31-Day Meditation Challenge: Day 23

Welcome! This is the twenty-third lesson to a 31-Day Meditation Challenge recently recorded in July of 2020 entitled "Seek and Find Within." The audio recording is divided into an opening discourse and a guided meditation.

This video explains Samsara in three different ways; cosmological, biological, and psychological.

Enjoy.

Transcript

Good evening everybody Alrighty good to see you all as always Congratulations on making it to another practice as always.

I believe we're on day 23 Beautiful stuff so second day of you know discussing this concept of Samsara and so I wanted to take a second before We get into sort of the the value of this concept in a few different through a few different sort of domains I just wrote a little list to Express all the ways in which life or some of the ways in which life does in fact move through cycles So if you just want to take a second and as I you know share this list really consider the reality of these these points Galaxies Galaxies spiral in the void of space right in their cycles in their orbits the solar systems within galaxies the spin of planets and stars within the solar systems the moons around their planets in that the Seasons spiral and then the migration of animals which often follows the seasons the tides our breath emotional states all emotional states run through cycles and that means happiness comes and happiness goes Joy comes joy goes sorrow comes sorrow goes Energy states you're in a high energy state you're in a low energy state hunger comes and goes sleep comes and goes our heartbeat and blood flow Blinking bowel movements and so you know these are all deeply physical and deeply rooted in in our Biology or in nature,

But there are also you know more subtle expressions of cyclical nature and one that came to mind was Reconnecting with past friends when someone from your past sort of makes their way back into your life this would be a way of perceiving samsara and the same with interests the resurrection of old interests out of nowhere and then the final probably most obscure would be Deja vu right the sense that you're you're looking into a moment and it feels like you've been there before which is a Phenomenon of the mind,

But would still in a subtle way reflect that life is is sort of taking you for a ride And that ride is is a loop so the cyclical nature What does it really mean cosmologically?

What does it mean to us is like living organisms as animals,

And then what does it mean to us as psychological?

Organisms as human beings and so the willingness to appreciate samsara really allows us to understand the depth in which life is death and life is rebirth and because Hinduism Buddhism and yoga they they all come from a foundation that believes in reincarnation Because we only have one life to live We aren't aware of the past lives we aren't aware of our future lives the yogis looked into nature and saw this recurrent pattern of resurrection again the sun resurrecting every day the crops resurrecting when the seasons are right and because their their sense of separation their sense of Their sense of separation and disconnection from what is natural what is nature was less than ours?

I feel as modern people Unconsciously,

There's a huge disconnect between the laws that govern reality and ourselves The yogis assume that what happens in nature happens to every dimension of themselves and because the sun is reborn every 24 hours They will be reborn in some capacity every lifetime and that death is fundamentally just a journey into the night of the soul and so appreciating cycles appreciating the Sun rising and setting affords us this opportunity to really feel how deep and immutable death and resurrection is and that's a intense and Creative idea for a lot of us,

But it's just something to consider What?

Samsara allows us to do is animals right as animals We're trying to negotiate our environment to ensure survival as we learn to appreciate patterns Cyclical patterns it makes life predictable And I think the clearest example of this is when we as a species Learned the cyclical nature of the seasons and then learn to utilize those seasons to develop agriculture Because we learned of those cycles and those patterns We took advantage of it and then sort of developed this whole new industry in this whole new way of life that ensured You know an easier more abundant existence and so when we learn to look into our own minds and Appreciate the the birth and death of our own emotional states our focus and our distraction our high or our low energy And when we understand that that is immutable that will never change no matter how much energy we put into it the The upsurge of boredom for example or the upsurge of impatience because you know it is supposed to come not that it did come But that it must come you're less bothered by it because again you understand that it's law It's not a surprise and in that you can sort of manage peace while the tides of the mind and the ups and downs of Circumstance sort of move as they must and as they should so predictability is a really beautiful a beautiful consequence of understanding samsara and then the last is as psychological beings the value of understanding cyclical nature is Repetition and so the way that a yogi or a meditator interacts with life itself We've been touching upon this at the end of the last few classes by you know Bring our hands to heart center and saying namaste.

I see you.

I see you world.

