’s quite a bit older, like eight years older–he’s really into bugs. He eventually became an entomologist, so he really did like bugs. He would go on all these field trips, as an alternative of happening retreats, he went on field trips with butterfly nets and stuff, and got here back with all these interesting caterpillars. We had a basement bedroom together, and he had filled it with wire cages with branches in them. He would get the fitting branch, that he had also collected, and put it within the terrarium and put these caterpillars in there. They might principally just eat and eat and eat off these leaves, after which eventually at some point he’d be, like, hey, come check this out–normally after like beating me up or something–but, hey, check this out–and the caterpillar would have began to weave silk around itself. It had found the fitting spot on the branch, and it just starts closing itself in, and eventually is entirely enclosed.
I all the time consider that image when I believe of conceptualization because that’s what we’re doing with our pondering. We start out with a little bit little bit of pondering, after which just more pondering, and more pondering, and more concepts, and ideas, and ideas, and ideas about concepts–quite a lot of that are very subtle, and really unconscious, but they’re still there. Eventually, we’re just totally enclosed inside this dream—it’s only a dream, you understand, that we’re made out of pondering. Within the case of a caterpillar, after all, it’s going to rework into an excellent butterfly, which it really does, and that’s cool. But, for most individuals, what happens is you simply stay contained in the cocoon and die. It gets thicker and thicker and you simply get more alienated, and grey, and separated, and sort of stuck. Then you definately just die in there—the clock runs out.
We do have a possibility. Because we’re making that thing on a regular basis—we have now to maintain replenishing it, and replenishing it, and replenishing it, we have now a possibility to only not. Just not. Unlike a cocoon, as soon as you drop out of it, you’re out of it, you may only be out of it for a moment, but you drop out of it, and swiftly, you’re back, let’s say, metaphorically outside on this beautiful branch within the sun with the leaves. You’re just there as an alternative of inside this cocoon, which is sort of a virtual reality, it’s got screens in it, and also you’re just lost within the dream inside it.
But, it’s really, really, really, super easy to not do this: almost like, just flip off the XBox switch, turn it off after which there—you’re freed from that reality, and also you’re just back in back within the moment, and the moment, it seems, is absolutely open, it’s boundless, it’s clear. Ninety-five percent of your problems just disappeared while you turned that thing off. There’s just regular stuff—my ankle sort of hurts, but there’s also a room filled with wide awake, fresh, interesting, fun beings, and so forth. So, it just takes that one move, which isn’t a move of doing, it’s a move of letting go of doing, and then you definitely’re here.
Then we did some energy stuff to work with the subtler, more unconscious, deeper conceptualizations, like just the concept that there’s time in any respect. Time is one among the things that we’re weaving around us. There isn’t any time–it’s just an idea that you simply’ve been trained into, and you possibly can just tell you possibly can just let it go–not be inside it, at once. Even just that one, just let go of that one for a minute–ah, and things just open right up.
So, it’s very, very, easy in a method, after which it’s very very hard in one other, which is, we’re just not within the habit of letting go like that. Everyone around you most likely isn’t within the habit of letting go like that, and all of the media never wants you to let go like that, and also you receives a commission at your work for not letting go like that, and so forth. There’s just a complete reinforcement of staying contained in the cocoon. It’s only a vision of the Matrix, right, you’re just stuck within the tank. I won’t get into the war over what color pill anything is, but you simply got out of the tank and then you definitely’re here.
What was great about that original thing is that here was not necessarily paradise, you’re in a horrible submarine, in a homespun shirt, but you’re still here–it’s real, it’s wide awake, it’s wide open. So, I didn’t intend tonight to find yourself in a Wachowski sisters fantasy, it’s nearly coming into easy presence, and just letting go. Recognizing that each single time, just watch it, watch at once, in your personal experience. When you follow a train of thought, you’ll be in a little bit daydream. It’ll be a little bit tiny daydream, not like an enormous daydream. An enormous daydream is interesting–you possibly can’t even see the room around you if you happen to’re in an actual daydream, your eyes blank out, and then you definitely’re within the daydream. But, every thought you follow is like a little bit tiny version of that, and so you simply keep yourself plugged into this little virtual reality on a regular basis, and that’s either only a habit that you simply learned, or, more likely, a method to avoid certain other things.
So, if we wish to return into life, come into experience, come into freshness, the mind is absolutely boring and repetitive, but reality is definitely pretty surprising, and pretty fresh. So coming into–we have now to return out of our little mini daydream. It’s like waking from a dream into just easy presence. There are lots and plenty and numerous ways to do it, but, in a way, there’s nothing to do, you simply stop being quite so entranced. As my friend Eric put it recently, ensorceled you’re a little bit less ensorceled. That’s what we’re doing, we did it a pair other ways, so if you’ve gotten any questions on that or stuff coming up that you ought to share we’ll bring a microphone over to you and you possibly can say it. Just raise your hand–it’s the literal Talking Stick. I’ll also remind you that it’s being live-streamed to the complete world and will probably be recorded and available to the complete world so, no pressure. Everybody feels real quiet.
Questioner 1: I discovered that while you identified the expansiveness and freshness of presence, the act of appreciating that really brought me back into conceptualization.
