Rest In Awareness

This is an awareness or emptiness practice. It is accessible because we gradually move our awareness from our body to our breath to space to awareness. With each new focus of attention, we do nothing more than rest; watching and allowing experiences to come and go.

Transcript

Good.

Okay,

So the recording is on.

And let's start by really finding our seats.

Really finding that restful way to sit,

So that you're feeling really well supported.

Yeah.

Good.

And that can take a little while to arrive these sensations of rest and support.

So allow your eyes to close,

So that you can really be with those perceptions.

And as I was saying,

We will start with the best practice,

And then go to stability,

And to then resting in awareness.

So if you're already doing it,

That's just great.

We'll start with alternate nostril breathing.

And I'll demonstrate you can do it in your own time if you want,

But you have my patterning to follow as well.

So alternate nostril breathing.

And you breathe in,

Close it,

Hold it out.

Breathe in,

Close it,

Hold,

Breathe out.

And you can watch me if you need to or close your eyes to relax,

Doing it at your own speed.

And your body will tell you what the comfortable speed is.

Breathing in,

Close it out.

And finish up and just relax and rest and feel those changes.

Again it takes some time for the perceptions to arise.

So let that happen.

And rest as you do that.

Then we'll go on to the second of our breath practices,

We're going to do three all together.

The next is called Bhaastrikas,

Which is Sanskrit for bellows breath.

And if you haven't done that with me before,

Just loosely curl your fingers at your shoulders.

And then I'll show you once again if this is new,

Your hands will shoot up,

And then you'll pull your elbows down,

Which is like the bellows closing,

Closing,

Let me show you once.

Yes,

Like that.

And you're breathing in and out through your nose.

So your hands are here.

Take your time to get ready.

Feeling here and it's,

Although it's very strong,

It's also very restful,

So you don't need to tense.

So let's start three times,

We'll rest and we'll repeat and rest.

Feeling the experience letting yourself take that in.

Seeing to your shoulders want to soften or your hands,

Your eyes,

Perhaps your face,

Resting and feeling the energy from that strong breath.

And now a second round of three will do three rounds all together.

But let's start now for the second round.

And rest.

Another round of three.

Rest again.

And now we'll do Sudarshan Kriya.

So again,

A Kriya is a cleansing practice.

Sudarshan is to see oneself,

Darshan is gazing and see oneself.

And as you do this,

The sense of cleansing is,

It's like with our sitting practice,

That there are veils that get uncovered.

These veils get kind of wafted away.

And you start to see yourself in a way that's unconstructed in a way that has ease.

So we start,

We'll do it with three speeds of breathing to remind you,

You start with slow,

You go to normal and then fast.

But again,

I will talk you through.

So sitting and feeling your support,

A breath in and out through your nose,

A long,

Slow,

Relaxed breath.

And let your breath come to a normal speed.

Now yes,

Now,

First speed.

And down to slow speed again.

Slow speed with your attention really on your breath,

But also just a little bit of attention on your shoulders,

On your face,

Letting yourself really rest.

And normal speed.

And maintain that rest as we now go to fast speed,

You may feel it that your shoulders are heavy your elbows and your hands.

So fast speed,

But still resting.

Third of the three rounds going back to slow breath.

Normal speed.

And fast breath.

And slow breaths to finish.

And let yourself really rest again if you notice any tension that wants to go just allowing it to float away.

Making things change.

Allowing things to take whatever path is there for you.

Releasing your attention and seeing what changes.

And put your attention now on your breath.

Finding again a very natural unconstructed breath.

Moving your attention to how you're sitting,

Feeling the rest and the support there.

Move your attention now to your feet as they rest on the earth.

Really letting them go.

Just seeing is there any pulling away.

It doesn't need to be that your feet rest let them open.

Really let them touch the earth.

And see how that unfolds.

And same with the weight of your body.

Let it drop.

And with all the energy from what we've been doing.

Still letting your body rest.

This it too is held by the earth.

So there's energy and there's a really soft resting as you're held.

