Streamed dwell on Mar 24, 2022
Guided Nondual Meditation with Michael Taft
Introduction
Howdy all people! Welcome to tonight’s guided meditation, guided nondual meditation. Tonight we’re actually going to work on the nonduality with me, Michael Taft, coming to you reside from the Bay space of California, until you’re watching this at another time wherein case I’m not dwell anymore, however welcome everybody. Let’s see, did I reduce myself? Yeah, that’s what occurs once you shave. All proper, we’re going to dive in as standard. Why goof round? As an alternative, we’re going to only start meditating and tonight goes to be, I believe, a very highly effective one, fairly a robust meditation and hopefully, you’re prepared.
Meditation
So let’s start, what I would like you to do is take your seat and as standard, because of this you’re sitting along with your again upright. The highest of your head is form of being gently pulled upwards. Your backbone feels tremendous straight and good, like balanced in that spot the place you’re not placing in an excessive amount of effort to maintain it upright. In reality, in case your again is balanced in simply the correct spot it’s going to really feel virtually prefer it’s simply floating up. It actually helps to have your knees decrease than your hips should you’re sitting down. You may be standing or laying down. All of those postures work. And you recognize some folks wish to put their chins out like that after they meditate. So we need to have our chin mildly tucked in order that the again of your neck is sweet and open, high of the pinnacle type of being, virtually elevated upwards. And this could really feel very nice.
From there what we need to do is start with our opening visualization. It is a method of sitting and tonight we’re going to take a seat like a mountain, okay. We’re going to take a seat like a mountain. We haven’t achieved that shortly. What do I imply once I say we’re going to take a seat like a mountain? I imply we’re going to tune into our sense of groundedness, our sense of stability and in reality a stability so full, that it’s, we name it immovability. The thought is that this mountain is so huge and so historic, it’s immovable. It can’t transfer in any method. So I would like you to tune in to sitting like a mountain. Think about in entrance of you proper now a common mountain, a mountain that’s unbelievably excessive we are able to’t even say how excessive, and that slopes down so huge that it’s simply extremely huge.
This mountain is cosmic in scale and this mountain has been right here since earlier than the start of time and it’s grounded. As I say it can’t, it doesn’t really feel knocked round by the winds of destiny. It doesn’t really feel prefer it’s some type of paper bag blown round by the breeze. It’s the alternative sensation. It feels rooted and steady and it has the sense like I say of cosmic vastness, but in addition of immovability. So I really need you to see that mountain now and also you may see it virtually like a type of a brilliant Mount Fuji, proper? The place there’s a form of, this lovely slope to this, volcanic sides of the mountain. The cone has an exquisite slope to it, a gradual slope, and the edges are form of shimmering blue and the highest is that this sensible white shining within the excessive ambiance. So lovely, lovely mountain granting you this sense of stability, of immovability granting you boons, granting you a way of your personal cosmic immovability, your personal groundedness, your personal rootedness, your personal stability.
Image that very clearly. And now on an in-breath, I would like you to only take that mountain inside or to place it one other method, you dissolve and develop into the cosmic mountain of excellent immobility or immovability and that feels good to take a seat that method. It feels completely balanced as I say it feels rooted and steady. Your roots go right down to the core of the universe. Your high goes as much as the highest of the universe and your sides step by step swoop out to the far boundless, non-edges of the universe. So that is sitting like a mountain and so now from right here what I would like you to do is start to do sluggish, deep respiratory if that’s comfy for you. If it’s not that’s okay, breathe nonetheless you need.
However if you wish to you are able to do sluggish deep respiratory and with the sluggish deep respiratory, you’re doing lengthy exhales. The exhales are longer than the inhales. So we breathe in good and deep. I’m inhaling. I’m inhaling. My stomach’s increasing. After which on the exhale, respiratory out, respiratory out a really lengthy exhale until it feels prefer it desires to breathe in once more. After which good huge in-breath after which exhale, exhale, exhale actually lengthy sluggish out-breath, out-breath. Possibly, you recognize, twice so long as the in-breath. One thing like that. Once more make this be just right for you. Don’t make it uncomfortable. Make it an extremely good feeling, comfy, feeling in-breaths and out-breaths.
