Guided Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft
Streamed on March 31, 2022
Introduction
We’re stay. Hey all people, simply ensuring ‘don’t disturb’ is on. We don’t wish to be disturbed. Who desires to be disturbed? Wouldn’t that be good in case your thoughts had a ‘don’t disturb’ swap? Simply flip it on and you then by no means really feel disturbed by something. That’s what we’re studying to create in a manner with our meditation, a psychological ‘don’t disturb’ swap. In order that’s good. Welcome to tonight’s guided meditation, as you realize I’m Michael Taft and you might be whoever you might be. And we’re right here tonight collectively to meditate.
Meditation
So with out additional ado let’s hop on in. So start by settling into your meditation posture, as all the time that is sitting good and upright with an alert posture, okay?
Comfy, comfortably alert, we would like our physique to be glad and relaxed but in addition upright. If we’re sitting, not leaning in opposition to the again of a chair, not leaning in opposition to a sofa or one thing, you’re utilizing your again to take a seat up, okay? And this–you may make this actually, very easy by having your knees a lot decrease than your hips like perhaps you realize a couple of inches decrease than your hips. And you then’ll get that good curve in your backbone, your again goes up straight and simply stays there, okay?
In any other case, you possibly can meditate mendacity down. I like to recommend having your knees within the air for those who do this and your again flat so long as you possibly can keep unsleeping. Staying awake is basically, actually necessary. You too can, for those who’re having bother staying awake, meditate standing up. However regardless, when you get into your meditation posture I would like you to remain there. You will notice me throughout the meditation in case your eyes are open and also you’re staring on the display screen, which I don’t suggest. Don’t stare on the display screen. In case your eyes are open, simply sort of meditate wanting elsewhere. However both manner, I would like you to remain nonetheless. And for those who’re wanting on the display screen, you’ll discover I’m not staying nonetheless, I’m taking drinks, I’m working with the pc typically and so forth as a result of I’m working the meditation and I’m talking so I’ve to drink some liquid. So do as I say not as I do and please stay good and nonetheless in your meditation.
Okay, so let’s start meditating and what we’re gonna do tonight is start by taking up the temper of–what can we wish to be the temper of? Let’s meditate once more because the sky, okay? So simply be the sky and simply image this huge spacious sky. And the properties I would like you to sort of resonate with and type of categorical in your meditation are that spaciousness of sky and the boundlessness of sky. You possibly can’t actually discover the sides of it, the sides are nebulous, so there’s a boundlessness, there’s a spaciousness, there’s room within the sky, and nothing bothers the sky. There could be clouds, there could be lightning, there could be birds flying by it, there could be jets flying by it, however the sky basically shouldn’t be bothered by any of that. There’s a lot room within the sky and the sky is all the time excellent. It’s not bothered by something that’s occurring in it. So the temper I would like you to start with for tonight’s meditation is to be just like the sky. So simply take that in for a second, meditating tackle the temper of the sky; spacious, accepting the skylets, the whole lot arrives inside it and it’s basically undisturbed by all that. It’s boundless.
Okay, so we tackle these properties of sky-like thoughts or being just like the sky and simply take that in and picture that you’re nothing however sky, the sky that’s spacious and boundless and basically accepting of the whole lot and basically undisturbed by something. It’s all good with the sky, there’s room for all of it. So simply really feel that now. It feels good.
Now, after all, on the earth the sky is crammed with air, so let’s let go of that visualization
now and simply start our breath meditation. I’m going to start out out by meditating on our breath and to start with we’re simply going to easily breathe. Breathe utterly usually, don’t change your breath in any manner. And I simply need you to bear in mind once you’re having an in-breath and once you’re having an out-breath, that’s it. If you wish to you need to use a label like inhaling then on the out breath respiration out. That’s it, simply stick with the breath within the easiest most simple method. Let’s begin there.
So simply hold settling in, stress-free, being huge and spacious just like the sky, though we let go of the visualization, we’re nonetheless having that sense of feeling relaxed or feeling open, feeling spacious, the whole lot’s good. And simply stick with the breath. Inhaling you simply acknowledge that you just’re inhaling. Respiration out we acknowledge that we’re respiration out, so dangle with that.