We're going to be doing some really big space meditations.

And it's nice to feel the support first.

To feel the continuity and the extent of the earth as it's holding you.

So find these sensations as they appear to you today.

Sensation of resting your feet and your body.

The sensation of the continuity of the earth.

The earth not only provides us with gravity,

But it also provides us with air and light.

With warmth and cooling.

So notice the air as just feel your breath.

How it comes to you.

Without any effort.

The air is there for us.

Let yourself be filled by that,

Feel that satisfaction.

Feel the light as it comes through the windows.

Strikes you.

Seeing what does that feel like right now.

This light that we need,

And it's there.

So you're resting and you're being held with your attention on your breath.

Just seeing what's the effect of our being here,

Of doing this practice.

Maybe something very specific,

It may be some global sense of rest or peace.

See how it feels right now for you.

Putting your attention,

Just on the sensations.

That come to you for practice.

Choosing to do that.

Choosing not to do anything else.

But to feel the result of practice.

And now put your attention on your breath right at the bottom of your torso.

And a natural unconstructed breath in and out through your nose.

Feeling your breath deep in your torso.

It's got some stability and some.

So your body is resting on the earth.

And your attention is resting on this torso breath.

This breath with some gaps.

Some stability.

Let yourself know what that feels like.

So it's very sense based.

You're just being with however your breath is deep in your torso.

You're feeling it and you're knowing it.

Focusing on our breath deep in our torso gives some stability.

So experiences will come into your mind.

The faster and stability of that breath continues,

Let yourself feel its continuity.

Let yourself feel it's calming and grounding effect.

Let yourself know that it's always there.

And that you can always turn to knowing it.

So this calming and grounding is always there for you.

And turning to it,

You're modeling this calm grounding for those around you.

You're engaging in being responsive rather than reactive.

You're modeling that for them.

And something that people are very grateful for when they encounter.

Something that just kind of walked into your heart.

But mostly just feel that calm breath deep in your torso and rest there.

Attending to feeling your breath,

You're knowing it,

You're knowing what it feels like.

And we'll use this facility of knowing.

But right now just be with that.

Knowing what your breath feels like.

Again,

Experience will pass through above that.

That's fine.

Don't need to push these experiences,

Press them away.

Instead use your calming breath below to just hold them so that they can more easily make their way through as you remain calm and grounded.

As you feel supported,

Allowing things to be perceived,

Allowing things to rise.

But remaining with the support of your breath,

Keep knowing that breath deep in your torso.

And as you sort of move through it,

Your mind,

Your body,

Your coat of arms sort of moves And don't reach for this sensation of knowing,

Just allow it to come to you.

It's true it's what's happening.

And noticing the knowing may be new.

So let it arrive in its own time.

You'll get a sense of the knowing and it may go away,

But every time you have that sense,

It gets stronger,

It gets more clear.

So just rest and allow this natural understanding to take its course.

And things will pull you away.

Let yourself feel that,

But also feel that restful,

Calming support of the breath in your abdomen.

And then make the choice to know that to put your attention there and to rest.

Let yourself choose that.

The possibility of the strength that that's going to give you to choose to sit,

To choose calm.

And feel that,

Feel the peace.

Whatever else is going on right now,

Let yourself feel that sense of peace.

Considering the possibility of doing that will only make it grow.

And explore that,

Explore this possibility.

You don't have to agree,

But right now,

Just let yourself feel the peace and feel the possibility of its growing.

And just rest.

I'm creative.

And we're going to move to space and to awareness practice.

And I really love this practice because we just rest and the practice just cleanses our hearts and our minds and it gives us ease.

There's nothing more we have to do than focus our attention and rest.

We'll go to successively lighter states and I'll talk you through.

But start right now with knowing your breath in your body.

It doesn't have to be just deep in your torso,

See where it's most comfortable and clear.

So know the feeling of your breath.

And feel the lightness of that lightness of your breath.

As your body draws the air in and turns it around and sends it out again.

You're resting and knowing your breath.