Michael: What was the conceptualization?
Questioner 1: Freshness and expansiveness
Michael: You think that those are concepts?
Questioner 1: There’s experience of that, but then the instruction to understand, which was bringing conceptualization. I used to be wondering if you happen to could share, if you happen to’re already in it, how do I relate to the words?
Michael: It’s an interesting query. I’m doing a guided meditation, I actually have to do it words. I could sing it, or make sounds, or do armpit farting, or have crystal glasses, but I’m using words. So, that’s some level of conceptualization, but it might be pretty thin, especially as we learn language so early. I’m just mentioning things, not inviting you to give it some thought, but just pointing. If it was perfectly telepathic or something, I’d just literally point at it, so it’s a part of the paradox of communication. What I’d say, just to actually answer your query is, you let the words dissolve into space also, just wash over and dissolve into space. We’re not grabbing a word. A superb word here is, it’s unfixated–we’re not fixating on the words, they simply pour over and dissolve, and so it’s held very calmly. In other words, that’s how I’d invite you to work with that.
Questioner 1: Thanks
Michael: Yeah, did you’re feeling prefer it was gripping down on the words or causing you to grab?
Questioner 1: I discovered that to have those words mean something to me required me to activate my pondering greater than I desired to because I used to be attempting to stay present; I used to be sort of selecting between either being, like, I’m unsure what he means, but I feel good–or having to take into consideration what you meant.
Michael: Yeah, probably the primary is best. Some deep a part of your mind can just interpret the words without you having to. In order that’s probably the popular direction, what you were just doing.
Questioner 1: Okay, yeah, thanks.
Michael: Thanks.
Questioner 2: As we were moving energy around, especially up and down the spine, there’s a spot in my back that type of moved upwards over time, where energy seems to actually collect, prefer it tends to build up there. We got to some extent where it felt like that spot had its own radiance, prefer it looks like there’s a process there that’s accumulating energy.
Michael: Would you say it’s like a stuck spot?
Questioner 2: My best guess is that there’s something characterological and postural there that’s attempting to move, but I don’t know of course. Any suggestions for work with that?
Michael: Gently, don’t attempt to force it, don’t try to manage it, but when it wants to assemble and radiate, and gather and radiate, that’s massaging the kinks out of it. It’s getting quite a bit less stuck because it does that, so don’t try too hard. It’s organic, so just let it have its own organic process and time, and be real, real, real, gentle. It can work out.
Questioner 2: Thanks.
Michael: Yeah. You possibly can really trust that it would, especially while you’re on just the
energy level, without directing it an excessive amount of. It’s got its own intelligence, it starts to do its
thing.
Folks produce other stuff they wish to share, or things that they’re dying to
say, advertisements that they wish to put out via YouTube–just kidding. Glad we have now a microphone here.
Questioner 3: I assume that is type of a visit report, after which, perhaps there’s advice about tactics. Whenever you gave the instruction concerning the energy and the breath, a pair things happened. One was, I didn’t exactly feel energy that felt prefer it was really a part of the breath. You mentioned the tingling that it’s just like the tingles within the feet–I get that pretty strongly. I felt another sort of tingly energy in my abdomen but it surely’s probably not that embodied. It didn’t correlate well to the breath, so I just sort of rolled with that. However it’s not possible though, right? We’re actually in search of a sensation here, right?
Michael: You are feeling it, yeah, you’re feeling it, otherwise you don’t.
Questioner 3: The opposite funny thing that happened is, as I began doing that as I began really letting go, some a part of me felt this tension in my chest, and I used to be unable to take really deep breaths. It didn’t feel like I used to be intentionally doing this, and I attempted to let it go, and it didn’t let go, so I just type of had equanimity toward it, but It was sort of annoying me the entire time.
Michael: What was the stress like?
Questioner 3: It was physical, it was like I literally just couldn’t breathe all the way in which in.
Michael: Did you’re feeling that sense of uplifted-ness because it’s tensing?
Questioner 3: It felt prefer it was blocking the flow of something. A part of my frustration is that I can’t feel the energy going up and down, after which I can’t actually take proper breaths, anyway.
Michael: Yeah, sometimes it might be the case that if the energy is flowing, it might make the breath get really small. Remember, I said, just do normal breaths for essentially the most part. What’s going to occur is, as the sensation of energy gets really big, the breath will get real small, and it would perhaps even feel prefer it’s type of [inhales], but it surely’s a part of the central channel flow beginning to go. That may just be a little bit little bit of a light response towards that. But I’d just say, don’t attempt to do anything with it just as you were saying–have equanimity, and just sort of calm down, even when the breath itself is doing sort of a tightening, just be relaxed with it. It’s its own intelligence, it’s doing what it must do. When you get in there and check out to mess with it an excessive amount of, it’s just not that useful, because then you definitely’re getting really in your head, right? So, the more you exit of the pondering process, the more that this may just begin to do what it does. It’s sort of like what I used to be saying to the previous query. Is that helpful in any respect?
Questioner 3: Yeah, I appreciate it.
Michael: Okay, let’s see the way it goes. You’re here most weeks, we’ll keep checking in.
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