Welcome to tonight’s guided meditation with me, Michael Taft. Should you’ve never been here before, what we’re going to do is to sit down for an hour. We’re going to sit down without moving–you’re welcome to lie down for an hour. Should you don’t feel prepared to try this, we’ve this other room available, where you’ll be able to watch the video, and move when it’s essential. But, otherwise, the thought is that we’re going to be real still. Often we do a bit of stretching first, but tonight, we’re just going to dive in.
Meditation
Let’s begin just by asking yourself the query, what’s it wish to be me right away? Just tuning into the thoughts and feelings, body sensations, just the final weather system of your being. There’s no judgment here–whatever it’s wish to be you right away, and whatever weather systems are passing through your being, that’s exactly the best way it needs to be. All the pieces is totally okay, just the best way it’s. Let’s just notice that for a moment.
Now, just tune into the sense of openness, a way of ease and spaciousness. And, from this very wide open sense of spaciousness, just notice the sense of the breath rising and falling. We’re probably not concentrating on the breath, it’s more just like the wind of the breath is solely noticed within the sky of the mind, with none tightness or focus, just wide open, easy, relaxed. And into this openness, and spaciousness, and boundlessness it’s very easy for awareness to only notice, the wind of the breath rising and falling, and rising and falling. And, as we’re doing that, I need you to permit any tension, any tightness, any constriction, and constrictedness to empty away from the muscles of your face and head, your brow relaxing, your cheeks relaxing, your eyes, eye muscles, eyelids releasing and letting go, your mouth muscles, your lips, relaxing and opening. Almost to the purpose where you’ll be able to feel them swelling barely from the additional blood flow, your jaw releasing.
Continuing to only sit like an open sky, boundless, easy openness, during which the wind of the breath is rising and falling, with none effort. Just notice that any sense of contractedness or tension drains away out of your throat, your neck, your shoulders, and is replaced with a way of ease and softness and gentleness. In order that now the entire face and head, your shoulders, throat, and neck, feel a way of release, within the sense of settledness. Almost in a way, mirroring that openness of the mind. Then just let your arms and hands turn out to be as limp as wet noodles. All that tension that we are inclined to hold in our wrists and hands and fingers from trackpads and keyboards and so forth, just let that drain away.
Recognize that we are usually not going to make use of those hands to do any work right away, so our arms and hands can actually, finally, not be able to act, but slightly, completely be relaxed. Completely at rest. You would possibly even feel some added tingling of blood flow in your hands and fingers, as all of the muscles of your arms and hands loosen up and open. As you notice the muscles of the face and head, throat and neck, and shoulders, arms and hands, all releasing, opening, softening, becoming gentle and relaxed. It becomes easy to only drop now right into a much deeper sense of peace and spaciousness. A form of boundless open presence, during which the wind of the breath is solely rising and falling with none effort in any respect.
Good. Now, just notice any sense of tightness or contraction or tension in your upper chest or back, draining away, releasing, flowing out of you. The entire upper a part of the torso simply opening and releasing. Becoming soft and unarmored, unguarded, and restful. This offers loads of room in your heart to feel warm and open, the guts feels soft and sort. And that soft sense of glowing ease and kindness in the guts allows the diaphragm to release and loosen up and let go a bit of bit. The muscles of the belly and viscera, and within the back and kidney region, all just simply turn out to be peaceful and open, restful and relaxed, as the stress drains away.
There’s so way more room within the spacious openness of the mind for the wind of the breath to rise and fall, utterly relaxed, utterly playful, encountering no resistance. Notice how, as you encounter more leisure and ease, through increasingly more of the body, a form of sloughing of layers and layers, and years and years of tension and tightness and constriction, the entire system begins to open up much more. And the entire being begins to drop, just drop now right into a much deeper, more authentic place of vibrant, clear, wakefulness and ease. A spot where the mind is each incredibly open and relaxed, resting, and yet, vividly, brightly awake, perfectly clear, with the wind of the breath simply rising and falling without effort. From here, the muscles of the hips, pelvic region and legs, lower legs, feet and toes turn out to be just as limp as wet rags, completely at rest. Completely relaxed. You would possibly even feel a tingle within the soles of your feet because the blood flow increases there.
