The Off-Switch

08:11

08:11

The Off-Switch

by Richard Ayling

Rated

4.7

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

758

For those of us with driven, goal-oriented minds, even meditations seem to be about getting a result or creating a state of mind, and so from this perspective, we sometimes judge how 'well' the meditation went! This approach is goal-free, and invites us simply to do nothing, to not have a goal or direction, and is a great practice to repeat in order to learn to find our own internal 'off-switch', that starts to appear more and more in our day.

Non Goal Oriented Resistance Mind Training Breathing Awareness Awareness Transition

Meet your Teacher

Lisbon, Portugal

Meet your Teacher

Lisbon, Portugal

Transcript

Hi, And welcome to a practice that I like to call the off switch. It's a form of concentration or meditation where there is no goal. So often in different forms of meditation, The mistake is to think that we have to achieve a certain feeling or state of mind, Or count the amount of times we come back to presence. But the mind being what it is, Different every day, Means that this is going to be very hard. So if you're someone that is very good at doing things and results driven, This is not the practice that you will like or will want, But like me, It's the practice that you very much need. So begin by, If you haven't already, Getting into a comfortable position, Sitting up straight. Take a deep breath in. As you exhale, Maintain the integrity of your posture, But sink down into the chair, Relax your shoulders, Your hands just resting gently in your lap. Just feel the weight of your hands being supported on your legs. Close your eyes. Just let everything be as it is. Notice your mind and where it is. Wandering already, Maybe waiting for instructions. Maybe quite restful, Just notice where it is. Don't even try to focus on the breath or any sensations. There is no goal here. I call it the off switch because we are stopping and doing nothing for a reason. Again, Just notice just how much resistance there might be. And then just turn it off, Let go. The more times you do this meditation, This practice, The more my cues will make sense and you'll just come back to a state of doing nothing and enjoying it, Letting go, Seeing it as an essential part of your day. The resistance will come and go. Just by doing nothing, We are training the mind to learn how to flick this on and off switch. For some of us, We are not here to do anything. There is no need to look for anything that should be there, Any sensation, Feeling, Thought, State. We are not here to do anything. If there is some strong resistance, Just have a little chuckle to yourself. Understand that the mind is resistant to change, Resistant to this. Observe that part of your mind that you must train. Now as this short meditation comes to an end, See how quickly a part of you wants to get back on with things. If there is that urge when you open your eyes to get up and do something, See if you can just pause on that and make a choice to transition into that thing with more calm, More awareness. If you feel extremely relaxed and peaceful right now, Enjoy that for a few moments, But also remember to turn that switch back on and do the things that you need to do. Have a great day. In your own time, Please open your eyes.