All right,
So today we're going to work into a Vipassana using our Shamatha practice,
Our point of focus.
Today during that point of focus,
We're going to use the sound of the chime.
When you hear the sound of the chime,
That's to come back to visualizing the chime,
Visualizing the movement,
The sound,
Even the sound waves.
If you feel that it's an appropriate anchor for you,
You can use that,
And that's what I'm going to guide.
However,
If you find that you would like to bring your focus to another point,
A single point of focus,
You can use something in your hand like a crystal or a coin or something that's important to you.
You could use a flame of a candle.
You can use all kinds of things to create a Shamatha single pointed focus,
But I'm going to guide you using the chime.
I'd like for you to probably come into a seated position,
But you can lay down.
Laying down is okay if that's more comfortable for you.
Keeping your back perfectly aligned though,
I want you to lay on your side,
Just laying on your back so that your head and back and spine are all in alignment with one another.
Now you may find that seated is best for you,
But if you find that your legs ache a little bit as you sit in this 15 minute practice,
You may want to lay down.
As you arrive in meditation,
You may immediately be guided to focus on your breath,
And that's okay.
That's okay.
Moving into that calming sensation where maybe you just take a nice breath in to breathe in the day if this is the beginning of your day,
And as you let go,
Hold for just a second and then release like you're letting go.
You can feel the sensation of letting go as you exhale.
You may continue to breathe in this way,
But I don't want you to create any technique that you've learned.
I don't want you to force any part of your breath.
Just rest in the sound of the chime as your point of focus.
Every time you hear that,
Come back to maybe a very simple,
Unforced breath.
Potentially you come back to the space that's right above your head.
I'd like every time you hear that chime to bring your awareness to this space that sits right above the crown of your head.
As you begin to rest into this practice,
You may feel some uneasiness in your body,
And if you do,
You can change your point of focus for just a moment.
To that point of uneasiness,
Perhaps you focus on your foot if it's needing you.
Maybe you need to adjust the temperature of your body by wrapping up in a blanket or removing a blanket.
Notice any uneasiness that's within your body currently.
This might be with you holding your shoulders high near your ears,
And with your next exhale,
Just releasing them a little lower,
Letting them fall,
Creating the physiology of saying,
I am here.
Notice that everything changes.
Even that sensation you had in your foot,
Your knee,
Your hip,
Or the temperature change has now adjusted,
And now we're on to this new moment.
Everything changes,
Including your pattern of breath.
If you were to draw your awareness to the space above your head,
And even ask the question,
What is something I can name that never changes?
You may be digging for thoughts for a while to find something that never changes.
But what we can do is we can move into our sila practice by restraining the mind on this single point.
The mind is never going to stop moving,
But what we can do is we can rest it on the tripod of our awareness,
Like that shaky camera that needs a tripod.
The mind also needs stability.
This calm and abiding place where we rest in a single point and begin to recognize anything that's coming up,
Not as a place to react,
Not as a place to even necessarily learn from.
Begin to notice anything that arises within the mind or the body that is calling for your attention.
It's okay to adjust your hands,
So it's okay to adjust your seated position.
Should that be a point of focus that's calling for your awareness?
But notice even as you make that adjustment,
Everything changes and come back to that space right above your head as though you were imagining a golden light residing above you.
And as you breathe without forcing,
That golden light begins to expand.
And as you exhale,
It begins to descend almost feeling and kissing your head,
Your forehead,
Your ears and your shoulder.
Be with that ever present light that rests above the crown of your head.
Create a pleasant and abiding awareness in this here and now.
Not seeking pleasure sometime in the future if,
Or seeking pleasure when,
But resting here in the pleasantries of the here and now.
These pleasantries might simply be the sensation of I like the sound of the chime.
As you hear the chime,
Allow your awareness to rise and allow your body and awareness to sit on that tripod to stabilize the mind.
We cannot see things clearly when we're distracted,
When we're distorted because the mind is an unreliable source of information with the way things actually are.
As you breathe,
Don't force it.
Empower your mind to release the poisons that distract you from the sensations of the heart.
