Nondual Guided Meditation with Michael Taft
So let’s start just by checking in. Simply tune into your self and spot what’s occurring. Ask your self the query, what’s it wish to be me proper now? And also you examine into your physique, examine into your feelings, your thoughts, and no matter else. Simply examine in with your self, what’s it wish to be you proper now? And no matter it’s like, that’s the proper option to be proper now. So, nevertheless it’s, no matter you discover, is strictly the fitting option to be proper now. So let’s simply examine in with that for a minute.
What if precisely the best way you might be proper now could be the very best option to be?
Good. Now, as ordinary, let’s simply start with somewhat little bit of some stabilization. So I need you to only loosen up into the huge open sky of your thoughts and into that huge unimpeded boundless sky simply discover, with none focusing, with none effort, simply discover that the feeling of respiratory is seen and the feeling of respiratory rises and falls and is seen within the sky of consciousness, with none effort it rises and falls like a wind rising and falling on this huge open sky. And let’s simply be with that collectively for some time right here.
We’re not focusing our thoughts, our consciousness is huge open. The feeling of the breath rising and falling in consciousness is obtainable with out consideration, with out the strain of consideration it’s simply naturally current. If the sky of consciousness tightens down right into a ball round pondering, simply enable the pondering to dissolve again into the sky, and loosen up again as consciousness. If the thoughts tightens round a thought, simply loosen up the tightness, enable the thought to, simply of its personal accord, drop away and the thoughts returns to the vastness of boundless sky.
Good, now into this sky of consciousness, this eternal sky, enable a picture to come up, a picture of a fountain. It may be manufactured from something and it may well have any liquid in it, however this fountain is the fountain of pure liberation, fountain of pure enlightenment. I need you to see very clearly this fountain is flowing with the waters of liberation. I bear in mind one time I used to be at an artwork set up in Los Angeles and there was a big fountain with a transparent liquid in it and the signal stated that it was a fountain of pure liquid LSD. You may have no matter liquid in your fountain you need, however discover that it’s bought sure qualities, this fountain has sure properties. One is that it’s filled with power, it’s continually shifting and flowing and shifting and altering. It’s by no means static or stale, it’s contemporary and clear and filled with power. Actually discover these properties of its freshness and cleanness and vivacious, full of life, energized high quality, and really feel that very same energetic high quality coming into your physique now.
Good, now discover that the fountain has extra qualities, it has the standard of kindness, and it’s flowing with a way of affection and pleasure and compassion, overflowing, spraying, effervescent kindness and pleasure and love. And really feel these properties too, coming into your coronary heart now, coronary heart overflowing as a supply of affection and pleasure and kindness. Good. Moreover, discover that the waters, or the liquid on this fountain, has a way of large readability and knowledge, it’s overflowing with awakeness, vivid, brilliant, clear, stunning awakeness.
And this hyper-lucid high quality of wakefulness and readability and knowledge is coming into your thoughts now all collectively. See the fountain flowing with knowledge and readability and brilliant, shining awakeness, lucidity, love, pleasure, and compassion, and a form of springy, bubbly, playful power of spontaneity and liveliness. On an in-breath convey that fountain into your physique and have your physique flip into the fountain, so that you simply your self are the fountain of liberation, you your self are the fountain of awake consciousness, you your self are the Buddha, and really feel the power of the fountain flowing upward out the highest of the top into the sky and raining again downward, as a rain of all these qualities, stunning peaceable rain of liberated and joyful kindness and full of life playfulness.
What would it not be wish to be a fountain of pure liberated love and knowledge? Simply be with that now. Be that now.
And now let that every one fall away and simply relaxation as boundless, timeless sky of awakeness. That is merely resting something in any respect that arises within the sky of awakeness. It simply dissolves again into the sky with out leaving a hint of any type. When you’re sleepy sit up, in the event you’re actually sleepy, or simply in the event you really feel prefer it, sit together with your eyes open. It is a sky of boundless wakefulness. And I need you to ask your self now, what would it not be wish to be utterly free? What would it not be wish to be completely liberated? I don’t like to consider a solution or think about something, simply ask that query and are available again to resting because the sky, it’s a boundless sky. What would the thoughts of good freedom be like?
Once more, if ideas come up, we’re simply letting these go, concepts come up, they only dissolve again into the sky. We’re not imagining solutions or pondering.