If you wish to, on that out-breath you are able to do ujjayi breath. So that you tighten that factor in your throat, the factor that makes your voice go from this sort of voice, to this sort of voice. That factor proper there and also you tighten that on the out-breath, so it makes you sound like Darth Vader, nevertheless it enables you to regulate that out-breath to permit it to be even slower and go even longer. Once more be certain it’s comfy, don’t get to the spot the place you’re yawning and needing extra air, have it be just right for you. Okay so, and whereas we’re doing this on the in-breath you’re saying inhaling, inhaling and also you’re feeling that air increasing the physique, after which on the out-breath you’re saying respiratory out, respiratory out, respiratory out, respiratory out and feeling the air leaving the physique within the physique as an alternative of increasing it’s contracting. Okay so, in that contraction of the out-breath and simply actually actually really feel that and I would like you to pay particular consideration to the top of the out-breath. Simply discover it. Okay so let’s try this collectively for some time.
Good, so proceed respiratory and meditating on respiratory. Throughout this part, we are trying to loosen up. This lengthy sluggish out-breath actually helps to down-regulate in order that we are able to really feel fairly a bit extra leisure. But in addition the place, apart from stress-free we are trying to remain collected, keep centered repeatedly on the sensation of the breath within the physique. And one factor that basically helps us to do this is to ensure we discover the top of the out-breath as a result of typically that out-breath will cling there for a minute. Such as you get to the top of the out-breath and earlier than the start of the in-breath, there’s a while there the place the breath simply hangs there. And that’s a very easy spot to lose your focus, to lose your collectedness, to lose your stability. However keep in mind we’re meditating just like the cosmic mountain so we’re very steady. In order a part of that stability, we simply discover significantly the top of the out-breath. So let’s hold going with this.
Good, let’s add a mantra in right here, a traditional mantra for this sort of work. So on the in-breath, you say to your self “om” like “om” on the in-breath. After which at that spot the place the out-breath ends, or sorry the place the in-breath ends, you say “ah” like “ah what a reduction, ah.” After which for the out-breath “hum.” After which we simply pause between, there’s no mantra between the top of the out-breath and the start of the in-breath. We’re simply noticing that spot significantly. So in-breath, om, finish of the in-breath, ah, out-breath, hum. Now you’re not singing this out loud like I’m doing, you’re simply doing it mentally. In order that’s a mantra with three seed syllables, three syllables om ah hum.
Okay, om ah hum, what a lovely mantra. That ah is simply completely good, completely letting go, complete leisure. Okay good, now persevering with, what I would like you to do is to start the approach referred to as dropping the ball. If you know the way to do it simply go forward, in any other case I’ll clarify tips on how to do it. So we’re imagining that the thoughts is sort of a hand and so each time your thoughts grabs on to one thing it’s just like the hand grabbing onto one thing. On this case, the picture is a ball like a rubber ball. And so when your thoughts grabs onto a thought or your thoughts grabs on to a sense, or your thoughts grabs on to one thing that’s taking place in your atmosphere, you’re like grabbing onto it along with your hand. And what I would like you to do is should you discover that occuring you simply loosen up the hand and let the ball fall okay? In order that’s referred to as dropping the ball.
Now you’re not grabbing on objective, you retain the hand relaxed should you can. But when the hand grabs on to one thing, it will get concerned in an argument in your thoughts along with your companion no matter. Oh geez, they stated this, and I stated that and in order that’s just like the hand grabbing and grabbing onto that ball. And so should you discover that occuring, you simply loosen up the hand and let the ball drop again and again and over okay? So we’re going to do that for some time right here. I’ll simply hold going again and supplying you with additional directions, however that’s the entire instruction in a nutshell. Should you discover you’re caught up in a thought, simply loosen up and let the thought go okay. Should you discover you’re caught up in something, simply loosen up and let it go and are available again to easily resting, merely being. After I say relaxation I don’t imply sleeping. Simply merely being. Now it’s actually essential that you simply don’t battle with this loosen up and let go okay that’s it. Let’s go.