Notice now that your whole body has reached a deeper state of rest and ease, and this begins to feed back onto the mind. The core of the mind begins to only melt and open. The core of the mind is sort of a muscle releasing, just falling open into that boundless space of awareness. The gorgeous sky of the mind, vibrant and clear, and utterly relaxed. Now, with each rising in-breath, the sky of the mind is aware of the rising wind of the breath. But on each out-breath, the wind just dissolves into the sky. Each out-breath, the whole mind just dissolves into the openness, into the space, into the intense, clear, wide-awake space. So, let’s try this together here.
Good, now, if the mind is constricting around anything, tending to stay on a thought or sensation or emotion or sound or sight, just allow awareness to note that that itself is empty. Regardless of the mind is constricting around is, itself, just extra space, more sky, more openness. Not in any way different than the wide open mind that notices it. Already wide open, already spacious, and just self-releases. So, if you happen to are tending to come back back to planning, or a selected sensation, notice that that sensation itself is empty, is open, spacious, like attempting to hang onto the wind. It’s just empty. It allows the mind to only loosen up back into being vast, boundless space of wide awake awareness. If it contracts again, look deeply into whatever it’s contracting around. Notice that it’s just made from more wakefulness, more sky, more boundless open peacefulness. It just dissolves into the sky. So, if you happen to are resting and open and peaceful, just try this. If things are arising that you simply are constricting around, just notice their emptiness. Every time you notice that, it should return awareness to its already existing vastness, ease, openness, playfulness, warmth. Wide awake, wide open.
Noticing that anything the mind begins to constrict around just returns to open space, immediately dissolving back into boundless awareness. Notice even that the sense of anybody doing the meditation can’t be held onto. It’s itself just boundless sky.
Good. Now, allow a matter to arise, and the query is, what am I avoiding? What am I avoiding right away? If something arises, a thought, emotion, or a memory, just let that be there. Don’t engage with it, but don’t push it away, either. It is likely to be something unpleasant, or it may very well be something nice. Just allow this thing you were previously avoiding to only arise on this tremendous space, which has good enough room to be unbothered by this arising. Perfectly warm and welcoming to this arising. Possibly some reactivity can be coming up. That’s okay, just let that be there, don’t become involved with it, but allow it to bop within the sky of awareness.
Notice that, nonetheless nice or unpleasant, difficult or easeful, that is, that the boundless sky of awareness is just not bothered by it in any way. Not harmed, not ruffled, but, slightly, welcomes it. Notice, much more deeply, that this thing we’ve been avoiding is definitely not in any way separate from the space of awareness. It’s just as awake, just as open, just as vibrant and clear, and has been since beginningless time.
Now, be happy to let go of that, and return to easily resting as boundless awakeness. Utterly at rest, utterly free and playful, spontaneous, natural. Avoiding nothing, welcoming every part.
Good. Now, notice that this eternal, timeless wakefulness is warm-hearted, and sort. And, into the sky of this wakefulness, picture a full moon rising. A stunning pearlescent moon disc rising within the deep, deep blue of wakefulness. And this full moon is glowing with the sunshine of kindness, with the sunshine of friendliness, joy, welcoming all beings, shedding a way of sovereignty, nobility, authenticity, kindness, friendship, compassion and love, on all beings in every single place, including yourself. Feel that sense of joy and kindness growing much stronger, radiating out from this moon, this beautiful moon.
Then, on an in-breath, the moon comes right into our heart, becomes our own heart, shining within the sky of the mind. Radiating peace in all directions, love and joy in all directions, to all beings in all universes. The disc of the moon starts to grow smaller and smaller, but because it grows smaller, it becomes stronger and stronger, the sunshine becomes brighter and brighter. And the facility of affection and joy and heat and kindness and caring radiating from that light becomes much more beautiful, more touching, much more gentle. Until the disc of the moon becomes just a degree of white light, infinitely vibrant, and endlessly compassionate. Then it vanishes into the boundless awakeness and compassion which were here since beginningless time.
Good. Let’s end the meditation there. Be at liberty to maneuver and stretch. Scratch whatever you’ve been dying to scratch. Any questions or reports about practice this evening? Anything you must discuss?
Q&A
Questioner 1: I actually have a thing that comes up sometimes after I’m doing compassion practice. There’s this response that’s just, like, that is all a bunch of nonsense. I don’t have a matter. In a way, I could just say it’s resistance, dissolve it into the compassion practice. But, in one other way, it appears like I respect my brain for coming up with that story. And, in one other way, it’s like, yeah, that is all made up nonsense, but so is every part, so you would possibly as well make up useful nonsense. Particularly today there was plenty of resistance to seeing the compassion.
