Meditation
Let’s start, as we at all times do, with checking in with what it’s prefer 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 prefer to be you proper now? The trick right here is to each be as clear and sincere as doable, whereas on the identical time simply letting it’s that approach. Nonetheless 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 dangle on to it, possibly the urge to, in a roundabout way, management management management, and see for those who can, even when that urge is there, simply not take any motion. As a substitute, permit no matter you’re feeling prefer to be that approach. Letting go, if just for a short time, of the basic aggression in opposition to the way in which it’s.
Good. Now let’s do some mild breath work, just by on the in-breath, respiratory naturally, however on the in-breath, feeling the sense of awakeness and readability and vitality coming into the stomach. Really feel vitality coming into the stomach, filling the stomach as you breathe, brightness, openness, readability. Then, on the out-breath, it radiates via the entire physique and out into house, in order that there’s a type of letting go into house on the out-breath. You’re constructing vitality 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 way more brightness and readability awakeness to expertise, and every out-breath that simply dissolves into house, bringing great openness, leisure, launch, boundlessness. You’ll be able to simply breathe naturally, however if you wish to make it a bit of extra highly effective, simply let that out-breath go on for a bit of longer than you usually would, after all remaining snug and with out pressure. With every out-breath, as you dissolve into house, noticing that any pressure within the face relaxes, tightness and gripping within the shoulders releases, the stomach turns into tender and open. The entire physique simply sinks now into a way more grounded and relaxed place.
Persevering with to really feel the vitality and spaciousness rising, and, for a few of you, chances are you’ll 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 can typically simply type of dangle there earlier than starting the in-breath, and spot on the out-breath, as you dissolve into house, any reference to the thoughts with considering, with making an attempt to do one thing, simply is completely launched. The thoughts itself simply dissolves into house simply utterly let’s go. In order that even when quite a lot of considering is occurring, we’re not partaking in any respect with thought. We’re being the vast open house, an unlimited clear vivid awakeness. Discover that that vast awakeness is there with out you doing something in any respect. It’s not in some way one thing you can also make occur or intervene with, it’s simply wakeful of its personal accord and its personal vitality.
If you wish to, you’ll be able to let go of any engagement with the respiratory method, and easily relaxation because the wakeful openness, and see if it turns into obvious that this wakeful openness could be very secure. It’s not one thing you’re doing, and it’s not a type of consideration as a result of doing and a focus are unstable. Spacious awakeness is tremendously secure, and so we relaxation as spacious awakeness itself. Spacious awakeness isn’t one thing you do together 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 pay attention to 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 in a roundabout way. Different issues might at first appear extra stable, however as you permit consciousness to note them extra clearly, their vibratory nature turns into apparent as properly. Our picture of the physique could 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 appears like, to the physique, it’s a bunch of vibration, a bunch of buzzy tingly vibratory stuff. So simply discover that now. For those who solely discover it in a single little space, then simply discover that. Ultimately, you’ll see it’s each sensation, and it’s tremendously stress-free and opening and releasing and nice for the physique to be seen because it sees itself — on this vibratory energetic approach. It’s alive, it’s supple, it’s fluid, it’s flowing, it’s shifting, it’s product of vitality. As you calm down 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 could be a idea, however is one thing that the notice instantly “awares”. The physique itself is awake house, stuffed with vitality. See that clearly, not as an creativeness, not within the thoughts, however as one thing we’re instantly conscious of.
Superb. Now, in the identical approach, 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 type of vibratory motion. For those who’re fairly relaxed, you’ll discover that as a substitute of 1 stream of thought there’s often many occurring, all collectively as type of a broad spectrum of exercise. There’s simply quite a lot of vibration there, it’s simply circulation of thought vitality. We don’t wish to attempt to interrupt this circulation, or change the circulation, or fear concerning the content material of the circulation, or attempt to change the content material or something like that. We merely tune into this vitality, this vibratory vitality of considering. The extra this awakeness tunes into the vibratory vitality of considering, the extra apparent it’s that, on a really refined stage, this circulation of thought vitality is nothing apart from awake house. It’s simply huge, boundless, awake house, vibrating as thought vitality. Time and again, discover this vitality of thought as merely vibrating awake house.