There’s a pair issues I ought to in all probability add right here. One is that you are able to do this with eyes open. In reality, it’s fairly a bit higher to do that along with your eyes open. If that’s actually uncomfortable for you then go forward and do it along with your eyes closed, nevertheless it’s higher with eyes open. It’s higher to only sit along with your eyes relaxed, open however relaxed, not specializing in something, particularly, your eyes are smooth, your gaze is smooth, however your eyes are open and also you’re not fixating. You’re not sticking them on some extent, you’re permitting them to maneuver and you’ll blink. And all that. Don’t do something bizarre along with your eyes. Similar to every other time when you will have your eyes open. So we’re not doing something unusual with them. It’s extra like once you gaze on the horizon or the type of factor the place you’re simply type of taking a look at some timber within the distance in a really common method, very relaxed method, they usually’re very distant. Your eyes are simply mild and open. in order that’s primary.
The opposite factor is, we’re not doing any particular respiratory anymore. Should you’re persevering with to do this ujjayi breath and all that, you’ll be able to simply let all that go now. And every time you discover the thoughts is caught in something, that hand has gripped a ball, then we simply loosen up the thoughts, we loosen up the hand and permit the ball to drop of its personal accord. We’re not struggling in any respect, we’re simply stress-free and letting issues go on their merry method. We’re not stopping them or controlling them, we’re simply not concerned. Let’s proceed.
As I stated I don’t need you to battle with this in any respect. It’s not as if we’re like prying the fingers off the ball, okay. There’s no struggle in any respect, zero struggle taking place. It’s simply each time you discover you’re caught up, you simply loosen up and relaxation. You simply open the hand and the ball falls out naturally. There’s no battle. It may be the case that, let’s say, you’re actually caught up in a thought, the nice hand grabs proper again on, okay, simply loosen up once more. If you need to loosen up 100 instances in a row, you’re simply stress-free. That’s nice. There’s no battle. There’s no sense of it being arduous, okay. Simply every time the thoughts contracts we simply loosen up. Don’t struggle.
One thing that’s type of attention-grabbing about this meditation, is there’s no focus object. We’re not specializing in something. There’s nothing to focus on. That’s why this could typically be referred to as shamatha or meditation with out an object. There’s no focus object. Anytime we get caught up in one thing, we’re simply stress-free and permitting that one thing to drift away, so to talk, to hold by itself enterprise. However we aren’t partaking with it anymore. And after we let go we’re not coming again to our breath or coming again to another object that we’re specializing in, we’re simply coming again to sitting there relaxed, sitting there with the thoughts unclenched, with the thoughts relaxed. So don’t suppose that there’s one thing you’re imagined to give attention to, moderately if you end up specializing in something, loosen up and simply open.
Every time the thoughts grabs onto one thing or will get caught up in one thing or contracts round one thing, we merely loosen up and are available again to resting. After I say resting, keep in mind I don’t imply we come again to being asleep. I imply we come again to doing nothing however we’re huge, wakeful. However when the thoughts just isn’t contracted round one thing and it’s relaxed, that’s typically simply referred to as consciousness or being conscious however not conscious of any explicit factor. Primary we’re not on the lookout for one thing to pay attention to and quantity two when it’s not any particular consciousness, it’s not an altered state, it’s the identical type of consciousness the place you’re simply not likely concerned with something, you’re simply very awake, alert and relaxed. Your thoughts is open and relaxed. It has that huge high quality so don’t make consciousness one thing particular.
It’s simply everytime you’re not caught up in something, everytime you drop the ball, that’s what’s then left. With out you doing something particular, that’s what’s left. You’re simply conscious now. You’re in fact conscious once you’re caught up within the ball as properly, however you’ll be able to miss the vastness then, so after we drop the ball we simply come again to the notice that’s all the time current, with out doing something in any respect and it’s very very spacious, very free, very open.
Okay good, now identical to I don’t need you to battle to let go, I additionally don’t need you to hold on to the method of letting go such as you’re on the lookout for one thing to let go of or making an attempt to just remember to’re dropping the ball. I would like you to drop that ball too. So hanging on to the concept you’re meditating, simply drop the ball. Hanging on to the concept you’re imagined to do it in a sure method and making an attempt to remain proper with it, simply drop the ball. Or making an attempt to remain centered on whether or not you’re caught up in one thing or not, simply loosen up, simply drop all that and easily return to the already current consciousness. It’s all the time there and simply relaxation, don’t battle, don’t struggle, don’t even meditate. Simply drop the ball after which relaxation.