Michael: Do you’ve got that feeling while you’re watching a movie? That is just made up bullshit, why are we doing this? For essentially the most part, we willingly pay money to go see movies, and have interaction in fantasy, and we don’t need it to in some way be anything greater than that. It changes our thoughts and feelings in a pleasing way, and that’s okay, right? So, in what sense does this have to be less bullshit than that?
Questioner 1: I suppose I could also change my thoughts and feelings in a pleasing way by utilizing heroin.
Michael: Sure, give it a shot. See how that goes.
Questioner 1: I don’t think I’m going to try this. I see where you’re coming from. Possibly the larger query is, what’s a skillful orientation towards resistance to practice usually?
Michael: In a way it is identical query, but I might guess—I’m just guessing—that for this thing specifically, you’re being asked to open up a bit of bit. For lots of us that will feel a bit of dangerous, or I don’t feel like opening up. You possibly can have compassion for that, but additionally, just notice, why am I avoiding opening up? I’m not suggesting that we get into a giant evaluation of that, but just look inside it, and see what’s it’s deal, and permit it to indicate itself to you. There’s some reason that it needs to remain a bit of closed, and that’s okay, if it needs to remain closed. Great, seriously. I feel that, the minute that you simply look in there, what you’ll find is that it’s mainly needing some support to open up. Bringing that open, curious, engaged–Hey, how are you? What’s occurring? Is there enough support for it to open up?–since it generally feels higher to be relaxed and open slightly than closed. That’s what I might suspect, anyway. Doing that may probably, in the long term, be more practical than shooting heroin.
Excellent, other questions or comments?
How did the practice of asking what you’re avoiding go? Did that bring up anything specifically, or were all of us not avoiding anything? Just resting as pure vidya.
Questioner 2: I felt like I used to be coasting in a reasonably good space, and then you definitely said to ask yourself the query of what you’re avoiding, and I did. It did feel like there was a subtle avoidance happening, so it felt like a superb match to go deeper. I appreciated the timing of the query, and the query in itself.
Michael: It’s interesting, how, when we would like to go right into a relaxed open place, there is likely to be something we’re nudging away to make that easier. So when you’ve established that, we will return and see if we will bring that in, and sometimes it’s kinda surprising. Whatever is within the content of that box of stuff you were avoiding might be really interesting, hopefully not too distressing. Given the relief and the open place that we were in by then, I assume you’ve got some resource for some difficult stuff coming up.
Questioner 3: I suppose, for me, I actually have this concept that in meditation I’m speculated to feel higher during meditation, speculated to be taking a break, because I’ve been very busy today. So, what I used to be pushing away was all of the business. I had a subtle attachment to the concept that this needs to be a break from that.
Michael: Did you’re feeling such as you got a break from all that, or was it like, oh, now I actually have to cope with all that business and the break is over? I should go send some emails.
Questioner 3: It was sorta flipped out and in, not consistent. The actual posture I did this week was more conducive to being relaxed, so I used to be in that mode, then jerking out of. It was a reminder that nothing has really modified, I’m still within the situation that I’m all the time going to be in.
Michael: It’s a deep and interesting query. What are we meditating for, and does it change anything? Possibly a part of the bullshit query is, is it changing anything? But, after all, minimally, it’s changing how we feel within the moment, changing our experience of what’s arising because we’re coming at it differently. But, on one other level, it’s not changing anything in any respect. Awareness is just awareness, it doesn’t really change. Possibly we’re busy and we’re contacting that awareness, and it’s just wide open, or we’re meditating and contacting that awareness, and it’s wide open, so perhaps nothing is changing sometimes.
I feel prefer it is perfectly reasonable to are available and expect to feel more relaxed and open, but it surely’s funny. Eventually, your level of relaxed openness might be limited by whatever you’re avoiding, even whether it is just business, anxiousness, it’s going to be the thing you bump up against as you tune into more openness. So, eventually, that thing must be included, or there may be a limit to how you’ll be able to encounter the peacefulness and openness that is on the market.
It’s like, here’s this nice hotel room, there’s a superb bed, you’ll be able to put down the shades and sleep, but there’s also a cobra within the room. It’s just over within the corner, don’t worry about it. You possibly can loosen up completely on this beautiful room, but there may be this cobra within the room. In order that kinda limits how relaxed you’ll be able to get. What we’re all the time doing is, once we’re relaxed, we go over and see if we will make friends with the cobra. You possibly can make friends with a cobra. Then, eventually, you’re dancing with a cobra, and as a substitute of being a stressful thing you’re avoiding, it’s a stupendous, energetic friend that’s available, and that’s included. So now you’ll be able to loosen up even greater than you may have imagined. So, little by little, we would like to seek out these items and include them. Then, the flexibility to let go becomes larger. So long as we’re shrinking away from them, we’re all the time going to be kinda tense. Does that make sense?
