Point, Path, Field - Awareness
In this practice, you're guided to cultivate flexible attention, quiet your mind, and recognize and rest AS Awareness itself. When the mind is quiet, vast timeless Awareness shines forth from the background. You know yourself AS Boundless Awareness, liberated from any confines of the mind. What a liberation this is!
Transcript
Point,
Path,
Field,
Awareness.
The purpose of this meditation is to train attention,
Quiet the mind,
And to recognize and rest as awareness.
In subtle energy meditation,
We use energetic points,
Paths,
And fields to focus attention,
Build vital energy,
Release tension,
Facilitate energy flow,
And cultivate a felt sense of boundless awareness.
You can use focused attention on points,
Paths,
And fields to quiet the mind,
And awaken a felt sense of awareness itself.
When the mind is quiet,
Awareness shines forth from the background.
You know yourself as awareness itself,
Liberated from any confines of the mind.
What a liberation this is.
Now,
You might find it easiest to focus on one point or a small focal area first.
Then you are able to expand your focus to include pathways between points.
And finally,
You can expand the breadth of attention farther,
So it diffuses into wider fields,
And beyond to awareness itself.
Point,
Path,
Field,
Awareness.
Each have a purpose.
One-pointed concentration enables you to selectively focus on one thing and let go of everything else.
Concentration on paths between points enables you to experience connections and energy flow.
And,
Concentration on fields dissolves boundaries and tensions.
It supports letting go,
So you rest in a state of unity consciousness.
This facilitates experience of the unified field,
The one life we all share.
And then,
Boundless awareness itself,
That within which and from which all experiences arise,
And into which they dissolve.
Let's begin with a series of cues to prime meditative awareness.
Sit comfortably upright,
With the soles of your feet firmly on the ground,
And your feet parallel with each other.
If it's comfortable for you,
Sit far enough forward so you feel some weight in your feet,
With your perineum resting on the front edge of your seat.
Rest your palms cupped in your lap,
With the tips of your thumbs touching,
Lightly,
In a receptive posture.
Lightly,
Close your eyes.
Take a moment to check in inside.
Notice how you feel right now.
If you could sum up this feeling in a word,
Phrase,
Or image,
What would this be?
Consider your intention for this meditation.
Why is this important to you?
Consider dedicating your practice to the well-being of all beings.
Now,
Focus down into feeling your feet on the ground.
Awaken sensory awareness in the soles of your feet,
And feel the contact of the soles of your feet with the ground.
Allow your feet and toes to soften and relax,
As if they are melting deep down into the earth.
Sense the stable,
Grounding presence of the earth.
Feel this grounding presence up through your legs.
Hips and lower abdomen.
Feel your pelvic bowl resting down in your seat,
Resting down into the stable support of the earth.
Focus into the sensations in your palms and fingers.
Awaken sensory awareness here.
Allow your hands to soften and relax,
So they connect to the feeling of the pelvic bowl and rest down into your legs and seat.
As your hands soften and relax,
Allow your arms and shoulders to soften and relax down,
Releasing any tension in your shoulders and neck.
Soften and relax your head,
Your shoulders,
Your chest,
Your torso,
Abdomen.
Soften and relax your hips.
Soften and relax your whole body.
Now,
Imagine a string attached to the top of your head,
Drawing your spine gently upright,
Giving you a feeling of awakened clarity,
Rising up through your whole body,
Rising up through the core of your body,
Up through your spine,
And through the top of your head.
Enjoy the feeling of awakened clarity,
Rising up through your whole body.
You might feel this as a stream of light,
Rising up through the core of your body and out the top of your head,
And then cascading down and around your body,
Returning to the perineum and upward again in a continuous flow.
Now,
Focus down into the point where the tips of your thumbs are touching.
Focus into this one point.
Feel the sensations of contact at this one point where the tips of your thumbs are touching.
Keep feeling the sensations only at this point of contact between the tips of your thumbs,
So everything else fades to the background.
Notice how it feels to do this.
You might notice tingling or pulsing at this point.
Notice the felt quality in one-pointed focus.
Now,
Shift to feeling the path that includes both thumbs from the base of one thumb through their point of contact to the base of the other thumb.
Feel this path from the base of one thumb to the base of the other thumb as one.
Feel the path of both thumbs connected together.
Stay with the sensation of this path that includes both thumbs together.
Notice how it feels to do this.
You might feel a fullness or flow of energy along this path,
A warmth or tingling in both thumbs together.
Notice the felt quality in focusing on the path of both thumbs together.
Now,
Become aware of the space between this path of your thumbs and your palms.
This space is a small field,
The space contained in your palms.
Sense this small field of space in your palms.
Now,
Expand attention from the small field of space in your palms to include your pelvic bowl.
Feel the space in your palms and your pelvic bowl together.
Feel the space in your palms and your pelvic bowl together as a larger space.
Sense the space of your pelvic bowl expanding to include your whole torso and your whole body.
Feel the space of your whole body,
The entire space inside your skin.
Now,
Sense the space around your skin.
Sense the wider space where you are sitting,
The space of the room or environment around you.
Diffuse attention into this wider field around you.
Sense the whole space around you.
This space previously was in the background of awareness.
Now,
Allow this space to come into the foreground.
Stay with this sensation of the space around you.
Allow awareness of space to expand outward in all directions.
How far can awareness of space extend?
Are there any edges or limits to space?
Feel the space beyond that.
Notice how this feels.
What is the felt quality as you attend to vast open space,
Vast all-inclusive field,
One all-inclusive space?
Everything,
Everywhere,
All at once.
Notice how the thinking mind quiets in this energized focus of everything,
Everywhere,
All at once.
Notice how this awareness expands outward in all directions.
Notice how this awareness expands outward in all directions.
Who is aware of this vast space,
This vast field?
Awareness itself is aware of this vast space.
Awareness is that within which and from which this vast space arises.
The vast space is awareness itself in the guise of space.
As the mind quiets,
Awareness itself shines forth from the background.
This vast space itself is aware.
This vast space is arising within awareness,
As awareness itself.
Awareness taking form as space,
Time.
Yet awareness itself is beyond space and time,
As that within which and from which space and time arise and rest back as awareness itself.
Awareness itself is beyond form,
Prior to space,
Time,
Prior to extension in space,
Prior to duration in time,
Prior to experience and intention.
Prior to arising.
Choiceless attention.
Simple.
Clear.
Here.
Here.
You are boundless.
Timeless.
Timeless.
Slowly,
Very slowly,
Begin to open your eyes.
And take in the feeling of the space around you.
Together with the space inside.
One space of awareness.
No inside,
No outside.
Recognize everything here,
Now,
As arising within awareness.
Through attention,
Awareness can focus on any point,
Any path,
And any field in order to have experiences of contrast and insight.
And awareness can rest as itself,
Simply open to whatever arises.
While knowing itself beyond what arises and dissolves.
As boundless.
Take a moment to record this felt sense of awareness,
In every cell,
So you remember it.
Bring it with you.
Share it with others.
And can return to it anytime.
What would it be like to move through life with a persistent realization of awareness itself?
Playing through space,
Time,
In the world of forms.
What a liberation this is.
Take a moment to make a few notes on the differences in the felt sense of point,
Path,
Field,
Awareness.
Along with any other insights and inspirations.
Thank you.