Nothing to do, nothing to alter, every little thing already full, every little thing excellent, simply the way in which it’s. Anytime the thoughts contracts round an object, simply loosen up, let it develop again to its pure openness with none effort in any respect.
Excellent. Now what I’d such as you to do is come again to this visualization of, or temper of being a mountain, sitting like a mountain, an immovable mountain. And I would like this mountain now to radiate to all of the corners of creation, to all of the corners of the universe, to radiate profound peace and stillness and profound kindness and openness and a profound sense of knowledge and caring. It’s radiating this out in all instructions, effortlessly, simply. Great sense of pleasure, an incredible sense of caring, a sense of openness, a sense of stillness and groundedness and peace. And let’s simply hold beaming this in all instructions powerfully and superbly and with nice kindness and caring.
The mountain of consciousness can repeatedly radiate love and pleasure and stillness and kindness and knowledge and peace to your entire universe with out ever making any effort. Simply completely natura, open and free. Completely with out boundaries, completely with out obstacles, completely full in itself, completely spontaneous and joyous.
Let’s let go of that now as we finish the meditation.
I would like you to be happy to maneuver and stretch. Have a drink of water. Enable your physique to really feel good and simply come again to the room. Come again to the youtube room. Enable your self to only really feel good in your physique and spot how that meditation has modified your expertise. So there’s a lot to say about this and I’m gonna simply assume you’ve watched and practiced together with many of those movies so I don’t should attempt to say all of it as a result of that may be inconceivable to jam it in right here throughout our little dharma discuss.
Dharma Speak
However I’ll say a couple of issues and one is that you recognize I train this sort of nondual meditation all day lengthy, proper? That’s what I do all day and I do it day-after-day and I’ve been doing it for a protracted very long time, in addition to practising it. And one thing that I discover fairly often is that once I describe what we’re doing, if I say you recognize, I would like you to only discover, come again to the notice that’s already there or one thing like that. Simply be consciousness. Or if I say, god forbid, if I say you recognize, discover the huge spacious consciousness that’s all the time current, it results in some attention-grabbing confusions. And a part of them is simply, a part of it’s simply linguistic. We’re simply talking English and I’m making an attempt to talk in a really regular method in order that it doesn’t sound all jargony or that I’m utilizing weird language.
However after we use language like that like you recognize, come again to consciousness or discover the notice that’s already there. It’s a very humorous method of speaking, actually despite the fact that it feels like regular English. It’s a humorous method of speaking within the sense that it’s not precisely correct, proper? It’s not precisely correct as a result of if I say come again to consciousness the query arises properly who’s it that was away from consciousness? What was it that was gone from consciousness and what’s it that someway returns, proper? That doesn’t even make sense as a result of if it was gone from consciousness there would simply be a clean, there’d be nothing.
So as a result of that’s what’s there when there’s no consciousness. There’s simply no expertise. So it could be such as you have been knocked out unconscious till you “got here again to consciousness” and it could be like waking up. However that’s not likely what’s taking place and that’s as a result of we’re by no means truly someway gone from consciousness. It’s simply that we’re constricting down onto an object. We’re constricting our consideration right down to an object or I ought to say, once more language challenge, I ought to say a seeming object, one thing that looks as if an object, like a thought or a sense or one thing on the planet round us or no matter. Consciousness will get actually constricted and that’s what involves the fore of our expertise.
However actually in fact it’s conscious the entire time and moreover, the huge half is there additionally the entire time. It’s simply type of bringing the tight half, the constricted half to the fore. Why is that this essential? As a result of what I don’t need you to do is say, I hear this rather a lot, like I dropped the ball, after which I regarded for consciousness. Effectively, my pal who’s trying, or what’s trying? That’s consciousness, proper? Consciousness is what’s trying. So it’s not likely the case that you simply’re dropping the ball after which on the lookout for consciousness. Should you’re conscious of a thought i.e a ball, should you’re conscious of a ball, you’re conscious, due to consciousness. So the notice is all the time there. All that’s taking place is after we drop the constriction it’s returning to its already current, naturally huge, open state with out you doing something proper. It’s already conscious. So it’s not like we’ve to, you recognize, make consciousness huge or come again and someway attempt to see consciousness. All of that may be a confused mind-set and it simply makes it a lot tougher than it’s.