Good, now ask your self the query, what would it not be wish to have a coronary heart overflowing with love and kindness and pleasure? Good, now ask your self, what would it not be like if the physique itself have been the power of pure freedom, playfulness, spontaneity? The physique, simply as it’s, precisely the best way it’s, what if that have been the power of pure liberation? Not another physique, not your physique is one way or the other higher or mounted however this actual physique, the power of pure liberation, pure playful, spontaneous freedom. What would it not be like if there have been completely nothing to vary, no plans to make, nothing to repair, all the pieces already full and excellent? All ideas of any type simply dissolve into boundless sky effortlessly, naturally, unimpeded. What if the place of your saddest most terrified damaged aloneness, what if that place, have been equivalent to your deepest awakening?
Good, what if all these issues are literally true and also you, proper now, simply precisely the best way you’re a totally awake enlightened buddha? Proper now, totally free, totally type, conscious. Acknowledge that now. Acknowledge your already present woke up coronary heart and relaxation as that, with out altering something.
Now once more, into the sky of liberated totally joyous, boundless awakeness think about this fountain once more, the fountain of pure, on this case, pleasure, kindness, belonging, and compassion, love, and film this fountain radiating out out of your physique in all instructions, taking pictures out so excessive and so huge that it’s bringing this love and pleasure and kindness to everybody all over the place, all individuals all over the place, all animals all over the place, all beings of each type all over the place, and by all over the place I imply in all universes, the power of touching their coronary heart filling them with an actual sense of being seen and held and beloved and nurtured and cared for after which as a result of it’s an imaginal fountain flip it up 10 instances, 10 instances as sturdy, 10 instances as light, 10 instances as candy, after which much more, after which much more. Soaking universe after universe in divine love and pleasure and kindness.
After which, let go of all of it and simply relaxation as area, elementary freedom, elementary fullness.
Chant
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
Good, now you’ll be able to let go of the meditation, be happy to maneuver and stretch.
Questions and Solutions
Michael: Good, so anybody have any feedback or questions?
Questioner 1: So it was simpler to sit down this time.
Michael: Superb. Had been you working towards within the meantime?
Questioner 1: I went to the health club.
Michael: You went to the health club. That’s its personal form of apply. Superb. Different feedback or questions?
Questioner 2: What was the very final thing that you simply stated to finish the meditation? What does it imply?
Michael: So, that’s a really conventional Sanskrit verse, Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. Bhavantu comes from the verb to be, it’s cognate to the English phrase be, so the Bha there is similar as be. Bhavantu is a subjunctive so possibly. It’s fascinating bhavana or bhava, similar verb, also can imply to meditate, so there’s a form of fascinating valence there. However on this sentence, it means to be. Sukhino, let’s depart that for later. The primary half lokah is similar because the English phrase location. On this case, it means all over the place in all areas, lokah in all areas. Samastah–could all beings, everybody all over the place, could all of them be. After which the third phrase out of 4 is sukhino anybody know the phrase sukha? Sukhino–could all of them be joyful, so could everybody all over the place be joyful. Very, very easy Sanskrit verse that I actually like, and since Sanskrit is linguistically associated to English elements of it are comprehensible if you realize what to hear for.
What else?
Questioner 3: Whenever you use phrases like huge sky or huge thoughts within the meditation, nothing actually occurs and like…
Michael: Good, nothing’s presupposed to occur.
Questioner 3: However there’s a motive why you point out these phrases, proper?
Michael: Sure. So, it may well generally appear as if the thoughts is form of tight, or form of small, and definitely, if we’re feeling actual agitated or anxious or ashamed or one thing, it may well actually really feel like we’re locked inside a good little ball, a really uncomfortable little ball in our thoughts. But it surely’s humorous, that’s form of a trick we play on ourselves as a result of one factor the thoughts can do is form of curl again on itself, if it feels prefer it. And that may be form of uncomfortable.
However for a motive that no person is aware of, though it’s in all probability just a few form of playfulness, we select to do this, and we’ve realized to do this, and our society reinforces us doing that, curling again in that tight little ball. However that’s not the true situation of the thoughts, in any respect. The true situation is simply boundless area and a luminous cognizance. So it’s not simply useless area, it’s actually awake area with none tightness in it in any respect, and so I’m simply inviting you to note that about your individual thoughts. And in the event you don’t discover it, it’s since you hold trying contained in the tight ball, utilizing tight power to look contained in the tight ball, and so it’s such as you hold enjoying the trick on your self. And but, the minute you simply loosen up for a second from doing that, it’s simply open.