Good. Now if it’s extra snug for you, simply stick with this sort of respiration, if alternatively, you wish to do some gentle pranayama fashion respiration, then what I’d such as you to do is 2 issues; you’re taking deeper breaths, not tremendous deep, however deeper breaths with longer exhales so the exhales are longer than the inhales, solely do that if this feels snug for you, after which, if you wish to; make the exhale actually lengthy, you are able to do your ujaya breath, proper? The place you make that sound in your throat by tightening your throat on the out-breath. So that you breathe in sort of deep after which out-breath good and lengthy. Now, this could really feel good. Don’t do it if it doesn’t really feel good. Take a pleasant deep in-breath, soak up that life-giving oxygen, after which do a protracted out-breath. Don’t do it so lengthy that you find yourself having to yawn or soak up further air once more. It ought to really feel very nice however we do the breath as a result of it permits us to let that breath go free, that out breath go for even longer, however you don’t should do the yoga breath, you possibly can simply do longer out breath if that feels good. And if the lengthy deep inhales and lengthy exhales don’t really feel good, then simply breathe usually.
However what we do–we do the deep inhale, lengthy exhale–after which what I would like you to do shouldn’t be solely are you aware when the in-breath is going on and when the out-breath is going on however I would like you to note the tip of the in-breath and see the tip of the out-breath don’t change them. Don’t, you realize, manipulate it however simply discover that second when it ends. So let’s do this now.
Okay. Good, now I would like you to only stick your consideration proper on that breath, so that you’re noticing each second of the breath from the start of the in-breath by your complete in-breath to the tip of the out in-breath, the start of the out-breath the center of the higher on the finish of the out-breath. Simply stick your consideration proper on that and actually, actually stick with it. Don’t miss any second of the breath. If labeling helps you to do that, that’s nice.
Okay. Good, in order that’s our shamatha for now. We’re going to change on to vipassana–which implies to note the vacancy of one thing, on this case, what I would like you to note is the vacancy of ideas. So we go from meditating straight on the breath to meditating straight on considering. Ideas are arising within the thoughts however we discover one thing actually fascinating about ideas; they’re probably not objects like billiard balls or ashtrays or clocks or one thing, they’re simply sort of occasions that go by the thoughts. You possibly can’t actually outline the thought–when it begins, when it ends, what it’s manufactured from, what its boundaries are–it’s simply type of this transferring factor that passes by the thoughts and you’ll by no means pin it down. You possibly can by no means outline it. You possibly can by no means actually discover it and so that is the facet of ideas that we’d name vacancy. Typically, if I say I would like you to note the vacancy of ideas, folks assume what I’m saying is that you just don’t have any ideas or that your thoughts has stopped or no matter. That’s not what I imply, I imply you discover that ideas are just a few exercise passing by consciousness.
Keep in mind, after we’re meditating just like the sky, ideas would simply be, you realize, some clouds transferring throughout the sky sort of quick, or perhaps one thing just like the wind within the sky, they’re probably not strong, actual, necessary issues. They’re simply transferring, altering actions that don’t actually hassle the sky in any manner. So I would like you to note this vacancy of thought now. The minute you get caught up in a thought–now you’re not noticing its vacancy anymore–you’re taking it as actual. You’re grinding on it. You’re fascinated with it. So bear in mind, what we’re doing right here is resting as sky, and simply noticing ideas and permitting the ideas to both on objective noticing their vacancy or permitting them to only be empty.
Okay, so let’s start working with vacancy of thought. If this actually is not sensible and it’s tremendous laborious and also you’re completely confused and also you’re simply considering, considering, considering, then simply return to meditating in your breath, that’s completely superb. Ideas are identical to wind within the sky. It’s not that they’re not there however they’re probably not separate from the sky. So we’ve received this huge sky with these ideas transferring by it. So we’re not making an attempt to cease considering. We, actually, welcome all ideas however we see their vacancy clearly. The sky shouldn’t be disturbed by the ideas. The sky doesn’t actually change when the wind strikes by it, it’s nonetheless the sky. And we’re not caught up within the considering, we’re not including something to the considering, we’re not making an attempt to comply with the considering, we’re simply conscious that it’s there and noticing its vacancy.
Let’s simply develop this just a little bit to note that the whole lot that’s arising within the thoughts is empty; ideas are empty, once more, they’re like wind within the sky, they’re there however not there, they’re there however they don’t disturb. However even feelings–any feelings we could also be having–are empty too, they’re there however not there. The sense of our troubles, the sense of the issues we’re concerned with, the sense of being certain up, all of it–in expertise. And occasions, all of that’s simply empty, proper? It’s like wind within the sky. So discover the vacancy of ideas and emotions and of even being an object known as you. There isn’t any object known as you. That’s empty, that’s wind within the sky, discover that now.
