Meditation
Let’s start, as we all the time do, with checking in with what it’s wish to be you proper now. Simply go inside, and simply really feel the way you’re doing, how’s your physique feeling? How’s your feelings doing? What’s your thought realm like? and so forth. Tune in, and see, what it’s wish to be you proper now? The trick right here is to each be as clear and sincere as attainable, whereas on the similar time simply letting it’s that method. Nevertheless it’s, is simply how it’s. So, for now, simply tune in and see what that’s like.
Good. Discover the urge to vary it, the urge to manage it, the urge to disclaim, the urge to attempt to cling on to it, possibly the urge to, ultimately, management management management, and see should you can, even when that urge is there, simply not take any motion. As a substitute, permit no matter you’re feeling wish to be that method. Letting go, if just for a short time, of the elemental aggression towards the way in which it’s.
Good. Now let’s do some mild breath work, just by on the in-breath, respiration naturally, however on the in-breath, feeling the sense of awakeness and readability and power coming into the stomach. Really feel power coming into the stomach, filling the stomach as you breathe, brightness, openness, readability. Then, on the out-breath, it radiates by the entire physique and out into area, in order that there’s a form of letting go into area on the out-breath. You’re constructing power and readability on the in-breath, feeling that within the stomach, after which on the out-breath it radiates out into spaciousness. Every in-breath bringing far more brightness and readability awakeness to expertise, and every out-breath that simply dissolves into area, bringing super openness, rest, launch, boundlessness. You may simply breathe naturally, however if you wish to make it just a little extra highly effective, simply let that out-breath go on for just a little longer than you usually would, after all remaining comfy and with out pressure. With every out-breath, as you dissolve into area, noticing that any stress within the face relaxes, tightness and gripping within the shoulders releases, the stomach turns into delicate and open. The entire physique simply sinks now into a way more grounded and relaxed place.
Persevering with to really feel the power and spaciousness rising, and, for a few of you, you could discover on the finish of that lengthy out-breath, it simply stays there for some time with out you intending for it to remain there. It would typically simply form of cling there earlier than starting the in-breath, and spot on the out-breath, as you dissolve into area, any reference to the thoughts with considering, with attempting to do one thing, simply is completely launched. The thoughts itself simply dissolves into area simply fully let’s go. In order that even when a number of considering is occurring, we’re not partaking in any respect with thought. We’re being the extensive open area, an unlimited clear brilliant awakeness. Discover that that extensive awakeness is there with out you doing something in any respect. It’s not by some means one thing you may make occur or intervene with, it’s simply unsleeping of its personal accord and its personal power.
If you wish to, you’ll be able to let go of any engagement with the respiration approach, and easily relaxation because the unsleeping openness, and see if it turns into obvious that this unsleeping openness may be very secure. It’s not one thing you’re doing, and it’s not a form of consideration as a result of doing and a spotlight are unstable. Spacious awakeness is tremendously secure, and so we relaxation as spacious awakeness itself. Spacious awakeness will not be one thing you do along with your thoughts. The thoughts is one thing that the spacious awakeness does. Considering and doing and feeling are all downstream of this wide-awake openness.
Now, let this awakeness concentrate on all of physique sensation, simply feeling the entire physique, not solely the breath sensations, however all of the sensations, with out bearing down, simply permitting the sensations to come up in consciousness and spot the vibratory high quality of the sensations. A few of it’s very apparent: it’s buzzy or tingly or rhythmic ultimately. Different issues could at first appear extra stable, however as you permit consciousness to note them extra clearly, their vibratory nature turns into apparent as nicely. Our picture of the physique may be very secure, our psychological picture of the physique sees it as levers and pulleys and pumps and electrical wires — all these metaphors. However after we simply tune into what the physique seems like, to the physique, it’s a bunch of vibration, a bunch of buzzy tingly vibratory stuff. So simply discover that now. When you solely discover it in a single little space, then simply discover that. Ultimately, you’ll see it’s each sensation, and it’s tremendously enjoyable and opening and releasing and nice for the physique to be seen because it sees itself — on this vibratory energetic method. It’s alive, it’s supple, it’s fluid, it’s flowing, it’s transferring, it’s fabricated from power. As you loosen up even additional, and settle into this awakeness much more completely, the readability and brightness of awakeness. You’ll discover that the all of the buzzy, tingly, energetic high quality of the physique resolves into nothing apart from awake spaciousness. That may be a idea, however is one thing that the notice straight “awares”. The physique itself is awake area, stuffed with power. See that clearly, not as an creativeness, not within the thoughts, however as one thing we’re straight conscious of.