As you feel how light that is,

Start to know the space that's in front of you.

Remember,

You're being held by the earth.

So the openness of the space.

It's not going to make you fall,

Not at all.

It's just going to let you rest.

Let yourself also feel it on either side.

In front,

Either side.

Just resting and feeling space.

As you held by the earth,

Feel the space above and below as well.

Let yourself be held.

Feel the space behind you.

Feel how you're not separate from it.

You're in the space,

And there is space in you.

Just feeling it light and restful and see how that comes to you right now.

See what your perception is of how the space feels as you're held by the earth.

You won't fall,

Space has been there all along,

And let yourself know it.

To continue with this lightness,

To continue getting less physical.

Let yourself feel how you're knowing space.

So now there's the sensation,

Just of knowing.

Again let it come in its own time so you don't have to push or press.

But see how just knowing your mind comes to you.

When perceptions come,

Thoughts,

Feelings,

Perceptions of light or temperature,

Let them come,

Let them be known.

Let them have their lifespan,

So you don't have to hold on to them.

They may be soft or vivid,

See what's true for you now.

Just knowing that these experiences,

Perceptions,

Thoughts,

Feelings,

Will pass through your mind.

Let yourself feel how that most vivid perception,

How it arises and passes through,

And then it's gone.

So that perception was not a quality of your mind.

Your mind,

Rather,

Is very still,

With all the things that pass through,

Allowing them,

Allowing the way that that's how our minds are,

But not making these perceptions a quality of your mind.

So you're just resting,

Knowing your experiences and letting them pass.

Starting to see that each disturbance is not the nature of your mind.

It's an experience,

But it's not a quality of your mind.

Let yourself rest in this,

The way things are.

All is well.

Turn to your knowing,

Recognize it,

And just rest.

Allowing any disturbance,

Because it's true.

Also allowing it to make its way through.

And each time you'll feel your mind more clearly.

Allowing it to make its way through.

Allowing it to make its way through.

Allowing it to make its way through.

And see if there's any sense of peace,

Let yourself start to know what that feels like.

Again not as a real endeavor,

Just letting that come to you seeing how it feels knowing it.

Letting yourself feel how the practice is calming your heart,

Body,

And your mind.

And taking the possibility that every time you know state of peace becomes more clear.

And taking the possibility that every time you know state of peace becomes more frequent in the future,

Easier to find and get back to just taking that possibility.

We dedicate the merit.

We consolidate what we felt and share with others.

Let yourself take in the experience of this practice and rest there.

Consider the possibility.

May this time together be a refuge and renewal.

And may you carry this forward.

So it informs your life.

And you come to share peace and well being with the others around you.

Let your peace and well being be felt by all.

Let yourself feel that.

And then when you're ready.

You can open your eyes.

And we can play to hear us share our experiences.

Questions or questions better yet.

I can hear you better if you want to talk.

Can you hear me now.

Can.

Yes.

First of all,

I love starting our session with the breathing exercises.

It puts me in my body ready to bed.

And that's that's feels wonderful.

This time,

I really was at a point when I was,

I was felt totally relaxed and totally alert.

It's hard.

And it was like this.

Wow,

I'm like right in this.

This is great.

Because sometimes you start to fall asleep or you're.

But there might be attention was right there was,

I really love that.

That's nice.

Yeah.

That's a very interesting,

The kind of,

You know,

Natural ebb and flow.

You know if you're going to chart it in some way.

It's so interesting that,

Yes,

It turns out that being calm and alert.

They're independent factors so you can become enormously calm and enormously alert,

But it's not that as we become calm we become sleepy.

But it's also the case that with any learning with any physiological process,

It's going to have its natural ebb and flow.

But I'm really glad that you found that and what I just yeah for you and for everybody so take it actually sit for a sec close your eyes everybody,

And just like,

Let yourself feel that it's like if that combination is not what always happens.

If you take a second to attend to it now.

Again,

It's easier to find your way back.

You really building a path.

Yeah.

In your body.