If it’s a thought, consciousness is simply conscious of the thought and it dissolves into the clear empty sky. Ultimately, it’s an emotion, consciousness may be very conscious of the emotion and it simply dissolves into the clear empty sky. We’re not making an attempt to dissolve it or making an attempt to make it go away however we’re simply noticing that it was empty from the start. It’s identical to ripples within the sky, wind within the sky, it’s not separate from the sky, however neither is it not there in any respect. So simply discover that, it doesn’t matter what arises, it passes within the thoughts, and in between arising and passing it’s only a sort of a ripple. It’s probably not a factor. And so ideas and emotions and even our sense of self are merely empty.
Good. So I would like you to note that your thoughts itself is empty, proper? It’s identical to an unlimited spacious sky of consciousness, it’s received room for the whole lot, it accepts no matter arises, ideas transfer by it, emotions transfer by it, the sense of self strikes by it, however all of these are simply wind within the sky. The sky itself is totally, utterly open and empty, open and accepting, open and clear. So discover the standard metaphor for a way the ideas and emotions and all this stuff that usually transfer by your thoughts are; they simply don’t have any–once you see their vacancy they simply don’t have any grip anymore. It’s as if there’s this metaphor that claims a thief comes into your own home at night time however can’t discover something, there’s nothing to steal and so the thief simply leaves, proper? So the thief got here in however there was nothing to steal, so the thief left. In the identical manner, ideas may come into your thoughts, ideas come into the sky of consciousness however there’s nothing for them to stay to, so they simply ultimately simply sort of sail away. Feelings come into the thoughts, the sky of consciousness however there’s nothing to stay to, there’s nothing to seize, to seize onto so they simply ultimately sail on their merry manner. And even the identical with the sense of being of self, being me with all my issues and stuff, that comes into the thoughts however there’s nothing for it to seize onto so it simply sails on its merry manner. And extra ideas come and extra feelings come and extra sense of self comes however there’s nothing for them to stay to as a result of we basically see that the thoughts is inherently empty. It’s only a huge boundless sky of consciousness.
Okay, now the following step right here, as soon as we see that our thoughts is empty, ideas are empty, feelings are empty, even our sense of self is empty, there’s simply this clear sky–now the following step is to note that the sky shouldn’t be nothing, proper? The ideas usually are not nothing, they’re there, they’re simply empty. Emotions usually are not nothing, they’re there, they’re simply empty. Sense of self shouldn’t be nothing, it’s there, it’s simply empty, and moreover, there’s this sky. What’s the sky on this case? It’s this eternal consciousness, it’s the factor that is aware of the ideas, it’s the factor that is aware of the sentiments, it’s the factor that is aware of the sense of self, however it’s not separate from them in any respect. It simply is aware of. It’s the realizing. It’s not a knower, it’s not an individual, it’s not a character, it’s not a thought or feeling, it’s only a sky of pure consciousness, and this consciousness is aware of itself as a result of it’s conscious. Now what I would like you to do is relaxation as this consciousness which you already are. You’re not doing something to bear in mind, and no ideas could make you extra conscious, and no emotions could make you extra conscious, and no nothing can. So simply see the vacancy of all that and relaxation as vivid, clear, unsleeping consciousness that’s not significantly concerned with something. Let that occur now.
Discover that this isn’t nothing. That is even not simply boundlessness or openness however it’s awake, it’s conscious, it’s crisply awake. Nobody is doing something to make this consciousness occur. It’s simply there, it’s all the time there. So simply relaxation as this consciousness. Discover the brightness, the readability, and don’t become involved in any explicit object. If the thought arises, we simply let go of it. If feelings come up, we see their vacancy, we simply let go of it. If we begin to contract or seize onto something, simply calm down and are available again to only being an open sky. Don’t seize the fowl, don’t attempt to seize a cloud, don’t attempt to seize an airplane, they’re all simply transferring by however we’re resting as sky, vivid, clear sky and all these occasions are identical to wind within the sky. I would like you to note that we’ve been speaking about two issues; this spaciousness and the notice, proper? There’s this huge house and it’s conscious however they’re probably not separate, there’s a union right here, the union of house and consciousness, the union of this vastness and openness, and consciousness will simply relaxation in that union now. There’s house and it’s conscious. Something that strikes by it’s just a few…only a ripple, it doesn’t have an effect on the openness and it doesn’t reality have an effect on the awakeness, or the notice, in any manner. Don’t seize on. Are you able to simply merely relaxation as spacious consciousness with this union of house and consciousness? And for those who can’t, and immediately you seize onto one thing, all you do is calm down, and the grabbing fist relaxes naturally and opens, and no matter you grabbed onto simply falls out. And we simply come again to resting as this union of house and consciousness that’s all the time there, that’s naturally there with no effort.
