Let's start to collect and intensify our awareness.
Closing our eyes.
Going deeper and deeper into focus.
Whichever area you're working within,
The larger triangle,
The smaller triangle,
The circle or the points.
Continue to focus and feel the breath in this area.
Focus until you can feel the breath distinctly and sharply,
Clearly and consistently.
And when you can do this,
Let's add our new skill for the day.
In the area that you're focusing,
Now you're no longer restricted to simply feel the breath.
We'll continue to use the breath throughout the whole course.
If our mind strays,
If we find that we're losing clarity and focus,
The breath is always there for us and we can come back to it to sharpen our mind,
To focus our mind,
To reset this relationship with this internal animal that we all have.
And now once our mind is sharp and clear,
Let's slowly move our awareness towards sensations.
We're still keeping our awareness fixed within these areas that we're focusing.
The larger triangle,
Smaller triangle,
Down to the circle and the points.
But now within these areas,
Let's see which other sensations we can feel.
And let's be clear about what we mean by sensation.
When we say sensation,
We're not looking for anything in particular,
Anything special or anything out of the ordinary.
We're feeling everything.
Everything that we can feel within these areas is a sensation.
And our job today is simply to focus on sensation in this area and feel it as acutely as possible.
Just as when we are focusing on the breath,
If our mind is distracted and goes somewhere else,
Goes to a thought,
An emotion,
A memory,
A fantasy,
A sound or even to a sensation in another part of the body,
Then simply tug that leash and bring your awareness back to the area we're meditating within and feel sensation within this area.
And when we do feel sensation,
If we start to find ourselves reacting and there are emotions,
Stories or thoughts associated with that sensation,
Good.
Simply use this as an opportunity to be able to feel the sensation and not react to it.
Simply feel it for exactly what it is.
Feel it fully and completely and hold your awareness on it for as long as you can.
While you're doing that,
There may be other sensations that you can begin to feel in the same area,
In your area of focus.
If this is the case,
Then explore the area.
See which other sensations this area contains.
See what it's like to move your mind from sensation to sensation after the last two days of just focusing on the breath.
We only have one rule in the way that we move from sensation to sensation.
We feel all sensations and react to them the same way.
We feel them completely and react to nothing.
The only rule we have is that if we have the choice between feeling a gross sensation,
Easy to feel or a subtle sensation,
More difficult to feel,
Then we always move towards the subtle.
This is because we want to remove the conditioning of the mind to always move towards the gross,
The obvious,
The things that usually easily distract us.
Instead we want to be able to feel everything and react to nothing.
If we learn to move towards subtle sensations,
Then it means we continue to sharpen and refine our minds at the same time as we're meditating.
If your mind happens to get dull and it's extremely difficult for you to feel sensation,
Any sensation,
Then simply come back to the breath.
Anupana,
Focusing on the breath,
Is a powerful and beautiful practice that does a lot for us.
The more we use it,
The deeper into meditation we'll go.
And then when we're ready and our minds are sharp and we start to feel other sensations,
Then let's move our awareness over and begin exploring all these flavors that our internal world is made of.
Now let's start to practice.
Focus on the larger triangle,
The smaller triangle,
The small circle,
Or the tiny points.
Feel the breath in these areas and then also start to feel all the other sensations.
Move your mind towards one of them and feel it,
Feel it completely.
If any distractions come up,
Do not react to them.
Simply feel the sensation and let everything else pass you by.
See how long you can maintain the unbroken awareness of sensation for.
This will now be using this throughout our days.
If you feel more than one sensation in the same area,
Then move towards the most subtle sensation.
The sensation most difficult to feel.
Continue to practice.
Practice in silence,
Going deeper into this technique.
Good.
Gu pleaded by a man toh They never baked Now as you bring your awareness back to the room,
We have another tool to practice with.
As we move through our day,
We no longer have to keep our awareness fixed on the breath.
We have a choice between the breath and the sensation.
So as you transition between the sessions,
Between the postures,
Keep your awareness fixed on either the breath or on sensation.
See if you can feel sensation as you move through your day,
Through all the positions of the day.
And if you need to,
Then come back to the breath and continue to sharpen your awareness.
Continue to build this unbroken thread of awareness throughout the whole day.
