Intimacy With Infinity: Radiance Sutras Verse 93

30:52

30:52

Intimacy With Infinity: Radiance Sutras Verse 93

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4.9

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talks

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Meditation

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Everyone

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125

During this session, we discuss Verse 93 of the Yukti Verses from the 'Radiance Sutras', a translation of the Vijanana Bhairava Tantra by Lorin Loche. A meditation follows our discussion. These sessions are recorded on a weekly basis and all are welcome.

Meditation Tantra Consciousness Philosophy Spirituality Interconnectedness Visualization Radiant Sutras Reading Dual Aspect Meditation Heart Center Visualization Divine Consciousness Exploration Tantric Philosophy Interconnectedness Reflection Avastha Mind Wandering Acceptance Intimacy With Infinity Divine Consciousness Meditation

Meet your Teacher

Toronto, ON, Canada

Meet your Teacher

Toronto, ON, Canada

Transcript

So today we're reading from the Radiant Sutras. This is a beautiful book written by Loren Roche. It is his translation, Interpretation of the Vijnana by Rava Tantra. Beautiful ancient tantric text. Whether you have the book or not, Let's all close our eyes and just breathe deeply. And let's imagine that there's two aspects of who we are. There's our physical creation, Our bodies, Our minds, Our personality, Our name. And this is the beautiful vehicle we've been given to explore life. So let's really connect with that physical part of us. And then let's bring our awareness to the eternal part of who we are. And how you experience this will be very unique to you. Maybe you feel it like a pulsing in your heart center. Like a light pulsing. Maybe you feel it like this shimmering, Gentle light that flows through your whole body, Through all of the cells. Maybe it's just an awareness that you feel through your whole body. But let's feel that infinite eternal self as well. And let's listen to our sutra from that place. Wherever your heart journeys, On whatever expedition in your outer life and secret inner realms, Breathe in intimacy with infinity. Where can you go to avoid the one in whom all exists? Reach down into your deepest being. Take a stand in eternity. Walk through this world. See every situation as an expansion of the mystery. Savor the tremble of recognition. The God in you is touching the God out there. What does that mean for you? Every situation as an expansion of the mystery. Does this invoke a feeling? Is there a phrase that rings in your mind? Words? Merging gods. Deep connection with the infinite and divine. Grateful for this awareness and potential and for receiving this knowledge. Free, Expansion, Connected. The God in you touches the God out there. Choose joy, Feeling true connection in all. Wherever you go, You're always there. Every moment is divine, Obliterated by the awareness of all things being expansive. Exquisite tantric and yogic moment of the weaving and yoking. Mm-hmm. Expedition to a full understanding of connection. Question about avoiding the one. Was that rhetorical? So where can you go to avoid meeting the one? Yes, It is rhetorical. Oh. So what they mean by that is that, So this is a meditation about how every single thing we see is God, Is Shiva, Is great mystery, Whatever feels right to you. Because very often, We can feel really disconnected. And so one of the interesting aspects of this particular sutra is that, Well, One, We cannot run away from divine consciousness. It doesn't matter what we bury ourselves in. It doesn't matter how much we try to avoid you know, That omnipresent. And I'll use the word God or Shiva. But again, Replace it with whatever you want. It's everywhere. One of the beautiful things about this is that very often, You know, We're on a spiritual journey. And we kind of feel like we're supposed to merge with some divine essence out there, Or some huge, Omnipresent, High vibration of enlightenment. And that's what we have to merge with in order to feel connected, In order to feel this divine presence. And what this sutra is saying is, It's everywhere. You can gaze upon a flower. In that flower is the presence of Shiva. And in in Stormy G here, Shiva is there. Because Shiva Shakti in Tantra, Shakti is the manifest self. Shiva is the energy. So every single thing, Everything that is manifest here, You are gazing upon the divine. So then all of a sudden, We don't have to connect with some ethereal unknown. We just have to look at a glass of milk. Look at a tree. Look at a chair. Like this doesn't have to be a sentient being. Every single thing created here is a creation. And so this is why, You know, That phrase, It says, Where can you go to avoid the one in whom all exists? And so this also speaks to the phrase that a lot of people brought up, That the God within meeting the God out there. So now you imagine that you too, Are also Shiva and Shakti, But we're focusing on Shiva in this sutra. So all of a sudden, You, In your consciousness, Is walking around the world, Seeing all the other incarnations of the same divine consciousness. This is the God within meeting the God out there. So this isn't a rhetorical question. I genuinely want to ask you this. How would that feel to have this awareness all the time? Imagine walking down the street and everything you see, You