One other manner of claiming the identical factor is that if ideas are arising they too are simply spacious consciousness, feelings come up they’re nothing different than simply conscious house, a way of self arises, it’s simply the identical huge spacious consciousness that’s awake, that’s alert, that’s clear, that’s vivid, that’s vivid. Every part is simply this huge house that’s consciousness. And consciousness and house are one. They don’t seem to be totally different, house and consciousness are one. Relaxation as huge spacious consciousness noticing that the whole lot that arises is simply extra of a spacious consciousness with no doing, with no grabbing.
Now this house of consciousness, this consciousness in huge house is of course joyous, it’s naturally type, it’s naturally heat and loving. And so let the sky of consciousness simply radiate its love, its kindness, its pleasure, its friendliness out in all instructions. The sky has no boundaries, so simply let this pleasure and kindness and love and caring and compassion simply radiate in all instructions in all places. Actually really feel that kindness, love, compassion, caring, flowing in all instructions from the sky–sky which has no middle within the sky, which has no boundary. Pleasure and peace and bliss and compassion radiate in all instructions, to all beings of each kind in all places. Let’s really feel that very, very clearly now. Superb, so let’s finish the meditation there.
Be at liberty to softly transfer and stretch or simply wiggle your fingers and toes or transfer your face round or no matter feels good. You need it to really feel actually good. And have a drink of water,
moist the proverbial whistle with some water and permit your physique to only really feel that pure goodness prefer it does.
Dharma Speak
Okay, so it’s actually necessary that we realized that the stuff that we’re usually tuning into is okay, proper? We are able to tune into our each day world and work, do our work. We are able to tune into {our relationships} and be with others and revel in that. We are able to tune into the great thing about the pure world and profit from that and play with that. We are able to play, we will love, we will work, we will do all this stuff and but, how we do them issues. The traditional manner that we’re taught to do them is by being engaged with them. I’m going to fuse with my considering, and interact with my considering, and even like faux that I’m my ideas. After which I’m like sort of glomming into considering after which I’m my ideas. And even, extra preciously, extra deeply, I consider I’m my feelings and I’m gonna glom into each emotion that arises, and simply be that emotion. And there’s my sense of self, who I’m on this planet, and what others take into consideration me, and if my boss likes me, and thinks I’m nice, and if the web thinks I’m cool as a result of I submit photos of doing cool issues, and that sort of sense of self on this planet. I’m going to glom onto that, and when it goes up just a little bit I’m going to really feel that, and when it goes down just a little bit I’m going to really feel that. And we might simply hold transferring round with these totally different modifications, proper? The ideas are constantly altering, (I’m turning on some lights right here) the feelings are constantly altering, my sense of self on this planet is constantly altering, and that changingness if I’m glommed into it, then it’s identical to being a tennis shoe in a dryer, proper? It’s simply all day lengthy and as a lot as you attempt to management that it’s simply gonna hold turning and turning and turning.
Within the sort of traditions of South Asia, or the Asian religious traditions, we’d name that state samsara, proper? The wheel of struggling is rather like turning and turning and it simply by no means stops, sort of having this nature of simply being. It’s by no means what we would like it to be, it simply turns and turns, and it’s all the time flawed, and in order that’s the Japanese religious, the quote “Japanese”… the Asian phrase is samsara. However within the west, the standard imaginative and prescient is a tennis shoe and a dryer, proper? A smelly tennis shoe and a dryer, simply sort of gha-gha-gha-gha bump, and in order that’s what we’re taught to do, that’s how we’re taught to stay, to glom on to ideas, to glom on to emotions, to glom onto our sense of self. And that’s going to lead to us simply bouncing round, bouncing round, bouncing round, and each a kind of bounces hurts.
And so typically folks say, effectively, we wish to cease the ideas, and we wish to solely have good feelings, and we would like our sense of self to be this, you realize, type of a optimistic factor. All of that’s pointless, you are able to do that, you possibly can go right into a deep meditative state, particularly for those who go right into a retreat for like three months or six months or a yr and are you aware your…you’ll get to a spot the place you don’t have any ideas all day lengthy and that feels good, it does, positive, since you aren’t…there’s no ideas to glom onto. They’re simply not there and so it’s not painful in that manner. Or you realize, we will work on making an attempt to solely have optimistic feelings by being in our particular you realize room on a regular basis with our lovely issues and you realize…however these methods of working are fragile, proper? Should you want a meditation retreat to get your ideas to go to zero, the minute you come out of the retreat the ideas spin up once more and guess what, you haven’t realized to not glom onto them. As quickly as they’re–once they weren’t there you simply couldn’t glom on, however once they’re again you glom on once more. In order that retreat expertise vanishes in a short time.
