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Guided Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft
Meditation
Let’s start, as all the time, by simply tuning in to the query: What’s it prefer to be me proper now? So what’s it like? Really feel your physique, your feelings, discover your ideas, no matter else is occurring within the ecosystem. Checking it out. It is a essential level: no matter is going on in there proper now, simply let that be okay proper now. We’re going to let go of the basic aggression towards ourselves, that always says we have to change our inside state. As a substitute, merely let no matter is going on in there occur, simply the best way it’s proper now. Even when it isn’t that nice, or it’s tremendous nice and also you don’t need it to go away, ever. Only for now, for the size of the sit, let or not it’s nonetheless it’s. So let’s spend a couple of moments tuning in to how it’s to be you proper now.
Now, simply tune in—this is sort of a poem or a temper factor—simply permit your self to meditate as if you’re the sky. Let your self be broad open, boundless, spacious, free; very brilliant and clear–awake. That’s all the time a part of our expertise, so we’re simply tuning into that a part of our expertise that’s already like that already sky-like, already awake, already broad open. So, even in case you solely discover a bit of trace of that, tune into it. We aren’t tightening down or constricting, or making an attempt to make it completely different or make it huge. Simply discover the pure simple openness that’s already a part of our expertise. From the broad awakeness that’s a part of that openness, the brilliant, clear, crisp awakeness that’s already there, simply permit consciousness to tune into the rising and falling wave of the breath. It’s like this eternal openness, this open sky is conscious of the rising and falling wind of the breath. We aren’t specializing in it, or microscopically or phenomenologically deconstructing it, we’re simply noticing that the breath is rising and falling, that’s all. Quite simple.
Simply permitting the breath to be the breath, and that that feels good, the physique likes to breathe. So there’s a background trace of pleasantness, of pleasure, or funktionslust, with this sense of how nice it’s to breathe. The sunshine wind of the breath, rising and falling throughout the sky of consciousness, broad open, awake, sky of consciousness. Discover a very easy, pure sense of stillness that comes into the physique after we permit ourselves to be awake and broad open; respiratory very simply. This isn’t stillness from rigidity or self-discipline, that is merely turning into relaxed sufficient that the physique is having fun with stillness, actually free, open, relaxed stillness. Typically after we keep able to act or transfer, we now have a background rigidity. Right here we’re releasing that, settling in, merely sitting.
Good. Now, in case you already know do alternate nostril respiratory, go forward and try this. If not, I’ll reveal. Put your proper thumb in your proper nostril, closing that nostril. Then breathe in by the left nostril. Then shut the left nostril with the center and ring finger, and breathe out by the proper. Then reverse, inhaling the proper nostril, closing the proper, respiratory out the left. We’re going to do that for some time–about 5 minutes. You don’t should do it in case you don’t prefer it.
It is vitally good for balancing, opening, and getting the brightness of consciousness fairly a bit clearer. When you’ve got been practising this for some time, be happy to do longer exhales or breath holds, or something like that if you’re conversant with it. In any other case, merely do that back-and-forth respiratory. It helps in case you sit up actual straight, with the again actually straight. We’re getting bilateral, bihemispheric stimulation doing this.
If you wish to mix this with a visualization, you’ll be able to, on the in-breath see the breath going into the stomach, see the breath and the stomach lighting up. On the out-breath, see the third eye lighting up. If you wish to mix it with a mantra, on the in-breath, say so-hum; on the out-breath, say han saha. It is a nondual mantra. The so-hum means “I’m he/she/it”; han saha is “That’s me.” We’re connecting with popping out of the sense of a restricted id into the a lot bigger, groundless id of empty consciousness itself. So-hum on the in-breath; han saha on the out-breath. Really feel additionally, in addition to the balancing, soothing high quality of this, really feel additionally the way you sense the power physique a bit of bit. Minimally, tingling, however typically, a better sense of embodiment coming ahead.