recognize as incarnate Shiva. Every single thing we see is the divine. And then to bring it up a level of beauty or difficulty, Imagine sitting in front of a person and seeing the same Shiva consciousness in them as you have within you. Does this make you feel connected to the world around you? Does this make you feel one with everything? Because we start to realize that that eternal self, Like at the beginning of our talk, We talked about, You know, When we were closing our eyes, To sort of, We can connect with the physical aspects. But there's also an eternal aspect of who we are. And that eternal aspect is everywhere. Suddenly, Let's say you're sitting in front of someone you love. So you're sitting there. I'm not saying you love me. I'm just saying, But if you're looking at me, Or you're listening to me on the recording, Imagine your physical body. And then imagine my physical body. So these are different. We're in different places, We have different manifestations. That's awesome. Makes us all unique and interesting. But when we close our eyes, There is a divine energy flowing inside of you that is also flowing inside of me. We are the same in that way. Imagine that everyone attending this class right now, Or if you're listening, Everyone within 100 kilometers. Everyone here shares that divine eternal thread. Imagine. It's kind of like, If you imagine a tree, And imagine every one of us is a branch of that tree. But we all have the same sap flowing through us. We are all connected in the trunk. And then you imagine, You go for a walk and you see a tree. And as different as that tree is for to you, The same divine essence flows through that tree that flows through you. It's funny, They talk about how one of the number one things that we need to overcome in this life is this illusion of separation. And this sutra takes us there. I'd like to read something to you from the back of the Radiant Sutras. So in his discussion of this, He talks about separation from what? Other humans or God? I think the answer is both. It's like understanding that we really are all the same in essence, Even though we physically show up differently. So, Here, Lauren, The author of the Radiant Sutras, He teaches us about the word avastha. And what he says is, Avastha, Reach down into your deepest being. Take a stand in divine consciousness. See the whole world from inside. Inside this state. Perceive everything as the functioning of the divine, The mysterious, All-pervading one. So imagine that. Imagine feeling, Diving into yourself, And feeling that divine consciousness. And then simply walking through your life, You would recognize it everywhere. And again, These aren't ideas that we can attach words to. We can't think this stuff. It's something we feel. You can't describe what your divine consciousness feels like. And we'll get into trouble if we try to describe it even to ourselves. Because we'll think, I don't think I can do it. I don't know. I don't know what she's talking about. I don't get it. Because I can't find words to describe it. But there are no words to describe it. This is what the great mystics have always done. They've tried to find the words to describe it. So they write in poems, To try to describe a rose to someone who is blind. Because there's no language for it. And this is the same. We don't have language to explain what your divine essence feels like. We need more than just the intellect to understand. Exactly. So to dive into that consciousness within, And then to walk around the world, And feel that divine consciousness everywhere else. This asks us to release all thinking. Because then our brain wants to get in there and say, Yeah, But what about this? And yeah, But what about this? And I mean, Obviously, You don't mean that. And like, What about that person in my life? Like, What about, Like, Our brain wants to get in there and say, No, It's not true. Our brain wants to cause trouble. Because our brain cannot conceptualize this. I remember years ago, Walking down the staircase and saying my gratitudes. I'd always be grateful for the dust specks in my individual life, Shelter and breath. The tiny speck is equal to the greater parts. Oh, That's beautiful. Thank you. I'd like to read another piece here from Lauren in the back of the book. The beginning of this sutra begins with yatra yatra, Which is all about the mind wandering. So here's what he says. Minds wander, That's what they do. Hearts are always looking for love. The heart, By design, Longs to be in the rhythm of giving and receiving. Life is flow and motion. Both mind and heart want to connect with the essence of life. And yoga means connection. Attention is dynamic by nature, Always on a quest. In this practice, The yoga is in the wandering and searching. We are called to honor all this questioning, All this questing, As yatra, A pilgrimage. What I love about that is that, You know, Sometimes we really criticize ourselves because our mind is always flitting from this to that, To this to that. And I'm just, Oh, And now I'm following that shiny thing and squirrel and I'm, You know, I never seem to be satisfied and I'm always, You know, We can be very critical of ourselves. But this is what the mind does. The mind wanders. It looks at the door and then it looks at a book and then it looks at a tree, Then it looks at the dog and then it thinks about that thing that happened last week and then it wonders about the thing that's going to