Identical factor for those who’ve received a setup to only really feel good, since you’ve received simply the best flowers and excellent incense and also you all the time really feel good once you’re in that room. And that manner the minute you allow the room, you’re glomming onto feelings. And boy, the massive one, as quickly as somebody says, “Oh, I just like the factor you mentioned on Twitter,” you realize we glom onto that, and we really feel good. Or you realize you say one thing on Twitter and somebody you respect is like, “Oh my god, that’s the stupidest factor I’ve ever heard,” now your sense of self goes down. We’re glommed onto it. We really feel horrible. So these conditions are simply the situational glomming of ideas and emotions and sense of self.
It comes again, it comes again immediately if we’re doing practices which are making an attempt to only calm it down. It’s necessary that we study to not glom on and if we study that, then it doesn’t matter how a lot thought is going on, it doesn’t matter what sort of emotions are occurring, our social state of affairs on this sense doesn’t matter as a result of we’ve realized to not be it, proper? We’ve realized that it’s empty, it’s not a factor, and subsequently it’s not an identification. All these issues are occurring however they’re occurring on this huge house of consciousness, and it’s an unlimited house of consciousness, and that huge house of consciousness shouldn’t be one thing we will glam into both, however we will relaxation because the huge house of consciousness. Okay? We relaxation as vivid, clear, awake consciousness and that we will relaxation in. And after we’re resting as consciousness, consciousness shouldn’t be a tennis shoe and a dryer, it’s an unlimited sky that’s all the time peaceable, that’s loving, that’s joyous, that’s actually vivid, that’s actually awake, after which if there are ideas occurring? Nice. If there are different feelings occurring? Nice. If there are social emotions occurring? Nice, proper? All that’s superb as a result of we’re resting as this pure consciousness and it’s spacious, there’s room, there’s room for the whole lot to occur.
Now folks can assume that this consciousness is tremendous particular, however like I’ve been sort of yelling at everybody about for a number of weeks now, it’s not a particular state. It’s all the time there, okay? You don’t should, you realize, make a particular consciousness occur. It’s all the time there. Folks really feel—I usually
hear like, “whereas I used to be, you realize, making an attempt to make my consciousness huge…” and it’s like—no, it’s already huge! It’s all the time huge. You don’t do something to make consciousness huge. That’s its nature.
Or, you realize, “I used to be making an attempt to have extra consciousness” and it’s like, you realize, that’s an English phrase, and we all know what meaning, like, “I wish to have extra consciousness about my consuming,” it simply means to concentrate to it. In order that’s a wonderfully regular manner of talking however in the best way we’re speaking now, on this consciousness that we’re describing, you possibly can’t make extra of it. It’s all the time there and it’s all the time all the best way on, proper? So it’s already huge, it’s already spacious, you don’t should in some way make it spacious. It’s already conscious, that’s its nature, that’s what it’s. Let me put it one other manner, you realize if there’s house, then it’s already conscious, and if consciousness is already conscious, it’s naturally spacious, proper? There’s nothing to do, moreover, as we’ve seen, the one that thinks they’re doing something in any respect is empty anyway. We’re doing these meditations, however the deeper we go into the meditation the clearer it’s that there’s that the sense of the self doing it–that’s empty too. Doesn’t imply there’s no meditation, meditation is going on however nobody’s doing it, and it’s simply sort of naturally unfolding. Consciousness rests in itself, consciousness is spacious and really unsleeping and at relaxation. Arrests, it’s the other of a resting, it rests in itself completely with none effort in any respect.
Okay, so we do make efforts to do that shamatha a part of our meditation, the place we’re simply making an attempt to calm issues down a bit to make this simpler to note. And we do make effort in our vipashyana to see the vacancy, see the vacancy, see the vacancy, however ultimately, we see the vacancy of effort, after which we simply relaxation as huge spacious consciousness. Now if that will get clogged up with a bunch of emotions that you just’re glomming onto, don’t struggle, simply come again to resting as spacious consciousness. Should you can’t do this, if that’s too laborious, each time I attempt to relaxation I’m nonetheless caught up within the ideas and emotions, okay, again up, do the vipashyana on vacancy, discover the vacancy of the ideas and emotions again and again and over. If that’s too laborious simply return to meditating in your breath, that may chill issues out just a little bit, you’ll really feel just a little extra relaxed and open, so that you just all the time know what to do, okay?
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