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 a bit of extra intense. However it’ll be intense, so for those who’re feeling not up for that, unresourced or no matter, simply stick with doing what we’re doing now. If, however, you wish to dive into some emotional stuff, then, what I would like you to do is to convey up the sensation that you just’re actually making an attempt 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 would like you to convey that up on objective now. Bear in mind, you don’t have to do that. Solely do that for those who resolve to go together with me right here. Carry it up on objective, simply give up 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 making an attempt to keep away from feeling. Cease avoiding it, and simply let it occur. That begins to be comparatively robust. It’s fairly simple 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 vitality and vibration within the physique. There’s type of this intense vitality, relying on the type of emotion, it could possibly be actually excessive frequency sharp vitality, or it could possibly be actually low, heavy, vitality, however, it doesn’t matter what, it’s vibratory. You’ll be able to really feel the vibration occurring on this awake house. See if you can also 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 extraordinary vitality, after which, as earlier than, discover that this intense vitality, proper within the core of this troublesome, troublesome feeling, expressed as intense vitality, is nothing apart from wakeful house, vibrating house, boundless, openness, proper within the middle of the sensation. The sensation itself is only a type of actually highly effective vitality. If we don’t resist it, and we let it’s there utterly, and see it very clearly, we expertise it as awake house vibrating. It may well even be refreshing, opening, stabilizing, grounding. Bear in mind to permit the psychological content material round it to even be skilled as awake house, vast openness, boundless readability. You see that even this very troublesome emotion is nothing apart from vast 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 vast open, vast awakeness of great vitality.
It’s the alternative of avoidance, the alternative of sublimation, or repression, or bypassing—we’re assembly it utterly 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 discovered to think about it, to mannequin it, to conceptualize it, as secure, however in expertise, it’s constantly shifting and altering, possibly barely, possibly loads.
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 house, wakeful, boundless excessive vitality. Actually clear. It’s not simply nothing — there’s every kind of shapes and colours, and it’s additionally simply vast open, wakeful house. For those who discover, the room has vast open vibrating house, and emotion as boundless open clear house, and thought vitality as a circulation of vast open clear spaciousness and boundlessness and openness, and the physique itself as wakeful vibrating house, with no boundary and no middle. The rest in any respect that arises, arises as an expertise as nothing apart from awake house. Then what else is there, however great openness, readability and vitality? 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 great readability and vitality, completely unbounded, completely unconstricted, open, unfastened, free. The enjoyment itself is, after all, simply extra wakeful, vibrating spaciousness, and but it may be tremendously highly effective.
From right here, it’s simple to essentially get pleasure from all of the arisings, shapes, colours, sounds, emotions, ideas. The great brightness and variation and enthusiasm of the show is tremendously beautiful, lovely, scrumptious, wealthy. Discover the enjoyment that’s out there from this vibrating house. It’s at all times there, deep, deep inside it. Simply the enjoyment of the liberty and the readability and the wonder. It’s not in some way 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 great magnificence and enthusiasm of the world and being is at all times flowing, ever current, completely free.
Let’s finish the meditation there. Be at liberty to maneuver and stretch. If it is advisable to go to the lavatory or no matter go forward and do this.
During the last like 35 years or one thing I’ve labored with this one Indian lady instructor who’s a standard Guru, and it’s actually frequent once you work along with her that you just type of get knocked into this very altered state. That may really feel alternative ways, however typically it appears like an ecstatic energized world of awake house, and then you definitely do 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 might get actually good, she would yell at me and be like, “Mahesh,” which is what she referred to as me, “Mahesh, go chop greens.” I’d should rise up and go to the kitchen and with a very 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 noticed, she’s doing that on objective, simply to be imply or simply to fuck with you. However, after some time, I noticed that contacting that sense of vibrating awake house is tremendous vital, tremendous deep, and important and significant, however that’s not sufficient. It’s not nearly trying out into a very nice house, however as a substitute, noticing that your complete common world remains to be there, and from that place of vibrating awake house, it’s extremely cool, lovely, wealthy, fascinating, significant, deep, highly effective. Not simply in some way erased by nothingness. Your job is to interact with it, however interact with it from awake house, not from some type of constricted little ball of being a character preventing with all the pieces.