Excellent. Now, in the identical method, look into the exercise of considering. Not into the content material of the considering, however the exercise of the considering. Discover that it, too, is just a form of vibratory motion. When you’re fairly relaxed, you’ll discover that as an alternative of 1 stream of thought there’s often many occurring, all collectively as form of a broad spectrum of exercise. There’s simply a number of vibration there, it’s simply circulate of thought power. We don’t need to attempt to interrupt this circulate, or change the circulate, or fear concerning the content material of the circulate, or attempt to change the content material or something like that. We merely tune into this power, this vibratory power of considering. The extra this awakeness tunes into the vibratory power of considering, the extra apparent it’s that, on a really delicate stage, this circulate of thought power is nothing apart from awake area. It’s simply huge, boundless, awake area, vibrating as thought power. Again and again, discover this power of thought as merely vibrating awake area.
Now, you’ll be able to both stick with that, or if you wish to, you’ll be able to go together with me to one thing just a little extra intense. However it’ll be intense, so should you’re feeling not up for that, unresourced or no matter, simply stick with doing what we’re doing now. If, however, you need to dive into some emotional stuff, then, what I need you to do is to carry up the sensation that you just’re actually attempting to keep away from on a regular basis. Regardless of the very worst feeling, emotionally, is, whether or not that’s disgrace or rage or despair, or no matter — I need you to carry that up on function now. Keep in mind, you don’t have to do that. Solely do that should you resolve to go together with me right here. Carry it up on function, simply stop resisting, and let it come up, and permit no matter ideas and pictures are required to make it actually come up strongly. That factor that you just spend all day attempting to keep away from feeling. Cease avoiding it, and simply let it occur. That begins to be comparatively robust. It’s fairly straightforward to note that, by way of the expertise of the emotion, not the ideas across the emotion, however the expertise of the emotion itself, is like power and vibration within the physique. There’s form of this intense power, relying on the form of emotion, it could possibly be actually excessive frequency sharp power, or it could possibly be actually low, heavy, power, however, it doesn’t matter what, it’s vibratory. You may really feel the vibration taking place on this awake area. See if you may make it just a bit stronger, and really feel its vibratory, energetic qualities. As a substitute of getting caught within the psychological content material, really feel the bodily a part of it, the extreme power, after which, as earlier than, discover that this intense power, proper within the core of this troublesome, troublesome feeling, expressed as intense power, is nothing apart from unsleeping area, vibrating area, boundless, openness, proper within the middle of the sensation. The sensation itself is only a form of actually highly effective power. If we don’t resist it, and we let it’s there fully, and see it very clearly, we expertise it as awake area vibrating. It might even be refreshing, opening, stabilizing, grounding. Keep in mind to permit the psychological content material round it to even be skilled as awake area, extensive openness, boundless readability. You see that even this very troublesome emotion is nothing apart from extensive awakeness and boundless freedom itself, with out ever doing something to it. We’re not altering it, we’re not avoiding it, we’re not transmuting it, we’re not bypassing it, we’re going proper into it. I’m feeling it’s extensive open, extensive awakeness of super power.
It’s the other of avoidance, the other of sublimation, or repression, or bypassing—we’re assembly it fully and going proper into it with no resistance.
Now, discover the room, the sunshine, the shapes, the colours, the textures, the patterns, sounds. We’ve realized to consider it, to mannequin it, to conceptualize it, as secure, however in expertise, it’s repeatedly transferring and altering, possibly barely, possibly rather a lot.
Discover the expertise of the room, and the sound of the room, and the facet of the room, the contents of the room. All that have is none apart from vibrating awake area, unsleeping, boundless excessive power. Actually clear. It’s not simply nothing — there’s every kind of shapes and colours, and it’s additionally simply extensive open, unsleeping area. When you discover, the room has extensive open vibrating area, and emotion as boundless open clear area, and thought power as a circulate of extensive open clear spaciousness and boundlessness and openness, and the physique itself as unsleeping vibrating area, with no boundary and no middle. Anything in any respect that arises, arises as an expertise as nothing apart from awake area. Then what else is there, however super openness, readability and power? There’s a way of unboundedness. That’s the feeling of freedom. There could also be an actual sense of deep pleasure or satisfaction at this super readability and power, completely unbounded, completely unconstricted, open, free, free. The enjoyment itself is, after all, simply extra unsleeping, vibrating spaciousness, and but it may be tremendously highly effective.