happen next week. And while in yoga and tantra there is a practice of being able to release our thoughts, That's part of it. But imagine that as our mind wanders, It just keeps landing, Or I want to say alighting upon, But it keeps landing on yet another aspect of Shiva. And look, Another of God's creations. I don't really like that language but, You know, And look, There it is again and there it is again and there it is again. Imagine that everywhere your mind went, It landed in Shiva. And that includes inside. Imagine you're going inside and you're thinking about something and you're thinking about that thing. But imagine the peace inside your heart that no matter where your mind goes, There is Shiva. There is God. That brings me great peace. Let's see if there's any other part of this we want to look at before we do a meditation. I love in the beginning, So I'm just going to read the first part of the sutra. Wherever your heart journeys on whatever expedition in your outer life or secret inner realms, Breathe in intimacy with infinity. Breathe in intimacy with infinity. That does something in my spine. It like knits something together. I don't know how you, How would you explain that? How would you describe the idea of intimacy with infinity, Experiencing this? Like they feel like opposite experiences, Right? They feel like two things that cannot go together. And yet the idea of it sends lovely chills in my spine. It's like you're walking down the road and you see a tree. And you, Because you are standing in your own divine consciousness, You can feel the divine consciousness of the tree. And you can go up and touch it. You can touch that tree. You can sit beneath the tree. You can hug the tree. Being hugged, Walking through pixie dust, Sparkles all around. That's beautiful. Imagine, You know, When a child is born, It's like you can still feel the divinity within them. And you hold them, Hold them close. And even if maybe you've not had children or not have been around children or grandchildren or whatever, But imagine this. We can all imagine it. And you're holding them close. And it's like you're holding infinity, Like you're holding the divine. And you feel something for this child. This is one of the huge teachings in tantric intimacy, To bring tantra into your loving life, To actually look at someone, To feel the divine within them, And then embrace. How beautiful is that? That's love. I was talking to someone about what is it that actually makes us human? And I believe that it's love, The ability to connect with another human, Any human, Not a lover, Any human. I believe that's what makes us a human versus a clone or versus something else. And imagine when we really understand that each one of us is Shiva, That when we love someone, This is intimacy with infinity. I'm pretty definite that I experienced this while making cookies and looking at all the things in my windowsill, Plants, Rocks, Tiny statues from when my friend gave birth. And though I was flooded by thoughts, It was the overall feeling that brought tears. It's beautiful, Laura. I feel it is like the Greek said, Love is what holds the universe together. I lost my sister, But feeling she is around me all the time. That love goes beyond that. Well, Let's do a meditation. So wherever you are, Let's close our eyes. Let's breathe deeply. Expanding the belly as we inhale, Contracting as we exhale. I'd like you to imagine us walking down a road. The sun is shining, Blue sky up ahead. Your body is relaxed, Shoulders are relaxed, And you're easily breathing in the wonderful air around you. And up ahead, You see a park bench. Let's go and sit on that bench. And with our eyes closed, Allowing our body to rest, And as our body rests, We become aware of our own consciousness. We become aware of the one who is noticing the body resting. The one who is noticing the feel of the bench. The one who is noticing our breath going in and going out. We're aware of the consciousness that we call I. And imagining this consciousness, That it permeates every cell of our body. It permeates our thoughts. It's even in our breath. We dive deep within ourselves, And we stand in that consciousness. And we breathe a little bit deeper. And then in our meditation, In our mind's eye, We gently open our eyes and look around the park bench at what we see. And we stand up and we start walking. And within us, We are still standing in that divine consciousness. And we are looking at the trees and the birds. And we feel that divine consciousness within everything we see. The Shiva within, Connecting with the Shiva all around us. And we breathe a little bit deeper. As we connect with all that we see. Yatra Yatra Mana Yati. Bayiva Abhiyantare, Abhiva Tatra Tatra, Shiva Avastha, Vyapakatvat Kva Yasyati. Wherever your heart journeys, On whatever expedition in your outer life and secret inner realms, Breathe in intimacy with infinity. Where can you go to avoid the one in whom all exists? Reach down into your deepest being. Take a stand in eternity. Walk through this world. See every situation as an expansion of the mystery. Savor the tremble of recognition. The God in you is touching the God out there. Let's just breathe that in for a moment. God in you is touching the God out there. And let's allow this awareness to stay in our heart, In our body. Let's take a deep breath in. Exhale. And let's open our eyes. So thank you so much for being here. I hope you have a wonderful day.