Mahashivaratri Meditation

This spacious 35-minute guided meditation was recorded by Ava in Mahashivaratri.

In this meditation, we honor and come into resonance with Shiva as we connect to the formless essential being that we are.

Transcript

It's a special meditation that I'll lead you through today. So there are other people who worship Shiva as well all over the world. Shiva is a deity in the Indian pantheon, So you might be familiar with a deity. It's like a god and some people worship deities kind of more in like a religious and surface way. So they'll worship a deity to feel a little bit grounded and just part of their like daily ritual and religion. But also the deities in India and other spiritualities, But especially in India, Have a deep metaphysical significance. The deities are representing a profound mystical philosophy about the nature of reality. And Shiva in the Indian metaphysic represents the transcendent aspect of the reality. So the reality has an imminent aspect, So everything that we can interact with, All of the forms, And it also has a transcendent aspect, Something that's formless. And in most spiritualities and different branches of the religion in India, There's a lot of metaphysics that describes the form. So our mind and our energy and our chakras and the different realms, There's a lot of things that describe all that. And then they say, And there's the transcendent. There's a very special form of spirituality in India called non-dual Shaiva Tantra. And in that form of spirituality where they worship Shiva, So Shiva is that transcendent aspect, Where all of the other metaphysics end is where they start. So they start with the transcendent and they elaborate on the formless reality. And how can you speak about something that's formless? Well, They speak about it at lengths, About how it has a desire to come into manifestation and its inherent knowledge and capacity for action and dynamism, Even though it's formless. So it's a ladder with the first step 12 feet off the floor. So really, Really incredible metaphysic. So here today, We're worshiping or coming into resonance and honoring Shiva, You know, Whether you're into deities or not. And there is a particular giant in that spirituality in the non-dual Shaiva Tantra, A great guru called Abhinavagupta. In a moment, I'll read for you one of his poems to get us started for our meditation. So he lived in the 11th century and wrote, You know, Volumes and volumes about the transcendent reality and in a way that was really logical and coherent and just reading it can connect you to some of the depths of their insight. Our meditation today will a little bit more be connecting to this formless essential being that we are. So we'll start with a poem, Invite you to find a comfortable position, Just taking a little wriggle around in your seat and close your eyes. And once you close your eyes, Just check in again, How does the seat feel? How is your body? This is now the time to grab any props and make yourself comfortable. We're continuously arriving here, Checking in that it feels comfortable and not leaving the body, But entering down below the shoulders with a few fuller breaths. As the eyes close, Our gaze turns inward. We already connect with some of the subtle aspects of our being, The breath, The inner space. So the poem is called Bhairava Stava, The stanzas on liberation. Eight stanzas for Bhairava or name of Shiva by Abhinava Gupta. Being in my heart, One with you, I worship in my heart Bhairava, The Supreme Lord, Who fulfills anything movable or immovable, Who is the pure self, The one without end and without beginning, Refuge of the abandoned ones. Thanks to your compassion, O Lord, Everything appears as being one with you, For indeed you are forever my very self, And therefore the entire reality is united with myself. In you, O God, You myself, You who pervade the entire manifestation, Removes any fear in front of the horror of this world, Samsara, Even if there would still be lots of situations that would bring with themselves unbearable pain, Delusion and fear. O death, Do not turn upon me your gaze full of anger and fear because I'm engrossed in the service and meditation of Shiva, And I'm united with the terrible Bhairava and his energy. Thus, O God, The deep darkness has been chased away by the rays of yourself, For now you are so close to me. I will never again be afraid of the deeds of death and destruction, And nor the power of demons. O Lord, Glory to thee, For you are the reality of all things, You are the shining of true knowledge which has been shown to the world, And I have received perfect peace in you, My true self, Being fulfilled by the pure nectar of all things. O God, When the state of impurity which brings great limitations penetrates in my thought, I quake and shiver in the same instant with the glory of your oneness, Which appears to me as pure nectar. O Shiva, Even if it is true that fasting, Ritual, Purification and asceticism lead to overcoming the torments of existence, The nectar of meditation upon your sacred feet makes flow in my heart the river of deep peace. O Lord Bhairava, My being sings, Dances and rejoices deeply when it sees you, The