My pal Ken McLeod, writing in his e-book, A trackless path, talks about his Tibetan trainer Kalu Rinpoche, whose entire instruction for this meditation was acknowledge and relaxation, or return and relaxation. And you’ll hear it’s the identical instruction. Simply discover that you simply’re caught up and simply relaxation, proper, let go. Now, nowhere in that instruction does it say make some huge consciousness occur, or hunt round for some consciousness, with one thing else that’s not consciousness that’s looking for consciousness. I imply all of that simply confuses the difficulty. It makes you sound loopy once you say it.
Or as an instruction it could, you recognize, it’s like no, there’s no person, there’s by no means anyone someplace outdoors of consciousness taking a look at consciousness. That’s not attainable. It’s consciousness noticing itself. It’s not even taking a look at itself as a result of that may indicate it was standing outdoors of itself trying again. That may’t occur. It’s already conscious of itself. We’re simply letting go of, type of like, these congealed balls, of constricted consideration. Okay, that’s it. You’re simply stress-free the tightness of the thoughts, simply letting it open and the notice is already there. It’s all the time been there. It by no means went away and there’s no person someway outdoors of consciousness who has to search for this particular object referred to as consciousness. It’s not a particular object. It’s what’s taking place all day lengthy, it’s taking place. It’s how you recognize there’s something, it’s how you recognize you’re feeling a sure method, it’s how you recognize you’re having a thought, it’s how you recognize you suppose you’re even you. All that’s simply stuff taking place in consciousness.
Consciousness is previous to you, it’s previous to ideas, it’s previous to emotions, it’s prior even to the world. It’s simply there and it’s not a particular factor, it’s not a particular object, in fact. It’s empty so it’s not even an object in any respect. Nevertheless it’s not particular, okay, so that you don’t should generate it. It’s all the time there. It’s all the time there. It’s all the time there. So after we’re not all caught up in one thing it simply makes it simpler to relaxation in that. That’s it.
Now one other factor I need to point out, I’m making an attempt to not point out every little thing, however one other factor I need to point out, is that, discover no a part of this meditation says you need to have any explicit type of ideas. Or that you simply like good ideas, comfortable ideas, peaceable ideas. We don’t care what sort of ideas you’re having, besides on the very finish after we ship out love and pleasure and so forth. However within the meditation, it doesn’t matter what the content material of your considering is, since you’re not partaking with the content material of your thought. So it doesn’t matter what arises we’re simply letting go and stress-free and that stuff can hold taking place, however you’re not likely partaking with it in any method. So don’t suppose you’re imagined to have a sure type of thought through the dropping the ball half.
And quantity two and it is a huge one, folks suppose the considering has to cease. No, the considering can do no matter it desires. It may be considering away so long as you’re not engaged in it, you’re not considering on objective, you’re not in there following a prepare of thought. It’s simply following itself however you’re not likely taking note of it proper. You’re simply coming again to resting and being open and letting go. So that you don’t should have particular classes of thought you recognize and neither does thought should cease.
Now what’s attention-grabbing is should you do that a bunch, you’ll discover that after some time, you recognize we sat for hour, you will have observed that you simply’re considering did decelerate noticeably. And why is that? It’s as a result of considering is sort of a flywheel, a very heavy flywheel. It retains going for some time however should you’re not partaking with it, it’s such as you’re not giving vitality to the flywheel, you’re not ramping it again up, winding it again up, pushing it so it retains going. It is going to begin to wind down. For considering to maintain going on a regular basis you’re continually placing vitality into it, placing vitality and placing vitality into it. And after we drop the ball we’re not placing any extra vitality into it. We don’t care about it.