This is your new superpower,
Stepping into the heart and moving away from the mind.
How do I move into these superpowers?
Calm the mind,
Open the heart.
Calm the mind,
Open the heart.
How do we calm the mind?
We meditate in this place of awareness.
It's not trying to stop it from swirling,
But just simply watching it step into that golden light above your head as an observer.
How do I open the heart?
You take that thing that you can love,
You can love a landscape,
A tree,
A cat,
A human,
Yourself,
A car,
An event.
Take that thing that you can love and keep moving into it until you're at the source of that love.
Not the object,
The source of that love that resides behind the object.
And you just keep moving into that love until there is nothing but that infinite source of light that is love.
Why do we do things?
Why do we react to things?
We do things because we want to be happy.
Sometimes material things give us that instant gratification.
Sometimes interactions with other humans and animals give us that.
But really,
The source is in ourselves.
After you notice what is arising and falling within you,
Maybe it's an emotion or a sensation,
Allow it to be there even if that sensation doesn't feel as pleasant as you might have expected it to be.
Just sitting in the awareness that it's okay if it is not what I expected.
In our SELA practice,
We sometimes have to be at peace with the way things are,
Not the way we want them to be.
As you recognize the R in our RAIN practice today and allow our A in today's RAIN practice,
We can begin to just find contentment or the yogis call it sentosha,
With the way things are,
Not the way we want them to be.
Recognize anything that comes up as you draw your awareness that golden light above your head and focus on the shamatha of the sound of the chime,
That single pointed focus,
Recognizing and allowing.
Every time you hear the chime,
It is not an indicator that you're doing something wrong.
It is simply a cue to stay steadfast,
To continue your practice.
After we have recognized and allowed sensations,
Some of them feel good.
Some of them maybe are unpleasant like shame or anger or hurt.
Some of them pleasant like happy and joy,
Healing,
Wholeness.
Regardless of the sensation,
We allow it to be there as a welcomed guest.
We move into the I of the RAIN practice,
Which is to investigate where this sensation lives within our body,
Within our mind.
The feeling of joy might rest behind your heart.
A feeling of shame may live in your hips.
A feeling of happiness might be in your cheeks.
Think about smiling.
Feeling of anger might be in the forehead.
Wherever that sensation is arising for you,
Where your point of focus is,
Notice it.
Allow it to be there and you can begin to investigate where it lives in your body.
Let's not tell any stories today.
Let's simply witness and draw that sensation up to the golden light that you have drawn above your head with your shamatha,
Single pointed focus.
Letting the golden light wash into every emotion,
Whether it be pleasant or unpleasant,
As part of this present moment.
With each breath allowing it to rise into golden purifying light above your head.
And as you exhale,
Resting in the awareness of everything is working out the way it should.
Everything is working out for me.
I am here resting in awareness and allowing.
After you've investigated where this lives within your body,
I'd like for you to nurture this sensation,
Whether it be pleasant or unpleasant,
With kind words.
Thank you.
I love you.
I am grateful for you.
I am listening to you.
I am here for you.
This is your consciousness speaking to your unconsciousness as a team,
Not as a separate entity that one day we might find happiness if I could only move away from what happened to me.
Acceptance of where you are today and nurturing it,
Whether it feels good or what we would call bad,
As simply contentment.
Not the way things are or the way things are wanted to be,
But the way things are.
Here we are in acceptance.
I love you.
We are a team.
That feeling of joy,
Elation,
Frustration,
Or agitation will rise and it will fall because everything changes.
Just wait.
And then we move into the next sensation.
The next sensation may feel even more pleasant or even more uncomfortable.
Don't judge yourself for what you think is supposed to happen,
But what is actually happening.
Speaking of a promise,
We need to be equal.
Right?
Slowly coming back into your room,
Into your space.
Releasing the experience as it is now a past experience and you're in the vibration of your new now.
Whatever you felt,
Whether it be pleasant or unpleasant,
Coming back into this realization that we're empowering the mind to release the poisons of the heart.
Why do we do these things?
To be happy.
To be happy.
To be happy.