From right here, it’s straightforward to essentially get pleasure from all of the arisings, shapes, colours, sounds, emotions, ideas. The super brightness and variation and enthusiasm of the show is tremendously beautiful, stunning, scrumptious, wealthy. Discover the enjoyment that’s out there from this vibrating area. It’s all the time there, deep, deep inside it. Simply the enjoyment of the liberty and the readability and the sweetness. It’s not by some means merely trapped in a physique. It’s radiating out in all instructions and radiating again from all instructions, on a regular basis.
There’s a palpable sense of the super magnificence and enthusiasm of the world and being is all the time flowing, ever current, completely free.
Let’s finish the meditation there. Be happy to maneuver and stretch. If that you must go to the toilet or no matter go forward and try this.
Over the past like 35 years or one thing I’ve labored with this one Indian girl instructor who’s a conventional Guru, and it’s actually widespread if you work together with her that you just form of get knocked into this very altered state. That may really feel other ways, however typically it seems like an ecstatic energized world of awake area, and then you definately try this in a retreat for days and it will get turned up and turned up and in some unspecified time in the future, inevitably, simply when that will get actually good, she would yell at me and be like, “Mahesh,” which is what she known as me, “Mahesh, go chop greens.” I’d need to rise up and go to the kitchen and with a extremely sharp knife, chop greens as quick as I might, popping out of that place. At first, I believed, that’s only a coincidence, after which after some time, after years of that, I spotted, she’s doing that on function, simply to be imply or simply to fuck with you. However, after some time, I spotted that contacting that sense of vibrating awake area is tremendous vital, tremendous deep, and demanding and significant, however that’s not sufficient. It’s not nearly trying out into a extremely nice area, however as an alternative, noticing that your entire common world remains to be there, and from that place of vibrating awake area, it’s extremely cool, stunning, wealthy, fascinating, significant, deep, highly effective. Not simply by some means erased by nothingness. Your job is to have interaction with it, however interact with it from awake area, not from some form of constricted little ball of being a persona combating with every little thing.
It’s actually fascinating. The lesson that I kind of received beat into me, which is it’s essential to note awake openness, and it’s additionally then essential to re- interact actually strongly from there, and never simply Teletubby your method by the day. As a substitute, doing stuff and noticing that that isn’t a contradiction. These two issues aren’t even separate, or they’re completely different, however they’re not separate. Every little thing is an exuberant expression of that energized awakeness, and never by some means like bumming you’re excessive, bringing you down off your cloud. That’s simply not the thought. There can typically be an actual sense that there’s a particular world of consciousness and power, and that it’s completely completely different than this. It typically seems like that, oh, if I tune in, there’s a separate world of openness and power and wonder and stillness, and that is all simply in the way in which of that. That’s not true — or it’s that that’s simply form of midway there. The remainder of the way in which there may be to note that this isn’t in the way in which in any respect. This isn’t any completely different than that, and interesting, partaking, partaking, partaking, is what that awake power desires to do. It doesn’t need to disappear into its personal awakeness gap. It’s right here to do stuff and have interaction in and expertise and luxuriate in and create. That’s all it does is create. So, despite the fact that you already know it’s problematic to speak sequentially, I’ll discuss sequentially and say at first we’re all caught within the constricted, reified thingness of every little thing. There’s no area and there’s little or no awakeness, seemingly, so the primary a part of our meditation is like prying our grubby tight little fist off of engagement with all of the stuff. Whenever you lastly acknowledge, after I loosen up and open and simply let go of all that stress, there’s simply awake area, and that’s it it’s vibrating, it’s intense, it’s unsleeping, it’s spacious, and possibly there’s nothing there.
However that’s half one, after which half two is, wait a minute, all that vibration is making every little thing occur, it’s making colours, it’s making ideas, it’s making emotions, it’s making every little thing occur, and that’s not dangerous, that’s superior! Now you’ll be able to truly come again and get into all of it as a result of, there’s no tightness, there’s no grabbing, there aren’t palms to seize with and in a way. So lots of the teachings, you’ll discover out, there may be simply going to stage one. They’ll simply form of drop you off within the tremendous vacuum cave — and it’s a cool place, however they’re, like, there you go, get pleasure from your vacuum cave. It’s gratifying, but it surely’s a useless finish, it’s silly.