It's you and me right now the way a meditator interacts with life with Reality is that of a teacher in that every bee every shadow every mosquito?

Every every breath every gust of wind every phenomenon inside that reality is there to inform the meditator in some?

Capacity whether it's actually sort of taken in or overlooked Everything is there to inform the meditator on how to become more conscious and how to live more harmonically with this with with existence itself and So by appreciating those cyclical nature the cyclical nature of that reality What this allows us to do is move through the same lessons over and over and over again so samsara provides a repeat or a repetition of of opportunity Until we until we have enough understanding to actually learn the lesson and move forward And I think we've all been in situations where it's like you had to you had to go through the same mistakes a few times Before you actually understood what you were doing whether that is very literal or more sort of figurative But after the third or fourth or fifth time of making the same mistake then finally you as the student put the pieces together and move forward and so Again as a meditator because life is this cosmic teacher There are many lessons sort of hurtling to us Many times over and life is sort of this hopeful hopeful masters like one day you'll sort of get what get the point and and In that step forward into like a greater experience of harmony something that we as individuals as of yet don't comprehend,

Right?

We haven't learned the lesson yet But the lesson is on its way back around So these are some nice ways to think of the idea when we get into our practice today however,

I think the the practical value of this concept is that it allows us to To find some ease with the ups and downs of focus and distraction in particular And so what we're gonna study,

Of course while you're meditating focus on the tingling sensations in your body and do your best to stay there tethered to those sensations and moving away from analysis moving away from memory moving away from fantasy or from planning and strategizing But when the mind does inevitably make its way back into thought into distraction appreciate it under the context of Cyclical nature and what you should immediately find is you are more tolerant of this Inevitable sort of shifting away from focus and then there's this faith that you don't have to really do anything You can wander in your thoughts as long as you want eventually Not by your own choice But eventually you will come back into focus And so what this permits us to do is sort of let go of the steering wheel I explained this yesterday and just sort of sit doing nothing inside our minds inside ourselves and this is where the experience of peace and the experience of ease that Meditation is sort of known for really starts to come up in that internal space Cool,

So let's get into this today comfortable seated position you Tighten the cross of your legs tilt the hips forward feel the spine lengthen Draw your shoulder blades down your back to broaden your chest and collarbone Straighten your arms and bring a random finger to each thumb your palms are pointing up towards the ceiling Jaw is shut press your tongue into the back of your two front teeth and do your best to relax your muscles on the bone Now slow down the breath of course breathing into the belly And as you exhale keep the spine tall yanking the abdomen in towards the spine active exhales as You still your body and shut your eyes and slow your breath Internalization the mind starts to look inwardly And in that for whatever reason your ability to be sincere is provoked You become more real to yourself In the same way that Tasting a delicious piece of food people often close their eyes To make that morsel of flavor more real and So our attention determines reality You are becoming more sincere because you are paying attention to yourself and Because self is the center point of your personal existence Everything that branches out from self Is consequently also more real and so here's the evidence think About our solar system and think about our galaxy the Milky Way Think about our planets orbiting the Sun think about our solar system orbiting the black hole in the center of the Milky Way and All of its spiraling through space Slow down your breath Think about the spin of the Earth and the orbit of the moon and from that the seasons You consider the millions of individual animals that follow the seasons in great migrations Feel your beating heart feel blood flowing through your lungs Feeling heart feel blood flowing through your veins and arteries leaving and returning to your heart migrating through the body Consider the rise and fall and resurrection of hunger and sleep Of happiness of sorrow of certainty of confusion Everything is here and then it's not here and then it's here again Everything is touched by this sort of death and rebirth everything Let's take a couple moments to savor this A principle law of reality of nature And notice that as you look into this detail of nature It feels good It's the pleasure of knowledge The euphoria of insight When you start to feel this in your body when the epiphany strikes Seal it by repeating the word samsara The word samsara You You You When we become more and more familiar with the cyclical design of nature And we understand how deep it really goes into every one of ourselves Through every one of our thoughts Through every one of our thoughts Those cycles Those births Deaths and rebirths Become predictable And in that when anger rises When loneliness rises When dissatisfaction rises We aren't surprised We greet it as a meditator would Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello I was expecting you And when the positive dissolves Happiness Confidence Understanding Energy Youth When these things leave We can say goodbye mindfully as a meditator does.