Okay, so it’s not that one thing’s presupposed to occur or like, you realize, the sunshine shines–it simply goes from slim to tight, that form of effort, to only relaxed, open, okay? However what’s fascinating is even me doing that’s extra effort than it actually takes, simply that gesture of my arms is extra effort than it actually takes. Severely, it’s simply because the tougher you effort, the tighter you’re making the ball, so you realize just like the Chinese language finger entice factor? I don’t know what we actually name that, however you realize it’s like a factor the place you attempt to pull your finger out and it will get tighter and tighter, that’s what it’s like. So the extra that you simply attempt to get out of the tight thoughts by stress or pulling or tightness, it simply will get tighter. But it surely’s a form of magic trick the place you simply loosen up and it’s simply not tight anymore. Okay? If that doesn’t make sense, simply hold–I hold inviting you to note and ultimately you go, oh yeah, that was all the time there.
So if there was a gunshot proper now off within the distance, that is America, there’s a gunshot off within the distance, would you hear it? Sure or no?
In all probability, in fact, you’d hear it. How did you hear that? How did you hear it? As a result of consciousness is in all instructions, proper? It’s already there, so consciousness is already naturally huge in all instructions. And it’s solely as a result of we’re on objective tightening down into somewhat ball, and we get skilled to be targeted in that manner, and we receives a commission to be targeted in that manner, and we get praised for being targeted in that manner, we overlook you could simply be open. However that’s what your thoughts desires to do, simply loosen up and be open. So after I say these phrases, I’m simply pointing to what’s all the time been there and welcoming you to acknowledge what’s already there, okay? You don’t imagine me however that’s okay.
Questioner 3: No, I imagine you.
Michael: Please, don’t imagine me, simply discover it for your self.
Questioner 3: If I loosen up an excessive amount of, I really feel like I simply go to sleep. That’s my subject proper now.
Michael: Certain. And once more, that’s as a result of we hold ourselves so tight with a variety of anxiousness and stress and if we loosen up the pure factor is to conk out. Okay, however even after we’re conked out the notice is simply as awake. You’ll nonetheless get woken up by the gunshot. So the fixed background of our lives…and so ultimately you’ll discover that even within the deepest sleep you’re simply as awake. Okay, so for now, if conking out is an issue meditate together with your eyes open, sit up, and simply loosen up. Usually, not in your case, I don’t know you, however very generally there’s one thing we’re making an attempt to not discover, one thing we don’t need to really feel, or one thing we don’t need to take into consideration, and so we both keep actual anxious or if we begin to loosen up we go unconscious, so we don’t must really feel it or discover it. So the trick there, not essentially for you, however for plenty of individuals, is to on objective search for the factor you don’t need to really feel and really feel it, or take into consideration the factor you’re making an attempt to keep away from enthusiastic about, and simply be with it for some time. After which impulsively you might be extra awake once you loosen up as a result of there’s nothing to keep away from. Sounds fairly straightforward. Thanks to your query.
What else? I need some arduous questions or some actually silly questions.
Questioner 4: How strict is the no-moving rule?
Michael: Method stricter than what you probably did.
Questioner 4: I picked a place, I used to be making an attempt to avoid wasting my again, and I spotted midway by way of that my knees are on hearth. That’s all I might take into consideration the entire time.
Michael: I noticed it. So both sit in a chair or get a better cushion. You may stack two up in order that your hips are manner above your knees. That’ll in all probability do it or like I say, simply sit in a chair. It’s not–we’re not sitting rigidly nonetheless, it’s relaxed, okay? So if it begins to be actual uncomfortable I invite you to both enable that discomfort to be the opening that you simply undergo to awakeness. It will probably actually work or once more subsequent time simply have a chair. It’s nice to have you ever right here.
Questioner 5: In a state of affairs the place it’s form of arduous to loosen up like that’s it nonetheless preferable to try to like enter that huge area? I overlook the way you worded it. Or do you need to try to deal with that factor that you simply’re in all probability avoiding?
Michael: It’s a judgment name. When you’re actually agitated, then simply see in the event you can loosen up however in the event you’re actually conking out, see in the event you can get up somewhat bit by sitting up straight or opening your eyes. However in the event you discover you’re too agitated, which suggests your thoughts goes throughout, see in the event you can simply breathe deep and loosen up. When you’re conking out, attempt to perk up, open your eyes. But when what you’re noticing is a form of resistance or avoidance or a bouncing-off feeling, such as you’re bouncing off, then you definately would possibly need to examine and as an alternative of ‘what’s it wish to be a wonderfully woke up dachshund’ or no matter my questions have been, you’d say, what am I avoiding proper now? After which simply open and it’ll come up.