So it’s actually essential to grasp that I don’t need you to think about that you simply’re imagined to cease considering. And I don’t need you to think about that your ideas should be particular. Somewhat, I don’t need you to interact along with your ideas in any respect. That means, I don’t care what they’re, I don’t care what number of there are. As a result of to care about that’s to interact with them. You’re simply letting go, you’re simply letting go. Should you seize on once more, simply let go once more.
Okay one last item, I’ll stop haranguing you, like I stated I might in all probability discuss repeatedly for twenty-four hours about this however and by no means repeat myself, however one other factor is that, gosh there’s so many issues I need to say right here. You’re not gonna attain some particular state. Should you’re reaching a particular state, that’s not like an issue or a problem, however that’s not the aim. That’s simply an accident. It’ll come and identical to each different particular state, it’ll finally go. So that you may end up actually experiencing quite a lot of vitality like your physique begins actually having quite a lot of vitality and that may really feel actually good, tremendous blissful, however that’s superb. However it’s going to additionally finally cease and that’s superb too as a result of that’s not what we’re making an attempt to make occur.
You may end up feeling all of your ideas will cease and your mind will simply really feel prefer it’s stopped. Similar to that. It simply stops. And simply sits there not considering something. And that’s okay. Nice, that’s fantastic however that’s not the aim, okay? That’s not what we’re making an attempt to make occur. We’re not making an attempt to cease that from taking place both, however that’s simply one other expertise. That’s a particular state. There’s different ones you may get into all types of bizarre altered states however none of that issues.
All that issues is that you simply drop the ball. Even when that occurs, should you get all into this vitality, simply hold coming again to consciousness. Consciousness is resting and vitality’s taking place. Nice. Otherwise you get into like some tremendous, trippy altered notion zone. All the pieces’s the world appears prefer it’s fabricated from waves or one thing. This occurs on a regular basis, you recognize, so what? That’s not the aim. You simply come again. You drop the ball. Don’t actually give that have any vitality. However you’re not making an attempt to get away from it both, however you’re simply, okay that’s taking place. Come again to only resting as the notice you already are and all the time have been, proper? No, we don’t have interaction with particular states. After we do that dropping the ball meditation, it’s the alternative of a particular state.
What’s a particular state? It’s particular. Meaning there’s different states that aren’t particular and so states come and go. They arrive and go, they arrive and go, however consciousness despite the fact that it’s empty, doesn’t come and go. It’s the alternative of particular. It’s essentially the most common factor you might ever expertise. It’s expertise, so clearly, because the background, it’s essentially the most common attainable factor, so it’s the alternative of particular. So that you’re sitting right here dropping the ball and you are feeling completely depressed and despondent and stuffed with despair, okay properly, drop the ball. Relaxation. Consciousness is okay. You’re feeling tremendous pleasure and magic and dancing bunnies are you recognize hopping round rainbows in your thoughts. Cool, drop the ball, simply relaxation as consciousness. Right here, as I say, you’re concerned in some type of huge struggle in your thoughts along with your relationship companion or along with your work colleagues or no matter, okay properly, simply drop the ball, come again to being consciousness.
It’s the identical transfer it doesn’t matter what. And I say being consciousness, however I don’t imply it’s an object proper. It’s not an object. I simply imply resting as consciousness, okay. It’s the only factor on the planet. As an alternative of involvement and thought and feeling the place you suppose you might be thought and feeling, we simply loosen up out of that involvement, we loosen up out of that constriction, we loosen up out of the tightness, we let go, we open, we really feel relaxed and comfy with no matter’s taking place okay.
That is the actual equanimity. The actual equanimity is, I’m simply relaxed and conscious it doesn’t matter what frame of mind or state of emotion or state of physique or no matter, okay. Doesn’t imply we don’t know what they’re. It doesn’t imply you’ll be able to’t finally get in there and work with them and alter them, nevertheless it’s essential for us to appreciate that consciousness is okay proper now simply the way in which it’s. We’re by no means going to alter consciousness. We would change our considering. We would change our feeling. We would change all types of stuff however we’re not going to alter consciousness. It already is full. It already is ideal. It already is what it’s. Discover that now. Drop in now. Drop the ball now.
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