Let's do a practice of awareness.
Awareness is a key element that is going to be essential for all of our practices.
But what is awareness?
As I sit here in this garden,
I have experiences.
With my eyes open,
I experience the colors of the garden.
I can hear the rustling of the leaves in the air.
I can feel the wind on my skin,
The heat of the air.
With my eyes closed,
I can still feel the grass and the wind,
But I don't really see the external colors.
But I do see things.
So what is awareness?
I'm aware of these things,
But what is awareness itself?
I'm aware that I am seeing.
I am aware that I am hearing.
I am aware that I am feeling.
But what is awareness?
I'm also aware that I feel,
Not in the sense of sensations,
Because we should say I sense these sensations,
I feel feelings,
I emote emotions.
I feel a feeling of happiness.
So I am aware that I am feeling a feeling of happiness.
And now I'm thinking if I said what I wanted to say,
So I'm aware that I'm thinking.
But again,
What is awareness?
Now I'm thinking about myself thinking.
Is that awareness?
Is awareness me thinking about what I'm thinking?
No,
That's not how I see it.
That's just another layer of thinking.
So what is awareness?
Well,
The way I talk about awareness and work with awareness,
For me awareness means the space where all of this is happening.
It's like the container.
Now in the practices that we're going to practice,
We're going to touch on this awareness because the spiritual lineages,
The spiritual traditions,
They tell us something about this experience of awareness,
That awareness is who we really are.
Like this feeling that I have that I am somebody,
That feeling actually comes not from my individuality,
Not from my mind,
But from the awareness itself.
So that's very important.
And that's why we aim at growing awareness,
Because growing awareness is growing who I am.
Awareness increases in silence.
Awareness increases in the absence of doing.
And so we're going to practice some meditation practices to cultivate this awareness.
The first one we're going to practice is the most simple one,
Which is to simply become aware of our breath.
So we're going to sit in any kind of comfortable position.
It can be on the ground or it can be on a chair.
It doesn't really matter.
And we're simply going to observe our breath.
Make sure that your spine is relatively upright.
We don't want to be hunched over.
You can have your hands on the knees,
Facing downwards or upwards in a mudra,
Or just in your lap.
Close your eyes and just become aware of your breath as it goes in and comes out.
Just observe it.
Notice that in the beginning we have a tendency to try to make the breath longer or deeper.
This is not needed.
Just observe the breath as it naturally comes in and out.
We are so used to doing that it might be hard to just observe and do nothing.
But we'll get used to it.
If you find that you get lost in thought or that you are focusing on sounds or other external cues,
Just recognize that the moment that you have discovered that you have lost the awareness of the breath,
That this is the moment when you regain this awareness.
And then just bring your attention back to the breath.
You may be noticing the air as it is passing through your nostrils.
You may be noticing your chest expanding and contracting.
Or you may be noticing your abdomen as it is rising and falling.
There are many effects to the breath.
And we can be aware of many of these aspects.
Eventually,
We may just be aware that something is being breathed in.
Something is being breathed out.
That breath is coming and going.
If you are becoming frustrated because you feel that you are unable to be aware of your breath,
Just recognize this frustration.
Know that it is normal.
This is not about succeeding.
It is not about failing in staying with the breath.
We develop awareness simply by trying.
The act of performing meditation is the act of coming back again and again into awareness.
If you get lost in thoughts,
Just recognize that the moment that you have discovered,
That you have become aware that you are lost in thoughts,
Is the moment that you have returned to the meditation.
If you find yourself compulsively thinking about something,
If you find yourself wanting to think about something,
Then use your willpower to will yourself to meditate.
Develop in yourself the motivation,
The desire to stay with the meditation rather than with your thoughts.
Don't control the breath.
Simply observe it as it naturally comes in and goes out.
If you find that you get lost in thought or that you are focusing on sounds or other external cues,
Just recognize that the moment that you have discovered that you have lost the awareness of the breath,
That this is the moment when you regain this awareness.
Come back slowly.
I wish you a wonderful day.