Okay, in order that’s the way you would possibly do this. And that may be a wild journey. It won’t be 5 minutes. That may be a complete hour of sitting with that however ultimately, I imply that’s value doing, after which ultimately you’ll discover you’ll be able to actually begin to drop in. Okay?
Questioner 6: I’m enthusiastic about this second within the meditation once you stated one thing about you’re form of inviting all these actually form of optimistic experiences of kindness and love and no matter, after which I believe in some unspecified time in the future you invited one thing like emotions that we wrestle with after which stated one thing like, what in the event that they have been the identical factor?
Michael: I stated, what in case your most damaged unhappy aloneness have been the identical as your deepest awakening?
Questioner 6: Are you able to communicate extra about that?
Michael: Yeah, so once more it’s form of associated to what we have been simply saying or what I used to be simply saying the place on this manner of working it’s not that it’s important to really feel nice on a regular basis or try to be this good factor, or solely have good feelings, or solely good ideas, or no matter. All ideas, all feelings all states of thoughts, all states of being are nonetheless doorways to awake consciousness. They’re simply as awake.
And, actually, what begins to form of impede that’s if there’s issues we don’t need to really feel and don’t need to assume and don’t need to expertise. That begins to construct a form of obfuscatory Berlin Wall, you realize, like an actual wall seemingly between you and awake consciousness. In order that stuff that we’re making an attempt to keep away from, in essence, we’re form of avoiding our self. And so, the best way by way of, the best way in is all the time by way of, proper? We go in, in, in, in… So these locations the place you’re like, I’m so damaged and alone and and and… it’s I’m too sick to ever be healed and too insane to ever be awake, and no no person might probably love me, and the way can I… you realize, that form of feeling proper inside the middle of that–I imply really feel it proper now, proper inside the middle of it. It’s simply as awake as anything. It’s simply as clear. It’s simply as spacious. It’s simply as sacred. It’s simply as pure. We don’t keep away from that, or one way or the other put that within the basement and, you realize, attempt to by no means really feel that. As an alternative, we make mates with all, all, all ideas, all emotions, all the pieces that arises, proper? It’s the one manner. It’s the one manner. And it’s that factor of, you realize, you’re sitting there and also you get up at 3 a.m and simply how magnified a few of that destructive content material can grow to be, proper? It will probably simply appear to be you’re somewhat baby once more, and also you’re simply so afraid, we’re so alone, or so damaged, or no matter and that second might be like one of the best meditation you’ve ever had.
You recognize the place you simply say sure to that and simply discover that the core of that’s shining with actual readability, and wonder, and a form of aliveness, proper? A form of actual aliveness. No, it’s not that we’re on objective, you realize, soaking in that. Though, if you wish to do this certain, however you realize when that comes up that we’re used to pondering like, oh, that’s the dangerous factor, that’s what I need to make go away, and banish it ceaselessly. And that banishing is sort of a banishing of ourselves, it banishes our personal awakening. Our personal liberation means all of the issues are accepted, all of the issues are included, all this.
How might any state of thought or feeling ever damage your awake consciousness? They will’t and, actually, they’re really the expression of it. They’re manufactured from it. All of the highs and lows and wonder and darkness, all of it. So we welcome all that. And also you’ll discover, impulsively, you’ll be able to drop in in a manner that you simply weren’t capable of earlier than as a result of earlier than you have been bouncing off, and bouncing off, and bouncing off, however since you stated sure you didn’t bounce off, you went in. Okay?
After I was a very little child my sister went to woman scout camp and she or he got here again after weeks, and I used to be–we have been little sufficient that her being gone for like two weeks was a giant deal–I used to be like, oh my god, you’re again! And she or he introduced together with her somewhat toy, you realize it’s like somewhat bare man with large hair, a troll. Yeah, a kind of, and she or he had this picket plaque like that large that utilizing a magnifying glass somebody had burned into it the slogan do the factor you worry and the dying of worry is definite which I nonetheless bear in mind although I used to be like 4 after I first noticed it as a result of she introduced again the engraved plaque and I used to be like, oh it’s like actually vital. Do the factor you worry and the dying of worry is definite and it’s the identical thought. Not that we’re making an attempt to kill worry however go in and the wholeness is there. Once we don’t need to really feel one thing, we don’t need to expertise one thing, that’s we’re creating fragmentation inside ourselves. And what we’re working towards right here is wholeness, actual wholeness, not simply fairly wholeness. So what factor are you avoiding? What factor are you–I really feel like I give this discuss each week–what factor are you making an attempt to not really feel or assume? That’s the best way ahead. Thanks to your query. Yeah.
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