It’s actually fascinating. The lesson that I type of acquired 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 approach via 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 totally different, however they’re not separate. Every part is an exuberant expression of that energized awakeness, and never in some way 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 vitality, and that it’s completely totally different than this. It typically appears like that, oh, if I tune in, there’s a separate world of openness and vitality and sweetness 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 type of midway there. The remainder of the way in which there’s to note that this isn’t in the way in which in any respect. This isn’t any totally different than that, and fascinating, partaking, partaking, partaking, is what that awake vitality desires to do. It doesn’t wish to disappear into its personal awakeness gap. It’s right here to do stuff and have interaction in and expertise and revel in and create. That’s all it does is create. So, despite the fact that it’s problematic to speak sequentially, I’ll discuss sequentially and say at first we’re all caught within the constricted, reified thingness of all the pieces. There’s no house 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. If you lastly acknowledge, after I calm down and open and simply let go of all that pressure, there’s simply awake house, and that’s it it’s vibrating, it’s intense, it’s wakeful, 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 all the pieces occur, it’s making colours, it’s making ideas, it’s making emotions, it’s making all the pieces occur, and that’s not unhealthy, 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 fingers to seize with and in a way. So lots of the teachings, you’ll discover out, there’s simply going to stage one. They’ll simply type 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 pleasant, nevertheless it’s a lifeless finish, it’s silly.
It’s, why have been you born? What’s incorrect with you? [laughter]- apart from Woman Crimson!
Questioner 1: Final week I requested you, in order that’s like the character of thoughts, why are you positive you’re exhibiting up, and now you’re like, for those who simply go to the cave, it’s Superman.
Michael: Right here’s what nature of thoughts is doing! Even for those who work actually arduous, and it may be sequential, and that’s wonderful to get to that place. There’s extra to do, and it doesn’t even should work that approach. You’ll be able to by no means depart, you don’t should dive to zero after which come again out. There can simply be instantly noticing again and again.
So what occurred on the market? What are your reviews? What are your questions, feedback?
We’ll convey you a microphone and keep in mind that it’s not only a microphone on this room. You’ve gotten a query approach again there.
Questioner 2: Hey. 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 house?
Michael: it’s at all times 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 could’t simply cough out? It’s simply gonna be there. Your approach ahead may be, simply gotta go into that. So, you’ve each strikes out there, and typically you commute. Generally you go approach into one, different days you go into the opposite. It’s all fascinating, nevertheless it’s useful to grasp the context.
Questioner 2: Yeah, thanks.
Questioner 3: Hey, I used to be not blissed out, however I’d like it for those who might ship that for me one time. However what was actually cool is like in going via the feelings, one of many issues that was actually cool for me was truly the vitality of disassociation that was arising for me. To me, that’s an vitality, identical to any of the others, that I might comply with again, and would grow to be spacious. I used to be interested by your personal journey, expertise of taking part in with that, as a result of I feel it comes up loads for me.
Michael: Can you’re feeling your physique?
Questioner 3: yeah, yeah
Michael: So that you’re not dissociated, and earlier, have been you in a position to really feel your physique? If you say vitality of dissociation I’m undecided precisely what you imply.
Questioner 3: What do I imply by it? There’s a approach during which I really feel in freeze mode, possibly I’m truly exterior of my physique a bit of bit, is like what it appears like. It appears like I’m not totally in contact, and my mind, my thoughts, and my ideas, may be like, oh, you’re simply being very nonetheless proper now, however the vitality doesn’t transfer, it nearly feels frozen. The thoughts labels that as unhealthy, so it’s looking for the opposite vitality that’s there.
