Finding a comfortable position to settle into,
With the option to close your eyes fully,
Put them at half mast,
Or just soften the muscles around your eyes and relax your gaze.
I will guide you to first bring your attention inward and to reflect and check in with yourself layer by layer.
These layers are called koshas or sheaths.
You can think of these layers like the layers of an onion or of a nesting doll.
Whatever you find or notice in these layers,
Try not to label it as good or bad,
You're just checking in and getting to know yourself on a deeper level and working on honing your skills of connection,
Observation,
Reflection,
And discernment.
We'll be creating balance and a pathway to get to your deepest layer,
Your core,
Your true self,
Your light,
And experience of bliss and coming home to yourself.
Let's begin.
Starting with your physical body and any sensations or messages you notice here.
This is the Anamaya Kosha.
Do you feel tightness,
Tension,
Or heaviness in any spots?
Name the feelings and locations of them.
Now try to create some space in your body.
Maybe your shoulders can soften,
Your jaw might relax.
The space around your ears and in between your eyebrows and the bridge of your nose smoothing out.
And creating space anywhere else you noticed tension creeping in.
And now moving along,
Going a layer deeper inward to the Pranamaya Kosha,
Your subtle body,
Your vital energy,
Life force.
This layer contains and regulates movement of physical and mental energies.
Through the nadis,
Our energy channels,
And chakras,
Our energy centers.
And we can interact with this layer through the breath.
So observing your breath without changing anything.
Where do you feel your breath in your body?
Where is it entering and exiting through?
And what is the path it follows as you breathe?
Do you hear a sound to your breath?
Do you notice the temperature?
What else do you notice here?
Now start to increase the connection and depth of your breath.
Little by little,
Stretching it out breath by breath.
Breathing into every direction,
Front,
Back,
Sides of your body.
Just encouraging it to take up a little more space.
Notice the different parts of your breath.
The inhale,
The top of the breath when you are full,
Perhaps a pause,
And the beginning and end of your exhalation.
Notice the different energies to each part of your breath cycle.
Now moving deeper inward with your attention towards your mind,
The manomaya kosha.
Notice what thoughts pop up.
Do they have anything in common?
Any stories that come in here for you?
Any memories?
What feelings do you notice?
What is the energy,
The quality,
The quantity and the pace of your thoughts?
Which thoughts and stories are yours?
Which are others and not yours to hold on to?
Now create space between you and these thoughts.
Don't try to resist them,
But instead let them roll in and roll out.
Imagine a house with a front door and a back door.
The thought knocks on the front door and you let it in.
And then you open the back door and let it continue on its way rather than letting it stay for tea.
Continue this process with each thought or disruption that comes up for you here.
Next,
Bringing your attention a layer deeper to your inner knowing,
Your intellect and your seat of wisdom.
Tune in and quiet down to listen more closely.
This layer,
The vijnamaya kosha,
Includes your attitude,
Perceptions,
Goals,
Values,
How you communicate with other people,
Your intuition,
Your wisdom and your witness consciousness.
You can think of this part of you as going beyond the mind,
Transcending thoughts,
Ego,
Sense of self and cultivating the witness,
The observer aspect of yourself.
Here you will find your deeper and subtle layers of thought.
You've been working on going inward,
But now shift your perspective.
Zoom out a bit.
Create space between you and your thoughts.
Who is observing the thought?
You are not your thoughts.
What do you notice here?
Use this space to reflect on who you are,
What is important to you,
Who do you think you are?
Answer these questions and practice detachment here.
You are not these things.
You are so much more.
Now,
Just like a flashlight cannot shine light on itself,
We continue to go deeper and explore further.
Zooming back in,
Tuning in.
The outer layers can be much louder than the inner wisdom.
But as if you are tuning to a specific radio station,
Begin to shift your attention even further inward,
Seeking.
This layer now,
The bliss body,
The Ananda Maya Kosha,
The deepest layer covering your inner light,
Your pure soul,
Your true self.
Pure unchanging happiness,
Joy and love.
Not just feelings,
But a state of being that has always existed within you,
But has been covered by all of the other sheaths and layers.
You can think like a light that has had scarves laid upon it,
And each scarf or layer you take off,
The light gets brighter.
Connecting with this layer,
See if you can embody a sense of lightness,
Ease and contentment.
Some ways that you can awaken and connect with this layer are through chanting,
Meditating on a higher power,
And dedicating actions to that higher power,
And meditation focused on opening your heart to love and bliss.
Bring your attention to your heart space.
Try to bring about the sense of love and bliss in your heart.
Now either silently or out loud,
Repeat the sound of Aum five times.
Aum.
Aum.
Aum.
Aum.
When you are finished,
Just feeling the residue of vibration or energy here.
To feel your inner light,
It is helpful to be plugged into a power source to charge you up.
Your spiritual practices and meditation practice is a time to plug into that source.
When we charge our light,
We reflect light onto all the other layers and out into the world.
Visualize your inner light burning brightly,
Growing and growing with each moment as you connect here.
Repeating the following meta meditation affirmation.
May I be happy.
May I be safe.
May I be peaceful and filled with joy.
And extending this love out to others in your life.
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
May you be peaceful and filled with joy.
This inner light within you and feeling of love spreading further and further,
Continuing to expand.
Behind this thin subtle layer is your pure consciousness,
Your true self.
There are no words to accurately describe it.
Instead,
Reside here and just experience this coming home to yourself.
Tuning in to the deepest part of yourself that you can reach here today.
And taking your time now,
Slowly deepening your breath.
Awareness of all five layers interwoven,
Encompassing your inner self.
Remembering your inner light.
Coming back here any time you need to plug in and charge up.
Let's conclude with one final Aum together.
Inhaling.
Aum.