Questioner 3: Yeah, the analogy I feel of is there may be some water, and the sand clouds the water, as emotion, and then you definitely let the water be still, the sand sinks to the underside, but it surely’s’ only then that you would be able to see the water itself. Are there still fragments within the water, even while you’ve gotten it as still as possible, is there still some contaminant? It may not all the time be the identical.
Michael: So, your idea is you would like the silt to settle to the underside and the water to turn out to be perfectly clear.
Questioner 3: Ideally, but there’s all the time going to be some that doesn’t settle.
Michael: That’s a typical metaphor, and it’s good for the primary a part of the meditation we did. Beautiful metaphor for the stillness. But eventually we would like to fire up the mud, let the water get as silty because it wants, and see that the water is just as pure because it ever was. So it goes where you were talking about, after which eventually, when that gets really available, we on purpose notice that, in a way, the mud and the water are never really separate. They go together. Even all of the sticks and bits of shell, and so forth, are a part of it. So we are usually not rejecting that in the long term.
You guys were pumping out a lot compassion, I’m having a tough time talking, still kinda knocked out. Especially Kati.
Other comments?
Questioner 4: I avoided listening to you.
Michael: You avoided it?
Questioner 4: As I said after I got here in, I actually have an infinite hive response over my entire body for the time being. I like to sit down really still in practice, not moving—I didn’t think I could do it, so I sat in the opposite room. I used the itching as my focus,
Michael: Were you using it as a shamatha focus, or were you vipashyaninzing it?
Questioner 4: Each. I noticed, while you asked what were you avoiding? Once I was in there [the other room], I used to be not avoiding the itching, but just bringing awareness to it, and I didn’t scratch for an hour. And now, I are available here, and my awareness is aware of all these other things. I can’t avoid the sensation of it, and I can’t avoid the scratching. So now it’s annoying.
Michael: What’s causing that difference, do you’re thinking that?
Questioner 4: Equanimity.
Michael: In there you were in a position to bring plenty of awareness to it, but in here, there’s so much more distraction, so it’s harder.
Questioner 4: Yes, and as I’m sitting here, I’m attempting to bring that peace back in.
Michael: Whenever you asked yourself what am I avoiding, did it cause the itching to blow up.
Questioner 4: It did a bit of bit.
Michael: So interesting. As you get used to bringing that much openness to experience, you’ll be able to bring plenty of it to experience as you’re walking around. It just takes a bit of more practice, to have that much allowance. [Itching is] Particularly designed by evolution to be unavoidable. That’s a superb one to work on while walking around. Did you’ve got any moments when you may see that the itching itself was awake awareness?
Questioner 4: Yes.
Michael: Are you able to try this right away?
Questioner 4: It was a bit that itching could opened up in awareness until I didn’t notice that it was itching, it was just sensation. Then other times it felt just like the itching sensation was so small in comparison with awareness. But each of those tactics appeared like they may dispel the necessity to scratch.
Michael: It’s so interesting; deep down in there, it itself is aware. At that time, scratch or don’t scratch, it’s advantageous. Good job sitting with that. That’s an actual yogi thing to do.
Any last query, comments, reports?
Questioner 5: I had the same experience of the place of avoidance, after which a softening, and I used to be in a position to see the feeling that was uncomfortable. What struck me was how that sensation of avoidance modified a lot with attention I dropped at it. It moved inside my body, the intensity, it sorta had its own life force.
Michael: What did it feel like?
Questioner 5: It was tight, undulating, going up and down.
Michael: That’s an actual full of life, energized thing.
Questioner 5: Then it looked as if it would transcend me, I used to be just a part of it. Sensations of plenty of energy moving.
Michael: It doesn’t sound like avoidance at that time.
Questioner 5: Then I felt prefer it, in some unspecified time in the future there was a metamorphosis that happened.
Michael: I’m wondering if, as a substitute of an actual transformation, if you happen to just saw more deeply what it actually is.
Questioner 5: I feel you’re right. It’s hard for me to articulate, but, yeah. That rings true.
Michael: So cool. Thanks for sharing, you guys!
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