Open Awareness | Meditation Challenge [Day 11]

Learn to meditate like a monk in 14 days through this 14-day meditation challenge. Over these 14 Days, I guide you through 14 different meditations teaching you the basics of meditation.

On Day 11, we are practicing open spacious awareness. It’s a form of meditation where you rest your awareness on the present without focusing on any particular object, thought, or sensation. Here are some of the key benefits;

-Higher Self Awareness
-Mental Clarity
-Less attachment to Ego
-Enhanced Focus and Presence
- Stress Reduction and Emotional Regulation

If you have taken my course "Meditate Like a Monk" on Insight Timer, this meditation challenge is the mini version of that course. If you are new to meditation, want to build a consistent meditation practice, or want to access the meditations from the course, this is perfect for you.

You can also access the full playlist on my profile.

Transcript

Welcome back meditators.

It's day 11 and today we are practicing open spacious awareness.

It's a form of meditation where you rest your awareness on the present without focusing on any particular object,

Thought,

Or sensation.

It's a bit different from the other meditations we have done in this meditation challenge.

Practicing this can lead to a greater sense of freedom and reduce our self-centeredness.

If this is your first day,

I will recommend starting from day one.

Now,

Please sit in a comfortable position with your back upright,

But not uptight and let your body relax.

Gently close your eyes or keep them slightly open.

Now,

Bring your body into a state of relaxation,

Stillness,

And vigilance.

Breathe naturally.

Spend some time letting your mind settle down in the present moment.

Using the next exhale,

Using the next exhale to relax and release any tightness or tension in any part of your body.

Keep your eyes soft and relaxed and release all appearances and allow the mind to come to rest.

Simply resting in awareness and knowing that you're aware.

Now,

Move your awareness upwards into the space as far as you can go.

Relaxing and resting in awareness.

Now,

Move your awareness out to your right as far as you can go out into space.

Relaxing and resting in awareness.

Now,

Move your awareness out to your left as far as you can go out into the space.

Relaxing and resting and resting in awareness.

Now,

Move your awareness downwards into the space as far as you can go.

Relaxing and resting in awareness.

Now,

Move your awareness to the level of the heart that is the center of the chest.

Relaxing and resting in awareness.

And then release awareness out into the expansive space in all directions merging mind with space and rest there.

Keeping your awareness as expansive as space in all directions.

Keep resting in that open spacious stillness of awareness merged with space.

At any point,

You need to move and adjust.

Do that and then keep resting.

Resting in awareness.

If you feel any excitation dullness simply notice and also notice thoughts and emotions as they arise without entertaining or getting rid of them.

Simply be like an impartial observer of these mental and sensory events.

At the same time continue to rest in stillness.

Setting the mind in the state of ease and relaxation.

Simply allowing it to come to rest in the stillness of the present moment.

Resting in the open spacious stillness.

If you're getting distracted by appearances then put more emphasis on the stillness that is your main focus for this practice.

Rest in stillness and keep your awareness just a little bit in the corner of your mind and notice any movements of the mind.

And if you still get swept away with distractions bring your focus on the movements in the body while you continue to rest in awareness.

Rest in that stillness.

Simply notice any sensations within the body.

Now slowly moving your body slowly moving your body and closing this practice.

Incredible work today.

I hope this helps you to have a better understanding of the open awareness and I will recommend doing this meditation daily to observe your mind as this will help you to minimize your reactive behavior and your day-to-day situations.

Tomorrow we will look into our self-cherishing behavior that is the cause of a lot of our suffering.

This is another powerful practice that will make you a more loving and a kind human being.

So if you're ready to be kind I will see you tomorrow.