Now, we began with an in-breath within the left nostril, so maintain going till you do an out-breath on the left nostril. Then permit your self to complete the breath, and easily relaxation because the broad open sky of consciousness. Really feel, not solely the breath rising and falling but additionally, the energized physique and the broad, broad, awake consciousness.
Once more, on this very open method, not focusing arduous or constricting the eye, simply be with the breath. Notably the sensation of the motion of the breath, in order that power high quality. In case you are delicate to it, you’ll be able to even really feel the power behind the breath, that sense of vibratory motion that’s nearly the supply of the breath. So, on this very relaxed, broad open, awake, very open method, we’re simply following the breath, however now in a way more energized method. Feeling the buzzy/tingling/vibratory high quality, maybe all through loads of the physique, many areas of the physique. Let’s simply be with that for some time. Bringing brilliant clear consciousness with none tightness in consideration. See in case you can discover, simply immediately–this isn’t a visualization, you aren’t imagining one thing–see in case you can discover how that feeling, that high quality of power within the physique is definitely transferring the respiratory, it’s behind the respiratory.
We’d consider our our bodies as being stuffed with pumps and hoses and electrical wiring, and pulleys & levers–all of the metaphors about how the physique works, based mostly on our equipment and tools–however this sense of vibratory power is how the physique feels about itself after we tune into the power behind the respiratory. The physique begins to really feel actually good, to loosen up and open. That is its native language, so to talk. So, it’s much less of us impinging and colonizing it with our concepts of how we consider it, and slightly feeling the way it feels about itself. Very pure, very relaxed. The physique begins to open to this manner of seeing. In case you are delicate to this in any respect, you’ll really feel this power all all through your physique, limbs, face, torso. And as you tune into it, not specializing in it, simply stress-free into the open consciousness of it, it is going to begin to turn into extra apparent and even develop and increase. After we discover it much more clearly, much more deeply, we see that, to place it on this humorous means of speaking, the power is behind the breath, and behind the power is groundless openness. Simply absolute spacious openness that has no backside, no floor. It’s simply broad open. Proper contained in the power is boundless area.
In case you are excellent at noticing this, you might be able to observe how area bubbles forth with power, and the power turns into the in-breath, and the in-breath collapses again into power, collapses again into area because the outbreath. Not as a visualization, however a direct notion. You might even start to really feel how the complete physique, not simply the emotions of the breath, however all the emotions of the physique, are simply broad open, boundless area, exuberantly dancing, so to talk. Each sensation is just the colourful expression of this groundless openness. Very nice to note that.
When you work with this for some time, you’ll discover that it impacts the thoughts, the considering course of. Similar to the emotions within the physique will be seen as power and vibration, if we try this sufficient, we begin to expertise ideas that means. Not as cognitive data, they are going to begin to really feel like vibratory power flows, identical to the physique feels. It would begin to have an effect on how considering is perceived. Arising ideas, as an alternative of being strings of cognitive data, will really feel like a wave of buzzy, tingly flowing power. Nonetheless considering, however in a really completely different mode. And really clearly coming from the identical supply because the breath, the identical vacancy that’s vibrating and dancing its means into being the breath, can also be exuberantly expressing itself as flows of thought, which might be merely motion, power, change. We aren’t analyzing them as linguistic or cognitive content material.
If that’s too arduous, simply stick with the physique and the breath. However in case you can discover that ideas are merely flows of power as properly, as a direct expertise, not a visualization or creativeness, simply tune into that. Give up into that, and see how that adjustments the openness of consciousness to much more unrestricted, uncontained, very awake place.
If you end up getting sleepy, sit up, however maintain going. This isn’t a sleepy time, however a really awake time. Only a completely different mode of being awake.
Discover how tuning into the vibratory high quality of thought, the move of repeatedly altering thought power will are likely to dissolve the extra crystalline, inflexible, managed, and outlined facets of the thoughts, and begin to open up the playfulness, openness, non-linearity, broad open, awake and easily spontaneously flowing.