Michael: For those who can really feel the nonetheless frozen vitality, 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 verify that out. Let it do this factor, and possibly it’s the case that our expertise of the physique may 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 larger. 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 verify that out. Is it actually that also, that frozen? You already know rattling properly for those who verify into it, that it’s not. That concept that it’s these items and that’s unhealthy, that’s what’s main you astray there.
Questioner 3: Yeah, yeah. That’s unhealthy is unquestionably within the unconscious, for positive.
Michael: There’s a approach that you are able to do this to dissociate however the steerage I’m giving retains making that basically actually arduous. It’s important to attempt, so don’t attempt. I’m going to come back again again and again, okay. Does that assist? Good.
Questioner 4: Thanks. That was actually cool. I felt like there was stuff that’s been bothering me loads, that I simply felt it as vibration of awake house. I don’t assume I’ve ever actually felt that earlier than, and it type of deconstructed issues. I actually respect it. My principal query is, what’s up after the cave?
Michael: That’s what I used to be saying. You’ll be able to deconstruct it down to simply this awake house which could be very cool, however there’s nothing to do there. Which is, in a approach, okay, however there may be traditions that as a substitute of noticing the vibration there, are noticing the stillness, and need you to simply relaxation there and keep there. However, for those who listen, it’s not nonetheless. It’s energized, and the minute you return into the vitality, it comes again into all this, however seen in an completely new approach, not as caught stuff, however actually exuberant rainbow vitality circulation, proper? In order that’s what’s subsequent: Coming again in and noticing that every one the ideas are like that, all the sentiments 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 whole re-engagement, however with all of the knots labored out.
It’s like earlier than you have been making an attempt to bop once you have been only one massive cramp throughout, after which now the awake house 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 shifting and it’s a very totally different feeling. It’s deeper than that as a result of who’s even shifting at that time? It’s like that feeling once you’re in a complete dance circulation, the place it’s simply house dancing. You’re not making an attempt to do one thing, so on this case, awake house 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. If you have been telling your story of once you’re we’re together with your instructor and or experiencing the quantity of Shakti that you just skilled along 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 have to ever depart samadhi, and so forth.
Michael: That’s the entire discuss I’m giving, is what it’s prefer 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 once you’re type of in simply being blasted with all that, then experiencing that inside your self, there is no such thing as a have to really feel the necessity to cling to that — both to hurry and chop some onions or cope with some telephone calls or emails. It looks as if we’re extra scattered. I gotta get again to that. I keep in mind you commented nearly a yr in the past after I got here again from the monastery, there’s that underlying belief and religion within the observe, 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 finally you discover that every one the exercise isn’t in some way taking you
out of your meditation. It’s the meditation, proper, it’s coming instantly out of the awake house, 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, at the least 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 house is at all times there, at all times, at all times, at all times, at all times.
Final query – or assertion or critique.
Questioner 5: It’s a really easy terminological query. That factor you’re making an attempt to level to, which you’ll 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 house is rigpa. Technically, actually, rigpa is simply the Tibetan phrase for data–simply common data–like every type of data, however when it’s utilized in a Dzogchen context, it means awake house. Identical to the Sanskrit phrase for it could be vidya, which is simply data. So, it’s only a regular phrase being utilized in a very particular approach. If we have been doing that, we’d simply say, discover the awakeness. Why they name it data is, once you’re pointing at it like that, you’re understanding it. It’s like that, not the data of that factor, nevertheless it doesn’t work that properly in English. Today, it’s a lot clearer to simply say the awake house, awake spaciousness, or some folks name it awake consciousness, you can say awake conscious house, that’s rigpa. What’s totally different is, it’s not simply simply consciousness, as a result of consciousness can nonetheless be that constricted, tight, clumped. If you drop all that, you’re not grabbing on to something, then all that’s left is spacious awakeness. Then, finally you discover that even the clinching stuff was at all times proper, at all times consciousness, however unrecognized as such.
Thanks.
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