It’s, why had been you born? What’s fallacious with you? [laughter]- apart from Woman Pink!
Questioner 1: Final week I requested you, in order that’s like the character of thoughts, why are you certain you’re exhibiting up, and now you’re like, should you simply go to the cave, it’s Superman.
Michael: Right here’s what nature of thoughts is doing! Even should you work actually arduous, and it may be sequential, and that’s high quality to get to that place. There’s extra to do, and it doesn’t even need to work that method. You may by no means depart, you don’t need to dive to zero after which come again out. There can simply be straight noticing over and over.
So what occurred on the market? What are your studies? What are your questions, feedback?
We are going to carry you a microphone and keep in mind that it isn’t only a microphone on this room. You have got a query method again there.
Questioner 2: Hi there. Actually early, after I was beginning to enter into the vacuum cave,
I truly had a sensation in my throat that was like a tickle like I wanted to cough. If I’m at dwelling, I simply cough, however in an area like this I began to panic and I used to be like yeah
Michael: It’s good to panic. [laughter]
Questioner 2: It was actually peaceable, there’s the cave, after which it was Doom. I feel my query is, is it price it to attempt to deconstruct a bodily sensation like that again into area?
Michael: it’s all the time price it, why not however, you may simply cough, too. It simply relies upon.
Questioner 2: Good.
Michael: Generally, what if it’s tremendous intense ache which you can’t simply cough out? It’s simply gonna be there. Your method ahead is perhaps, simply gotta go into that. So, you might have each strikes out there, and typically you commute. Generally you go method into one, different days you go into the opposite. It’s all fascinating, but it surely’s useful to know the context.
Questioner 2: Yeah, thanks.
Questioner 3: Hi there, I used to be not blissed out, however I’d like it should you might ship that for me one time. However what was actually cool is like in going by the feelings, one of many issues that was actually cool for me was truly the power of disassociation that was arising for me. To me, that’s an power, identical to any of the others, that I might comply with again, and would change into spacious. I used to be interested in your personal journey, expertise of enjoying with that, as a result of I feel it comes up rather a lot for me.
Michael: Can you’re feeling your physique?
Questioner 3: yeah, yeah
Michael: So that you’re not dissociated, and earlier, had been you capable of really feel your physique? Whenever you say power of dissociation I’m undecided precisely what you imply.
Questioner 3: What do I imply by it? There’s a method through which I really feel in freeze mode, possibly I’m truly exterior of my physique just a little bit, is like what it seems like. It seems like I’m not absolutely in contact, and my mind, my thoughts, and my ideas, might be like, oh, you’re simply being very nonetheless proper now, however the power doesn’t transfer, it virtually feels frozen. The thoughts labels that as dangerous, so it’s looking for the opposite power that’s there.
Michael: When you can really feel the nonetheless frozen power, you’re not dissociated from it, as a result of
you’re feeling. Dissociation means you’ll be able to’t really feel it, so I’d simply say, what if it’s okay that it’s nonetheless frozen? Simply test that out. Let it try this factor, and possibly it’s the case that our expertise of the physique might be a lot bigger than the bodily physique appears to be. That’s not an issue. It’s not like we’re essentially escaping something, it’s simply greater. That doesn’t imply dissociation can’t occur, however your description of it, you’re clear that it’s nonetheless frozen, so that you’re nonetheless in contact with it. So I’d simply say, simply test that out. Is it actually that also, that frozen? rattling nicely should you test into it, that it’s not. That concept that it’s these items and that’s dangerous, that’s what’s main you astray there.
Questioner 3: Yeah, yeah. That’s dangerous is certainly within the unconscious, for certain.
Michael: There’s a method that you are able to do this to dissociate however the steering I’m giving retains making that actually actually arduous. You need to strive, so don’t strive. I’m going to come back again over and over, okay. Does that assist? Good.
Questioner 4: Thanks. That was actually cool. I felt like there was stuff that’s been bothering me rather a lot, that I simply felt it as vibration of awake area. I don’t assume I’ve ever actually felt that earlier than, and it form of deconstructed issues. I actually recognize it. My primary query is, what’s up after the cave?
