Har Har Mahadev!
I am Coach Dish.
Welcome.
Tonight is a very special night called Mahashivratri.
It sounds like a big complex name but the meaning is actually very simple and beautiful.
It means the great night of Shiva.
Now when we hear Shiva we might think of a god in a story.
However,
In the deepest non-dual teachings,
Shiva is not a person or a god sitting on a mountain.
There is an old ultimate teaching called Mahavakya.
Tattvam asi.
Thou art that.
You are Shiva.
You are not a drop seeking the ocean.
You are the ocean itself.
Dreaming,
It is a drop.
The consciousness that animates Shiva,
That dances as the universe,
That reads these words in your mind right now,
That is what you are.
This is not philosophy.
This is a direct recognition of your true nature.
Think about the universe for a moment.
There are stars,
Planets and galaxies.
That is creation.
But what is it that holds them?
The vast empty dark space.
The silence.
The silence is Shiva.
It is the womb from which everything is born and the lap into which everything dissolves.
Modern life teaches us to worship the stars,
Our achievements,
Our possessions,
Our goals,
Our thoughts.
We wear these things like a heavy costume.
But Shiva represents the void.
The nothingness from which everything comes.
Tonight we celebrate the nothing.
The void.
Not as a scary emptiness,
But as a fertile,
Restful silence where your nervous system can finally stop striving and just be.
To stop trying to be a somebody for a moment and just rest in the peace of simply being.
Tonight we meet Shiva as the source,
Not as an image,
But as what you are.
The final journey is the shortest.
It is from your head to your heart.
From thought to being.
So if you're as excited as I am,
Let's begin.
If you're sitting,
Let your spine grow tall.
Not stiff,
Just tall.
Like a tree reaching for the sky.
But let your body be soft.
You may allow to gently close your eyes.
Bring your attention to the base of your spine.
Feel the weight of your body pressing down.
Don't just think about it.
Feel the gravity.
Gravity is the earth holding you.
Surrender to it.
Drop your shoulders.
Drop your jaw.
Let the belly go soft.
You hold so much tension trying to be someone.
For the rest of this meditation,
You are no one.
You are just biology.
You are just breath.
You are just weight.
Let's find that peace in your breath.
Breathe in slowly through your nose,
Filling up your belly with some fresh air.
And breathe out a long,
Soft sigh.
Notice something.
After you breathe out,
Before you breathe in again,
There's a tiny pause.
A little moment of nothing.
Let's find it together.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And wait.
Right there.
In that pause,
Everything stops.
No worry.
No rushing.
Just stillness.
Let's do it again.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And rest in the empty space.
In the yogic tradition,
Shiva is found in the gap between the breaths.
So now,
I invite you to breathe in slowly and then stop at the top.
So take a deep breath in.
Pause at the top.
Don't hold it tight.
Just pause.
And exhale slowly.
And pause at the bottom.
Drift in the empty lungs.
In that pause,
Notice something.
There are no thoughts.
There is no time.
There is no you.
There is just silence.
Let's do it again.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Pause.
Step into the gap.
Become the silence.
Exhale.
Pause.
Rest in the emptiness.
Let's continue like this for a couple of minutes.
Inhale.
Pause.
Become the silence.
Exhale.
Pause.
Rest in the emptiness.
Inhale.
Pause.
Become the silence.
Exhale.
Pause.
Rest in the emptiness.
Inhale.
Pause.
Become the silence.
Exhale.
Pause.
Rest in the emptiness.
Inhale.
Pause.
Become the silence.
Exhale.
Pause.
Rest in the emptiness.
Great job.
Let's take a break.
Let the breathing be natural.
Okay,
Let's go again.
Inhale through the nose.
Deep and slow.
Pause at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
Let it all out.
When the lungs are empty,
Just wait.
Don't inhale immediately.
Just float in that empty space.
Inhale deeply through the nose.
Pause at the top.
Exhale through the mouth.
Let it all out.
And pause.
That pause,
That is the void.
That is Shiva.
Inhale again.
Pause at the top.
Rest in the void.
Exhale.
And wait in the emptiness.
Continue breathing like that.
Notice that in that pause,
There is no anxiety.
There is no past.
There is no future.
There is just pure stillness.
Rest in that gap.
And if you want,
You can extend it slightly.
Don't struggle.
Just explore the silence.
Now,
Release even the technique.
Let the breath breathe itself.
Let the body sit itself.
Let go of all effort to meditate,
To achieve,
To become.
What is here when you're not doing anything?
What is here when there is no meditator?
Feel your hands.
Are they solid?
Or are they buzzing?
Feel the vibration in your fingertips.
Science tells us you are 99.
9% empty space.
The atoms in your body are just energy dancing in the void.
Feel that space inside your own skin.
Dissolve the mental image of your body.
You are not a solid block of meat.
You are a cloud of sensation.
You are a field of shimmering energy.
Let the boundaries of your skin dissolve.
Where do you end?
Where does the room begin?
Feel your edges dissolving.
You are no longer a person sitting in a room.
You are the quietness itself.
This vast,
Open silence.
This is Shiva.
Shivoham.
Shivoham.
Shivoham.
Shivoham.
And notice you don't have to become emptiness.
You already are emptiness.
You already are Shiva.
You have always been this deep,
Beautiful peace.
Rest here for the last few moments.
You are home.
We seal this recognition.
As thoughts of a separate me begin to return,
Let them come.
But now,
You know,
They are like waves on the ocean of your being.
They arise in you.
They dissolve in you.
They are not other than you.
Now,
Place both hands on your heart and make the final intention that ends all seeking.
I am.
I am awareness.
I am Shiva.
Shivoham.
I am that.
Slowly and gently,
Begin to feel the weight of the body again.
But keep the spine tall.
Keep the dignity.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
This concludes the Shiva Reset.
Your true practice begins now.
To live from this knowing as a parent,
A partner,
A creator,
An athlete,
A friend.
This is the highest worship.
This is how you celebrate Mahashivratri every day.
By remembering what you are.
Thank you for walking this sacred path.
It has been my deep honor to guide you through these seven days.
I'm Coach Dish.
You can stay here to listen to the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra as our final tribute to the Shiva within and the Shiva outside.
It's all Shiva or you can go about your day.
Namaskaram.
