The End Of Doing: Somatic Inquiry & Non-Dual Awareness

For seasoned practitioners, meditation can subtly turn into a project of quiet effort to monitor thoughts, hold a quiet mind, or sustain a specific state.

This non-dual somatic meditation is designed to dismantle the habit of "doing" meditation and guide you into the natural, unconstructed space of presence itself.

Moving from the localised tension behind the eyes and down into the heart space, we explore the felt transition from focused attention to open awareness. Through gentle self-inquiry and somatic awareness, you will dissolve the boundary between inner and outer, discovering that boundless presence is already awake and holding everything effortlessly.

This practice explores:

Letting go of the subtle role of "the meditator"

Somatic self-inquiry ("Who is doing the meditation?")

Recognising boundless, continuous awareness (no inner, no outer)

Transcript

As we begin this meditation. I invite you to see if you can draw up a subtle project of meditating. There's no special state to arrive at. There's no need to fix how you feel There's no requirement to stop your thoughts or calm your mind. Letting go of being the meditator and just arriving exactly as you are. Allowing now for the eyes to close. And allowing gravity to do the work. There's no need to hold yourself up with effort. Feeling the weight of the body. Sinking a little deeper into the floor or the chair. Nothing to sustain nothing to hold together Allowing awareness now to settle into the body Noticing if there's a narrowing or looking from behind the eyes If so, Allowing the eyes to rest. Letting them float in the eye sockets. Softening the gaze There's no need to try to achieve anything, Simply resting. Relaxing the brow and the jaw. Resting back into the internal space of the head Sensing the space rather than looking. I'm just resting here. Can you allow this sense of resting to drop lower through the throat and into the upper chest? And don't worry if your focus begins to narrow again just simply notice and return to softening the eyes resting back into awareness and allowing the resting space to include the throat and the upper chest noticing the movement between the upward narrowed attention of the mind and the dropping of the restful space of awareness when the gaze is softened just allowing the shifts to naturally happen on their own. No need to analyze or be in awareness consistently just sensing the motion of the inner shifts rising and falling by themselves Allowing the space to widen now. Inhabiting the whole torso. Rather than pushing the space open see if you can just rest deeper allowing the space to reveal itself naturally and if it feels comfortable, Including the movement of the breath now Just letting breath breathe itself. Settling into the natural motion of the rise and the fall allowing the breath to become you. Just resting here if it feels comfortable. Allowing the breath to carry you resting a little deeper now noticing the space that breath breathes into allowing the out breath to carry you deeper into this space not by changing the breath in any way just a gentle falling into deeper rest beginning to inhabit this space that breath breathes from and resting in gentle awareness Just simply noticing how emotions thoughts and sensations simply arise from and fall back into this quiet restful space. Just noticing. Noticing now who's the one that's meditating There is no undoing the meditation. Meditation is simply happening. Noticing the space directly in front of you now. Where the body ends and the air begins and how the boundaries of the body and the space in front of you may be softening a little exploring the space now inside of you Sensing the open. Bath. Silence. And the space now in front of you and in the room. Around you You're noticing how this space inside and outside of you is the same space. Noticing that the space behind you is also the same space. Noticing that the space above and below you are also the same open space. Boundless awareness. No inside. No outside. Just one continuous field of presence. Gently connecting this boundless awareness the weight, The stability of the physical form. It's even a space we are entirely grounded here is still direct contact with reality. The earth beneath the building Simply allowing the space of awareness to gently hold everything. You're sensing the support that has been here the entire time. Completely effortlessly Your mind tries so hard to construct a meditator. Embraces, Evaluates, Divides. Creates a small me inside the head. Just trying to look out at a vast world that natural awareness requires no effort at all. So already awake? It's already spacious enough to hold the busyness of the mind. And the stillness of the room. There's no need to build this space. Only to notice. You're all ready. Resting in it.

Reviews

A beautiful meditation Emma! I love the pacing and teachings gently woven through the guided experience! Thank you.