Michael: That’s what I used to be saying. You may deconstruct it down to simply this awake area which may be very cool, however there’s nothing to do there. Which is, in a method, okay, however there might be traditions that as an alternative of noticing the vibration there, are noticing the stillness, and need you to simply relaxation there and keep there. However, should you listen, it’s not nonetheless. It’s energized, and the minute you return into the power, it comes again into all this, however seen in an completely new method, not as caught stuff, however actually exuberant rainbow power circulate, proper? In order that’s what’s subsequent: Coming again in and noticing that each one the ideas are like that, all the emotions are like that, all of the doing is like that. It’s wide-awake electrical energy that’s having enjoyable. It’s not simply sitting there. It would sit there for some time, however even that it’s vibrational, so it’s complete re-engagement, however with all of the knots labored out.
It’s like earlier than you had been attempting to bounce if you had been only one large cramp throughout, after which now the awake area takes you thru like a complete de-cramping– an actual therapeutic massage–the place all of the knots get labored out, and now you begin transferring and it’s a extremely completely different feeling. It’s deeper than that as a result of who’s even transferring at that time? It’s like that feeling if you’re in a complete dance circulate, the place it’s simply area dancing. You’re not attempting to do one thing, so on this case, awake area is dancing the world into being an exercise. In order that’s what’s subsequent.
Questioner 4: Cool, thanks.
Questioner 5: Thanks once more for that. I’m undecided I’ve a lot of a query as a lot as I’m curious what your suggestions can be to this. Whenever you had been telling your story of if you’re we’re along with your instructor and or experiencing the quantity of Shakti that you just skilled together with her and so forth, one of many issues that got here to thoughts, as a result of I’ve skilled my very own model of that, was Shinzen as soon as speaking about there’s no must ever depart samadhi, and so forth.
Michael: That’s the entire discuss I’m giving, is what it’s wish to not depart samadhi.
Questioner 4: There additionally appears to be on the opposite facet of that coin which you highlighted in your story, that I might additionally relate to, was if you’re form of in simply being blasted with all that, then experiencing that inside your self, there isn’t a must really feel the necessity to cling to that — both to hurry and chop some onions or take care of some cellphone calls or emails. It looks like we’re extra scattered. I gotta get again to that. I keep in mind you commented virtually a yr in the past after I got here again from the monastery, there may be that underlying belief and religion within the follow, and in your self, of what even when there’s all this, our personal nonsense, what’s beneath all of that, on a regular basis? I’m simply curious if there’s something you might need to say about that.
Michael. Simply that ultimately you discover that each one the exercise will not be by some means taking you
out of your meditation. It’s the meditation, proper, it’s coming straight out of the awake area, which you heard me say already, so I didn’t add something, however that’s that’s my response. At first it feels such as you’re being knocked out of your cave, and that simply means you didn’t get it, no less than not deeply sufficient. Ultimately you acknowledge you’ll be able to’t get knocked out of it, as a result of it’s not a state, it’s not a particular, altered state. The awake area is all the time there, all the time, all the time, all the time, all the time.
Final query – or assertion or critique.
Questioner 5: It’s a really easy terminological query. That factor you’re attempting to level to, which you’ll be able to both have the there and again once more with the vacuum cave, or you’ll be able to simply discover it, is that what is named rigpa?
Michael: Awake area is rigpa. Technically, actually, rigpa is simply the Tibetan phrase for information–simply common information–like every form of information, however when it’s utilized in a Dzogchen context, it means awake area. Similar to the Sanskrit phrase for it might be vidya, which is simply information. So, it’s only a regular phrase being utilized in a extremely particular method. If we had been doing that, we’d simply say, discover the awakeness. Why they name it information is, if you’re pointing at it like that, you’re figuring out it. It’s like that, not the information of that factor, but it surely doesn’t work that nicely in English. Lately, it’s a lot clearer to simply say the awake area, awake spaciousness, or some folks name it awake consciousness, you might say awake conscious area, that’s rigpa. What’s completely different is, it’s not simply simply consciousness, as a result of consciousness can nonetheless be that constricted, tight, clumped. Whenever you drop all that, you’re not grabbing on to something, then all that’s left is spacious awakeness. Then, ultimately you discover that even the clinching stuff was all the time proper, all the time consciousness, however unrecognized as such.
Thanks.
Be part of Michael’s mailing checklist and get notified of latest choices and programs.
Donate to assist create extra of those movies and extra.