In your mind.

So thank you for that comment.

Good.

Anyone else.

Questions requests.

Oh,

I did.

Oh yeah,

Just go ahead and then I'll say what I was going to say about the breathing please.

Yeah,

I found myself.

Struggling more today.

And what more today I'm sorry I didn't hear that one I found myself struggling more.

I've been,

I've been experiencing anxiety and depression during this pandemic.

And that usually involves some sort of ruminating thoughts around worry around healthier health concerns or health fears or financial concerns.

And so that didn't really quiet during the meditation.

And I did my best to just stay anyway.

Yeah.

But it.

I don't know,

I guess.

The question is,

Like,

What is recommended when the city still isn't peaceful or restful necessarily.

Yeah.

It turns out that that because we have those experiences so much in the rest of our lives,

That it's enormously useful,

It may not be desired and it may not be pleasant but it's enormously useful when that happens.

When we're in class when you're on the cushion.

And so I have a recommendation for it.

And I think it's,

Yeah,

It's going to be built by find it enormously helpful.

So,

Again,

Close your eyes for sec.

And just take this in this notion of this not the pleasant experience that I might have hoped for expected.

It's not the pleasant meditation experience I want.

And then here's the thing to do.

Let yourself have an enormously kind compassionate response to that,

And really do that now everybody sit back,

Close your eyes,

So that you can feel it.

So that you can feel the kind supportive relationship.

That's half of what the practice builds builds clear seeing of these experiences,

And it builds compassion warmth of heart.

It could not build clear seeing if it didn't equally build warmth apart.

So as much as we wish we didn't have to struggle,

It's going to be part of human existence.

And just start to really build kindness towards yourself.

Let yourself feel that a little.

And then open your eyes when you're ready,

And I'll give you a tiny assignment and I'm saying that kind of you know with an ironic smile,

And it's this,

Which is that the next time that something distressing happens,

Either actually,

We're just in your mind.

Make nice.

Yeah.

I wouldn't actually do it,

But often it's just going to be in my mind with,

Oh god this hurts,

And I know,

Of course I wish it was different.

And that what you're building is a kind of promise towards yourself that you're going to see yourself through.

It's one of the most useful things that you can do,

And it's lovely that it starts here but it does.

And I see that Don is here,

Because we're.

But I think that this is going to be useful for our next meeting as well.

Yeah,

So other,

We do have a couple of minutes,

Other additional questions.

I'm not to hurry.

A this is a very,

Very kind friendly person.

And that's coming as you can see from this picture.

Yeah,

More questions.

So the last thing,

Oh,

Am I cutting anybody off.

The last thing I wanted to say is,

Um,

The breathing practice,

Particularly the Korea.

When I started my,

You know my long term daily practice I sat on and off for many decades,

But what I really went to do that full time.

I went to the hospital,

Giving up all my other work.

I did that breathing practice of ultimate nostril breathing bosterca,

And then the Korea,

I did it three times a day,

Every day,

And being enormously anxious from decades in a very,

Very competitive life to feeling really much more settled and much more happy.

So I really do recommend that.

One thing I was going to say I've been made,

I've made a few short videos I put them on YouTube,

Because they're too long to send an email,

I can send them to you,

But it seems like it might be helpful for me to do a video of this breathing as well and send them to you.

Yes.

Yeah,

I will.

Good.

Okay,

So,

Um,

Then let's close with this indication of merit again.

And I wish that all these practices,

Come to you and become clear.

Send that wish to yourself,

We can send it to each other.

Just let yourself feel that the possibility of these practices,

Being clear and being shared being shared equally with all beings,

Because the more that there is the more there is to go around.

So I will see you next Tuesday.

And I wish you really well until then,

I think what I'll do is I'll close this meeting and I think Don can hear me.

And I'll ask Don to come in again.

So again,

Lovely to sit with all of you.

Thank you.

So Don you'll just come in,

After I close.

Great.

Okay,

See you guys.

Wonderful to see you again.

Take care.

Thank you.