The Zen Feeling

Zen is a feeling that cannot be described. It is easy to understand but difficult to explain. Here let's use a few classic Zen sayings to move us directly into this feeling. Out of the past and future, and into the present. Out of momentum, and into the moment.

Transcript

Here,

We'll experience a few classic pieces of wisdom from Zen.

You can take a moment to settle in,

And if you like,

Your eyes can be closed here.

You can allow anything in the body that might like to relax,

To relax.

Maybe taking a few deep breaths,

Letting it all go on the exhale,

And just waiting for it to come back in on its own on the inhale,

Moving out of momentum and into the moment.

Now here's a line from the Zen master Dogen.

Don't worry about figuring it out or making sense of it,

But just see if you can feel it.

Time moves from present to past.

Time moves from present to past.

You might notice that your attention is focused on something else.

You might notice any way in which it feels like time moves from the past to the future.

But both of these are concepts,

Creations of the thinking mind.

Time moves from present to past.

Now,

You might imagine yourself in a boat,

Moving across the water.

Here we are moving more and more deeply into the present moment,

Leaving the past in our wake.

And now maybe noticing whatever it feels like you're moving toward,

Whatever it feels like is out there that you haven't reached yet.

Now let's experience another line from Zen.

When you reach the other shore,

You realize there is no other shore.

When you reach the other shore,

You realize there is no other shore.

You are always here.

And when you get there,

You'll still be here.

There will become here.

So just for a little while longer,

Really being here.

And as you get there,

Moving out of momentum and into the moment,

You might feel your boat deconstructing,

Dissolving,

Merging with the water.

And with the sky,

And with everything.

Just being here,

Being who you really are,

The present.

And now you might take a few more deep breaths.

And then if your eyes were closed,

You can gradually allow them to reopen.

And maybe even feel yourself starting the day again.

Possibly even starting your whole life again.

Now if you like this,

And you're interested in exploring Zen more deeply,

I have a 111 day course on Zen called The Zen Path,

111 sessions,

But each one just five minutes in length.

So you can join me there if you want to.

But mainly,

Just thank you for your time and your attention,

And maybe I'll see you around.

Time moves from present to past.

When you reach the other shore,

You realize there is no other shore.

Reviews

🙌🏼Very interesting way to begin again. 🙏🏼thank you❣️

Wow!! Quite simply - wow! This was incredible. Thank you. ♥️

🙏💫💓 I am here 🙏💫💓

Thank you 🙏🩵

Excellent. You are the best at this. Your smooth voice and pacing draw me in every time. Thank you so very much Charles. I’ll be back for more. 🙏

¡fantabulous!
…A perfect offering for all of us with impetuous frogs forever launching themselves into our (otherwise still) ponds of consciousness [>plop!<]

Fellow Insight Timer members… if this is your kind of thing, or seems even slightly intriguing, then, do indeed jump-plop in, and experience this teacher’s superlative Path to Zen course.
It’s pretty epic, as millennials (are? were?) known to say.
111 sessions, but, each just 5 minutes apiece.
Every single one has proven to be as robust as the last, with resonant echoes that ring out long after you close the app.

Like exercising any muscle, what gets strengthened here might just surprise you.
In fact, it may alter your whole understanding of this way of being. It certainly did for this listener-student.

Charles, the quote that flashed upon first opening the I.T. app today—by the great Alan Watts—seems like a suitable adjunct to your assessment of attempting to describe Zen:
“Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.”
[He always did have a special way with words, that one…Cheers!😁]

Really helpful guidance. Thank you ♥️

I’ve followed Charles for a number of years now. I so appreciate his simple, straightforward meditations. His tone is soft, even, relatable. The cadence and rhythm are perfect, and I appreciate the long pauses to simply be quiet and present. Thank you, Charles.

A beautiful way to start the day - again! 🙏❤️

A wonderful guided meditation of Zen! Thank you Charles 🙏

Thanks 🙏 for sharing ❤️

Dear Charles, this moment. This moment here now. Thankyou for dropping me back into it. There is a running away from here. And here is always nested in there, if we drop in - on the breath, into the silence singing between the notes. There is a spaciousness that is Presence, that past and future (those old tricks of the burdened mind) miss. Moment by (m)Om(ent) is the Path. Thank you for leading me there-(t)here. 🙏🏽♥️

As always Charles sooooo good! “Time moves from the present to the past” Now that’s Gold!