most beloved, And achieves the sacrifice of oneness which otherwise is so hard to accomplish. We start by settling in the physical body. It might feel nice to take a gentle movement of the head, You might drop the chin down for a few breaths, Stretching out the back of the neck, Using the physical sensations to really ground you here into the now, And start to melt off some tension that might disrupt the meditation later, And gently rock side to side, And evolve into any free movement through head, Shoulders, Chest. It feels good, You might even take a stretch of the arms up into the air, Reaching out of the ribs, And also checking in with the legs, Maybe they need to stretch out in front for a few breaths, Or you might even tip over the knees, Side to side, Melting some tension in the back, So we start with a few gentle movements to help prepare the body for a really comfortable seat, At least another minute here for you, So take anything you like to help you arrive, Just intuitively listening to what the body is asking for. So there's no rush, Allow yourself to take micro adjustments, Maybe even squeezing the shoulders all the way up, Back, And down, Finding a comfortable position for the shoulders and a little bit of length through the spine, Sinking your seat heavier down, And loosening off the belly so some fuller breaths can stretch into the sides, The front and bottom of your belly, The back, As you soften your thighs and calves and feet, Breathing the volume of the legs, And again just sinking down, Feeling the lower part of the spine lengthen down to the ground. As you start to lengthen the middle and upper spine, Up through the crown of the head, The back of the neck is long, You soften down your face, Cheeks, Eyeballs, Melting with a few slow rounds of breath, Melting the forehead and scalp, Infusing the jaw with smiling energy, Radiating up in through the eyes, Brain, Scalp, The brightness of a smile. The belly softens again. We spread the smiling energy around all the tissues, Smiling into the organs and joints and limbs so that our body is reflecting the light and the joy of our being. Checking the breaths are full, You might take the inhalation to the count of four, And out to four, Just to slow and deepen the breaths. The little unnecessary thoughts we just replace with our breath, Coming back to the smiling body, Full clearing breaths. More persistent, Bigger thoughts, We offer some space, Seeing what they need, If they need to unpack or they just need to be recognized and allowed. How about the body, Is it feeling comfortable? We're not ignoring it, We're entering in to relax or adjust something doesn't feel right. The inhalation, Filling all the way to the top of your lung capacity, Emptying out to zero. As we start to trace the breath in and down into the middle of the chest, Finding a point just behind the sternum in the middle of the chest. Tracing in to the very center, Carving a pathway with each breath. Moving into the very center of the heart space. You might feel a intimacy or a tenderness or a warmth as you move through the heart into the very middle of your being. Breathing in and out of the heart to ground you in this exploration. What is here in my center? An aliveness, A tremor, But also a formlessness in the middle, Just a sense of I exist. You might sense your being in the center of the chest. Of course, Thoughts continue to move in the forehead, But some of our awareness remains in the heart space. You feel a warmth, An opening, Sensitivity to our middle. Maybe you sense a deep peace and stillness at your center. For sure, You can sense the movement on the surface, Sensations, Thoughts, Sounds outside of you. The periphery is moving and changing. The center is formless and still. Maybe you sense love at the center of your being as you follow the I feeling, The feeling of me, All the way back to its source. Again, You might sense the feeling of me or I. When you say the word I or me, Trace that sense all the way back into your middle. What is the source of I? Checking the breaths are still full, Body might need an adjustment or even to recline for the last 10 minutes. Checking everything is still relaxing, Weaving the breath around, The sensations, Any tensions in the body, The eyes softening, The inner smile shining through the chest, Arms, Head, Legs, Smiling. Might replace your thoughts with a few rounds of slow, Full body breaths, Sensing your being directly. You might notice that there's a light in the inner space, But not a visual light. The light of being, Of existence, The light of your awareness that lights up experience even in the dark. Maybe you come back to the heart space, Anchoring here with your breath, Not trying to create love or peace. Sensing what's here prior to your thoughts, A stillness, A peace. Might introduce a short pause between the breaths. Another doorway to the background of stillness. Body is charged with stillness, With light, The joy of being. And now just to savor the effects of your practice, You might scan over the meditation, Remembering notable moments, Different needs that arose, Insights or just the depth. Taking as long as you need here before moving into the rest of your day.