If any a part of the physique begins clamping down or tightening up, simply discover how the breath power lets that open proper up. Not in a preventing or struggling means, simply merely stress-free and opening. Equally, if the thoughts begins clamping down, making an attempt to make sense, interpret, body, management, simply discover that the move of thought power transferring and altering, transmogrifying repeatedly simply melts these makes an attempt, dissolves the management body, and lets a way of ease, spaciousness and spontaneity come into the thoughts. Very pure sense of broad openness. No want to manage.
Groundless area itself is considering. Bottomless openness with none boundary is respiratory. No matter that seems like, if that’s there, really feel the power behind that. The sensation of being someone doing something in any respect, particularly respiratory, considering, or doing a meditation, has some physique sensation parts, some emotional physique sensation parts, thought parts, all of that are already skilled as flows of power which might be then popping out of groundless broad openness. So see in case you can discover that the sense of “I’m someone doing one thing” has a vibratory energetic high quality behind it. You may break it down into thought and feeling, however additionally it is obtainable simply immediately. There’s the sensation of me being someone doing one thing. Really feel the vibratory change, the power move behind that. It could be simply obtainable, or it might be past your capability proper now. If that’s the case, that’s okay, simply come again to one thing that’s simple to contact.
Discover the power behind someone doing something in any respect. Then, as you might have in all probability already intuited, discover the area out of which that’s arising. The huge, boundless openness that has no floor in any respect, completely broad open, out of which the expertise of “I’m someone doing one thing” is arising. It’s actually fascinating, after we realize it, as a result of, in fact, it isn’t that there isn’t a expertise of someone doing one thing. Similar to, clearly we’re respiratory, we will really feel respiratory occurring, however it’s arising out of groundless openness, and clearly there are ideas occurring, however these, too, are arising out of groundless openness. They’re type of there however not there. In the identical means, the sense of “I’m someone doing one thing” is an apparent expertise that’s there, however can also be move, change, vibration, power, arising out of groundless area; arising out of nothing, basically. There, however not there. Extensive open, awake. Steady move of expertise.
You may say that awakeness itself, area itself, is respiratory; area itself is considering; area itself is turning into someone who seems like they’re doing one thing. However by no means fixating there. Flowing again into power, again into boundless open awakeness with none floor in any respect; nowhere to land, no field to place it in. You might discover an exuberance, a type of background pleasure, a type of deep pleasantness that comes with simply letting this move of expertise move with out ever crystallizing into any explicit factor. Repeatedly conscious of the groundless openness on the core of it, and but, the vivid and exuberant show of all expertise.
Discover if something does really feel caught, tight, contracted, dense, or crystallized, crimped, you’ll be able to simply discover the power high quality behind it, the vibratory move of steady change behind and inside it. Not as a visualization, however as direct expertise. Then observe that move of steady become the huge area of wide-awake broad openness proper inside it. In order that even the factor that’s showing as tremendous dense or tight, dense, problematic, is, at its core, simply awake broad openness, flowing with power and spontaneity into being what it’s expressing as. We don’t have to vary it. It doesn’t should be free and open. It may be as tight and bizarre and problematic because it needs, and be in whole contact with the open, spacious, awake groundless wakefulness that’s its nature.
Even the room round you, the lights, colours, shapes, textures, colours, patterns, rhythms, you’ll be able to discover as the continual discipline of change, vibration, move. Discover that it, too, is arising second by second from a type of exuberance of awake area with none floor in any respect. By no means caught, by no means crystallizing, by no means flattening. At all times fluid, spontaneous, playful, awake, broad open, flowing. It has no boundary and no heart. Wakeful, broad openness. By no means placing itself in a field or getting caught, a steady move of spontaneity, of no matter is subsequent.
Excellent. Let’s finish the meditation there. Transfer and stretch; do what you must do.
Dharma Discuss, Q&A
As I stated, we aren’t making an attempt to visualise or think about power. I’m utilizing that phrase – power – not in a physics means, however the feeling in your physique. The concept is that by tuning into that and following it, it is going to pull you right into a clearer sense of what’s truly obtainable, what is going on in expertise.
