Hello everybody,
And welcome to our series,
Part 3 of the series,
Freedom from the Kleshas.
And the third klesha is raga,
And this is the mental affliction or cause of suffering known as attachment to pleasure or desire.
And as I say,
These afflictions or default mechanisms seem fairly obvious.
Of course we want to run to things that are pleasurable.
So raga arises from past experiences.
When we experience something enjoyable,
Whether it's physical,
Emotional or mental,
We develop attraction to it,
And we want that feeling to be repeated.
The problem is not the experience of joy itself,
But the attachment to it.
The attisth attachment creates dukkha,
Suffering.
Our happiness becomes dependent on obtaining and repeating specific external circumstances as objectives.
We fear loss because everything,
The material world,
Is impermanent,
So we can't cling to that.
We live with underlying anxiety and fear of losing things that we're attached to.
And it creates a cycle of craving where the pleasure never ends.
And there's the easiest way,
This is the basic form of addiction that we're all familiar with in some way or other.
We're addicted to something.
And most people think of addiction,
You know,
To a substance,
But it can be to thoughts,
Emotions or anything really.
So we're going to practice letting go of that and appreciating it for what it is.
This is part of being human,
So find yourself a comfortable place to sit or lie.
Close the eyes down and gently start to focus on the breath.
Now,
A lot of you are very experienced as meditators here,
Of course,
And to that end,
Find your own way to depth.
And regardless of how long we've been meditating,
The doorway is usually something in the physical.
So it can be the breath or sensation.
Just Dharana,
Right where you're focusing on a point,
This is the gateway into dhyana or meditation.
Letting go of external influences and just gazing at the third eye.
Gazing at the third eye.
And notice that even this becomes a thing of pleasure,
Often a thing of attachment,
Where within our meditation we're looking for an outcome because the last meditation that we had was sublime and we're chasing that again.
This is raga and this is what we want to become aware of.
Notice the pleasure in the body.
Notice the pleasure of the mind.
Allow yourself to get deep into your meditation now.
Simply breathing into it.
Focus on the third eye.
Focus on that,
That is.
The comings and the goings.
The inky darkness.
The patterns.
Also notice that there is no start or end.
There is nothing to be attached to.
There is only that that is.
And be involved with that.
Come to the edge of pusha.
In touch with the infinite.
Gently guiding yourself down now.
Nothing to chase.
Nothing to hold on to.
Just this moment as it is.
Feel the weight of the body.
The contact with the floor,
Chair,
The mat,
Whatever you're using.
Let awareness rest in simple sensation.
Resting there.
What is it that you're attached to?
What is it that you run backwards for pleasure?
Running towards,
Grasping onto.
Reassurance that everything is okay.
Because you have what you need to make it okay.
Are there thoughts that you use?
Are you attached to substances?
Food?
Food.
Pleasure?
Do you need these external influences to find happiness?
Just dwell in that.
Dwell in that.
Remember you're human.
Don't put yourself down.
Just pure awareness of you.
Be kind to yourself.
Be kind to yourself.
Now,
Gently notice the subtle leaning of the mind.
The way it reaches for what feels pleasant.
The way it holds onto what feels safe and familiar.
Just be aware of that.
The reaching may be obvious or it may be very quiet.
Watch it.
Be the witness of it.
Very deep now.
Letting go of the physical.
Letting go of the emotional.
Pure consciousness.
It might appear as anticipation.
As a preference.
As wanting this to last.
There is no need to judge this.
There is no need to suppress it.
Rest in awareness of it.
Just notice the movement of grasping.
Notice what it feels like in the body.
A subtle tension.
A slight leaning forward.
A slight tightening perhaps.
Be very aware of the body and how it responds.
Watch the body's response.
And now,
Without trying to stop it,
See what happens when you simply allow it to be known.
Awareness sees grasping.
And in that seeing,
It begins to soften.
Not because you push it away.
But because it no longer needs to operate unseen.
Let experience be just experience.
Pure experience unfolding for you.
Pure experience unfolding for you.
Pleasant sensations can come and go.
Unpleasant sensations can come and go.
Nothing needs to be held.
Rest in this simple allowing.
If the mind reaches,
Notice it.
If it relaxes,
Notice that too.
There is nothing to prefer.
Pure experience.
No bias.
Just presence.
As grasping loosens,
Notice the quality of the mind.
Quality and clarity of the mind.
Just noticing.
Is there more ease?
More space?
More contentment without a cause?
Pure contentment without external influence?
No need to be happy.
You are happy.
Pure presence.
Pure happiness within the moment.
The joy and bliss of this non-attachment.
Rest here.
Let life come and go.
Let experience move freely.
Rest here.
Everything you need,
You have.
Your true nature is one of love and joy.
No external influence is required.
It's who you are.
Without bias.
Rest in that knowledge.
Rest in that knowledge.
Become aware of the breath again.
Gently breathing the body.
Start to control the breath.
Breathe the body.
Take control of the breath.
Recognize where you are in your room.
The walls,
The furniture,
Etc.
Feel the body against the mat or the chair or the cushion.
And notice the sensation.
Gently starting to come back now.
Gently starting to come back now.
And as you open your eyes,
Notice how letting go does not diminish life.
It makes it lighter.
It makes it truer.
Where all things can be appreciated.
Where the good and the bad can be just experiences.
That we need neither to bring us true happiness.
As it is our true nature.
Coming all the way back now.
All the way back now.
Taking a nice big stretch through the body.
Wiggling the toes and the fingers.
Coming all the way back now.
And if you'd like,
Sit in a cross-legged posture.
Bring your hands into Namaskar.
In front of the heart center.
May we have love in the heart.
Take the prayer to the lips.
May we have truth in the speech.
Prayer to the forehead.
May we have gratitude in the mind.
From my heart to yours,
Much love.
Thank you ever so much for joining me.
If you like this and you'd like to pass it on to friends,
Families or other people,
Please follow.
For the next part of the kleshas,
Find your true self and freedom and recognize who you truly are.
Freedom from the kleshas.
Lots of love.
Till we meet or hear again.
Yogi Phoenix