I'll see you again.

As all things come and go,

They bring with them lessons.

And the fundamental lesson is the one thing that does not rise and fall is what we are looking for,

Consciousness.

The thing we are most grateful for,

Consciousness.

And so in today's class,

Focus on the sensations of your body.

When the mind wanders,

Notice that.

Focus dissolves,

Distraction emerges.

Focus dissolves,

Distraction emerges.

And then notice on its own,

The impulse to refocus comes back,

The resurrection.

I'd also like you to monitor the rise and fall and rebirth of interest.

For a moment you are enthused,

Then you are disenchanted.

And again,

All by itself,

Enthusiasm comes back.

From time to time,

As you feel these cycles moving,

All by itself,

Enthusiasm comes back.

From time to time,

As you feel these cycles moving within your psyche,

Label it samsara and really build a bond with this idea.

Slow down your breath,

Observe these patterns.

Thank you.

And very slowly,

Straighten the arms if they've bent.

And as you adjust your breathing,

You feel more weight.

Notice that creates more wakefulness inside the body which extends into the mind,

Which can be leveraged to create more focus.

Feel the tingling sensations of your body,

The laws that govern the solar systems,

The galaxies,

The seasons,

And the tides,

The laws that govern death and rebirth,

Govern every inch of your body.

Each of our being,

Not even our most personal thoughts are exempt from samsara.

Nothing lasts,

Not focus or distraction,

Not happiness,

Not depression.

But to observe that pattern in the depths of your most personal space,

That is illuminating because it informs you that you are absolutely a part of this.

And to embrace that is humbling and grounding.

And so let your mind,

Your thinking mind,

Be a part of this.

And let your mind be a part of this.

And in that,

Start to feel that some deeper part of you is observing samsara,

Let your energy levels rise and fall as they wish.

It's not a disruption.

Observe all of it.

And in that,

Start to feel that some deeper part of you is observing samsara,

That your focus point is distraction,

Is focus.

Your focus point is low energy,

Is high energy.

And now the idea of doing nothing and being nothing should be more real.

Thank you.

Thank you.

In Buddhism,

Samsara is not just a word,

It is a form of a form of a form of a form of cycles but suffering.

When we are unconscious of our habitual impulses,

We suffer.

When we are conscious of samsara,

When we are conscious of these cycles,

We experience liberation.

And so in this moment,

You are observing the most subtle dimension of these cyclical patterns within your psyche.

And as they play out in front of you,

Notice a peace,

A tranquility.

This is of course the consequence of your nervous system generated through your deep breathing.

But it is enriched through these particular points of view.

So as you embrace the ups and downs,

The looping,

The repetition,

A center of peace becomes more real.

Take three more breaths.

Slow it down.

Slowly bring your hands to heart center,

The etiquette of your practice.

This is the peak experience.

Increased sincerity.

And so again,

It's just you and the world,

The soul and the divine,

Atman and brahman,

Consciousness and reality.

One is a student,

The other is a teacher.

The lesson of course is samsara.

In this moment of peak focus,

Peak presence,

Peak openness,

Again attempt to recognize the philosophy in real time or the more aware you are of it,

The more peace you should experience.

Now repeat the word namaste to the world,

To reality,

To brahman.

Namaste to samsara,

Namaste to the cyclical pattern,

To the whirlpool.

Thumb knuckles to third eye center.

What is the principle skill?

Focus.

Feel a tingling sensation.

Take one more exhale,

Hold the breath with nothing in your lungs.

And so here you want to push your edge,

Try to hold your breath a bit longer than you want to,

Release your wrists to your knees,

Nice tall spine,

Keep holding the breath.

When you need to inhale slowly through the nose,

Again hold the breath.

Holding,

Holding,

Holding.

And as your lungs are now full of air or you're breathing normally,

Repeat birth,

Death,

And rebirth.

Nothing is immune.

With your next breath in,

Open the eyes.

I'm still meditating.

Nothing is still moving through the cycle.