When you do the breath one, did anybody really feel loads of power of their physique whenever you did that? That may pull you right into a deep absorption. It begins to get stronger and stronger–however that’s not what we’re doing. We aren’t making an attempt to enter an altered state. As a substitute, we try to see what’s going on another way. We’re used to placing it right into a field and making it right into a factor and defining it in a sure means. After we try this, it may be helpful for all types of issues, and that’s after we are visualizing, you’re experiencing extra of your concepts of what’s occurring slightly than what’s going on. The extra that you simply begin to make a factor out of expertise and resolve what’s occurring. You’re dreaming expertise into what you assume it’s presupposed to be.
We’re kinda doing anti-visualization. As a substitute of imagining what is meant to be there, we’re tuning into expertise itself–not which you could ever have bare expertise. However, simply by working in such a means we see the continual altering high quality, it brings in a unique mode of expertise. If that’s simply obtainable, you’ll be able to discover the groundlessness. It’s an expertise, it’s not not there, however you’ll be able to’t discover a backside to it. It’s not coming from wherever. In a deep sense, it’s nebulous, indefinable, and that’s fascinating. However, that’s not the one fascinating factor. It’s not that we simply need to go to the undefinable groundlessness and keep there, which a number of folks selected to do, and that’s cool, however that’s not all of what I’m exhibiting you. You may see how that completely groundless, nebulous, undefined–no matter–comes again into being every part. And whenever you see it that means, all of the stuff that’s coming into expertise is tremendous awake, spontaneous, flowing. None of it’s caught, it’s not in a field. It brings the primordial undefinedness again into being, and that’s tasty, actually feels good, is gorgeous and recent.
One of many issues we do is our yogic respiratory; the alternate nostril respiratory, Anuloma Viloma, an historic method that has many advantages. One is that it begins making the vibratory high quality a bit of clearer. One other is that it helps take you out of your rote patterns of thought, begins taking you out of the worn pathways of your thoughts and opens you as much as one thing completely different. It’s truly, surprisingly good at that, only for doing one thing that’s actually mellow. It begins to make a few of these different experiences obtainable. And what’s fascinating is it’s taught in virtually each Yoga class. When you go to yoga in any respect, they’ll present you the way to do this, however they by no means actually. I don’t know. They’re simply cool. That’s some power, or like, that’s a superb factor, or it’s gonna clear your chakras, or no matter. But it surely’s very, very uncommon that they’ll present you what you’ll be able to actually do with one thing like that. Even one thing actually easy like that. You may work with it rather a lot. It’s very fascinating. It’s very highly effective. It comes from Tantrism or Vajrayana, which is an excellent highly effective means of working, however loads of the background of understanding has been left behind, and is now utilized in a way more pedestrian means, which doesn’t actually provide the keys to opening it up. So simply know that, though you’ll be able to study to do one thing like that throughout, studying to work with it’s typically not defined. We’re doing a bit of little bit of that right here.
Are there experiences or something arising from folks on the market? Any questions, feedback, intense critiques?
Questioner 1: It appears to be that in a single a part of the observe it is rather energy-arousing, and one other half that’s utterly stress-free. I ponder navigate between the 2; Do I simply observe what feels good? Is there one thing else I can search for? Tips on how to stability it as a result of they’re so reverse.
Michael: That is the core of what meditation is: a stability of getting actually relaxed and getting actual awake. Usually we now have these two modes of being–tremendous relaxed however unconscious–being asleep–or being awake, however being very agitated and tense. These are the default modes of human expertise. What we’re doing is mixing the great components of each. You may think about [sound went out]. So, on this meditative course of, we’re getting extra deeply relaxed whereas being extra awake. Extra awake whereas being extra relaxed, and getting deeper and deeper into that. In order that’s what you’re describing – the great place, the stability between dullness and agitation.
