Welcome to this meditation on resting in unconditional awareness in order to deepen your practice
of self-acceptance.
Most of us identify with our conditioned mind,
Always struggling,
Fearful,
Feeling uneasy,
Depressed,
In conflict with ourselves and others.
And this is what
we could consider to be an unhealed state,
In that we are tightly identified with our
pain,
Our anxiety,
And our depression.
Yet there is a realm of inner stillness,
Of larger awareness,
Of unconditioned awareness,
From which all things arise that make life worth living.
Creativity,
Peace,
Acceptance,
Aliveness,
And joy that is not dependent on external or internal conditions.
So in this meditation,
I will share why it is important to not fixate on goals in your
meditation practice,
But rather to stay present for whatever is happening from a wider field
of acceptance than is possible from your conditioned mind.
So you can access an unconditioned awareness
that is deeper and vaster than your habitual daily ways of thinking and being,
That is larger than the
social conditioning that may be causing all kinds of discomfort in your body and your mind.
And a
regular presence practice is not about having some special experience,
Whether it be of greater calm,
Relaxation,
Deep insight,
Or
even moments of freedom from pain.
Yet in all likelihood,
When you sit in the unconditioned gaps between your habitual
thoughts,
You may have many moments of profound calm,
Of greater well-being and insight,
And probably much less discomfort and suffering.
For when you practice unconditioned,
Present-moment awareness,
You are bringing your awareness to the stuck pain in your body and all the ways that your body and your mind tries to close down around that pain.
So when you stay with your presence practice,
With a sense of commitment throughout the day,
You will see that whatever you are experiencing is likely to change when you accept it.
Accept it just as it is.
Because when you surround it with the larger healing presence of unconditioned awareness,
Healing begins to happen.
So as paradoxical as it may sound,
A presence practice is not about seeking from your ego mind or being attached to a particular outcome.
It is not about achieving a particular mental state or achieving a particular body or emotional state.
It's not about changing yourself in any way.
So however you might desire a particular state from your ego mind,
However you might long to feel differently than you do right now.
The power of unconditioned presence lies precisely in not being attached to any outcome.
Even as you naturally and understandably would desire an outcome from your conditioned ego mind.
So just bring awareness to how you actually feel in this moment in a very deep way without memories from the past or hopes for the future getting in the way.
Begin to master the art of how to open up to and see clearly and befriend what is actually unfolding.
In this unconditioned,
Freshly arising healing moment right now.
And as best you can,
Just rest in this present moment awareness without expecting or trying to force any outcome or good feeling.
Just let this larger awareness unravel and undo the smaller,
More tightly conditioned and habitual parts of you.
In its own time.
And over time,
You will become profoundly familiar with your inner emotional terrain.
And you will become friendly with the myriad of sensations in your body.
The movements,
The subtleties of your mind.
The temperatures,
The densities,
The tightnesses in your being.
And they will gradually unravel and unwind with your kind attention within this larger field of unconditioned,
All accepting awareness.
And all sorts of stress and emotional pain conditions and even chronic diseases can be illuminated.
Restored with love and aliveness.
And even freed.
Not just for a moment here or there.
But by practicing this accepting presence over days,
Months,
Years and even decades.
Creating a new way of being in your emotional body.
And a new way of engaging.
And loving and accepting your life just as it is.
And so I invite you to sit quietly in a few moments of unconditioned presence.
And I will be quiet for a minute or so.
So that you can be deeply present with what is going on inside of you right now.
And so this is presence without a goal.
This is unconditioned awareness.
This is self-acceptance.
I hope that this short presence exercise has offered you an opportunity to see that resting in presence is not about having some kind of special experience.
Whether it be of greater calmness,
Relaxation,
Deep insight or even moments of freedom from pain.
Today these may or may not have been part of your experience.
But the practice of unconditioned presence is not about seeking or being attached to a particular outcome.
Such as a specific mental state or a particular body or emotional state.
However much you might desire it from your conditioned mind.
By bringing accepting open awareness to how you actually feel in this moment.
In a very deep way.
Without past memories or future hopes getting in the way.
Is unconditioned awareness.
And so with this practice you will begin to master the art of how to open to yourself.
See yourself clearly.
And befriend what is actually unfolding inside of you in this moment.
Just as it is.
And paradoxically this deep level of unconditionally accepting yourself allows for a natural alleviation of pain and suffering to happen more efficiently.
So knowing that you are not your past.
You are not your human conditioning.
Can support you to identify with this larger field of unconditioned self-accepting awareness.
So many blessings to you as you rest in as many moments of unconditioned awareness as possible.