However we’re doing one thing extra right here, as a result of that’s simply shamatha. We’re doing extra, which is the additional step of: now take a look at the vacancy high quality, the wide-openness, the spaciousness, nebulosity, undefinedness, groundlessness. However that’s only one route in meditation that leads you–to Advaita, to this actual transcendental place. And you may keep there, however don’t! That’s solely midway there so far as I’m involved. That’s cool how it’s spacious, it’s nebulous and undefined. However there is usually a robust behavior to show that into this pure land of awake consciousness, and this complete world of expertise is someway polluting, or is a nonsense dream, and it’s simply my groundless awake consciousness that’s the solely actuality. To me, that’s only a actual useless finish.
As a substitute, as a result of that’s one thing so apparent, so disembodied; there’s something else that’s staring you within the face, and that’s that vacancy is exuberant, it’s spontaneous, it’s stuffed with power that desires to return again into being. It’s making every part occur each second. You may experience that again out, which is completely different from rest and awakeness. It’s vacancy and type, to make use of Buddhist terminology, or groundless broad openness and exuberant show. So, we all the time need to come again to that exuberant show additionally, that’s when it’s actually the complete expertise of being alive as an alternative of placing your self into an vacancy gap.
Proper? So we’re taking part in forwards and backwards, from simply show, into the vibratory high quality of the show, which takes you into the openness, however as an alternative of simply hanging on the market, we really feel how the openness has power, and it brings you again into being, every part is rendered all of a sudden, and that’s fascinating.
Questioner 1: These two qualities of the vacancy half and the exuberant power – to maneuver forwards and backwards? Or do you see it as from the vacancy comes the exuberance – a development, slightly than discovering a stability?
Michael: Each are completely cool methods to expertise issues, however ultimately it’s kinda simply all occurring. We will, for the sake of meditation/experiment/having enjoyable, you’ll be able to go into one or the opposite, or commute, or simply kinda relaxation. The excellence I’m making is that it’s all simply occurring on the identical time. So, we will simply sit with all of it occurring on the identical time. However, till you do the extremes forwards and backwards, forwards and backwards, it’s arduous to note it occurring suddenly.
Questioner 1: Excellent
Michael: Thanks on your query. Different stuff?
Questioner 2: Just a bit preamble to my query. Working with power, experiencing power behind emotions has helped me rather a lot with understanding equanimity. That’s been very fascinating; like attachment and anger all have an analogous nature or worth now. However one factor that’s troublesome to work with is ennui; it’s kinda arduous to explain what it’s.
Michael: You’re in a roomful of Individuals, so let’s say “boredom.”
Questioner 2: Existential boredom, as I’ve skilled it in my life, is as “so what”–the state of “so what-ness.” It’s extra like a scarcity of worth.
Michael: Are you describing what we would name melancholy?
Questioner 2: I don’t know the way it arises, it simply randomly comes up. There’s in all probability some karmic storage, additionally all of the moments that I’ve skilled all through my complete life, whilst a child or teenager. So, after I need to work with this within the type of power, first, I sought the power behind it, however it’s difficult as a result of it questions even the awake area, it questions every part in type of worth. And second, with thought, it felt just like the power behind it was worry, like lack of worth or which means, however then I felt the sensation behind it was loss of life, there was no power in it. And so, the worry of loss of life, of lack of which means or power, as a result of there’s power in every part.
Michael: Why would that be dangerous?
Questioner 2: Yeah, I don’t know. It feels dangerous. There isn’t a motivation to do something, there’s simply loss of life. There isn’t a worth.
Michael: Have you ever ever been in a position to not do something?
Questioner 2: Umm…Type of.
Michael: However solely type of, proper, you’re nonetheless respiratory, getting as much as go to the toilet, you continue to find yourself sleeping. There may be truly various doing in all of that “no cause to do something.” And so it’s fascinating.
Questioner 2: Yeah, I believe it isn’t doing something helpful, in order that’s what the boredom is about. So, I used to be questioning if anybody else experiences this?
Michael: A lot of folks expertise it. It’s highly effective. It’s a bit of bit deeper of a spot, proper, whenever you begin noticing that? The secret is that whether it is actually so useless and all of that, why would that even matter? If it was actually useless, it wouldn’t matter to you that it felt that means. However there’s nonetheless worry, there’s nonetheless “you don’t need it,” so there’s tons of which means wrapped up in it. As quickly as you discover that there’s valence there, then you’re out of it, or no less than doubtlessly out of it. So there’s that route, simply noticing: why does a few of this get to matter? If it actually didn’t matter, you wouldn’t care. So there’s some mattering there, and that’s one option to work with it.
One other means is to seek out that worry. That’s some actually, huge, power–not some small power–that’s actually fascinating, and see the identical factor: it’s bought all that spontaneity, depth, flowingnes, after which that’s already beginning to have the aliveness in it. Let your self really feel the worry. We do loss of life sangha in right here, which is arising right here on the weekend of Halloween. An enormous a part of that’s feeling the aliveness of that tremendous worry, proper? And disgust, disgrace, hatred, all that. So we aren’t making an attempt to suppress that, deny it, make it go away or management it, however slightly, really feel the power of it, after which discover that that power is broad open groundless area, too, and tremendous awake. Then we will experience again even into the ennui and the flatness, and see that it has a brand new high quality. It’s probably not new, however we will discover the standard, that it’s truly very alive. In order that’s the power means in. That’s a few methods of working with it.
Questioner 2: Yeah, that is sensible. There are all kinds of peripheral energies and I can work with them. Thanks.
Questioner 3: Feeling like I’ve a superb sense of touching into vacancy and coming again after we are working with power behind the physique, behind a way of self. I discover when I’ve open eyes within the room typically I get a touch round temporality and taking part in with {that a} bit. Visible phenomena are fascinating. I can discover the move of change inside it, however I don’t have the sense of going right into a voidness and effulgently coming again out of it. A part of me is seeing that there’s an expectation that there ought to be blinking of phenomena or some perceptual distortion.
Michael: Do you might have any perceptual distortion in your visible discipline?
Questioner 2: Typically I get a bit of fuzzy, depth of colours, the brightness can fluctuate.
Michael: For everybody, completely different sense gates are simpler to note these things in than others. For plenty of folks, exterior visible sight is the one that’s the most concrete. That is merely a means of seeing, a means of perceiving. Discover it within the different senses as strongly as you’ll be able to, after which work with the visible discipline. Over time, it is going to begin to reveal its openness. When you’ve performed means too many experiments with humorous molecules, like many people have, it’s often fairly fucking apparent. It’s simply always doing that. So, it simply relies upon. For some folks, the sound is tougher, for some, the physique sensations, however, work with those which might be simple first. That opens that means of seeing, after which it begins to kinda infect the opposite sense gates.
One final query
Questioner 3: After I take into consideration the infinite potential of consciousness, there ought to be an infinite variety of potentialities that might come out of it. After I sense my actuality, it’s all the time the identical form of set of issues. There’s a sample to being myself. So, what’s it that from all of the infinite area of infinite potentialities is funneling it in the direction of a selected set of outcomes, which is my expertise?
Michael: Certain. The reply is “I don’t fucking know.” It simply does that. Lets say habits, or samskaras, or your set of priors–I might offer you a bunch of explanations, however, it’s all simply sewage popping out of my mouth in comparison with “that’s your expertise.” Then discover that as you begin to tune into the fluctuation and alter that’s there, it is going to begin to come again in numerous methods. Typically minor, typically main. It gained’t be as caught.
Questioner 3: So you’ll be able to sense how the infinite potentiality is merging into one expertise.
Michael: That’s not what I stated. What I’m saying is that in case you begin noticing your personal expertise, that potential increasingly typically, what comes ahead will likely be much less rote, much less ordinary. Whereas, whether it is repeatedly out of sight, you’re kinda caught within the ordinary. I hope that’s useful. I might give a bunch of explanations, however you might learn these wherever, and I don’t assume it helps that a lot, truthfully.
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