The Beauty Of Awareness

So often we go looking for beautiful experiences. The perfect sunset, a delicious meal, a great song. But there's another kind of beauty available any time, which is the simple fact of being aware. In this open awareness practice, sensations come and go as drops in the ocean of a wider field that defines you. Recorded live with the Healthy Minds Program.

Transcript

And now a few words about our theme. We are going to practice an open awareness meditation today. And I think it's appropriate to this idea of finding inner freedom because in my own life, This particular practice has really been paramount in applying these skills of wellbeing to daily life. Because daily life can be quite full. There can be all kinds of thoughts and sounds and drama and situations going on and work can get stressful and your neighbor can be blasting music and all that. What open awareness allows us to do is to practice awareness with awareness itself, To be, As the scientists sometimes call it, Meta-awareness, Aware that you're aware, Noticing that space within which all other sensory phenomena arise. And there's something really empowering about that because no matter what those phenomena are that you're dealing with, Whether it's just a typical day today and you're sitting outside or inside and sitting down for a meditation with me, Or whether you're actively dealing with something, You have a lot of challenging thoughts or you've got some pain, Some discomfort. In all cases, Open awareness can be a very powerful practice because you can get space no matter what's there. And one more thing about that is that these are skills you can train, Right? This one falls squarely in the awareness domain and the Healthy Minds Framework Awareness Connection Insight and Purpose. There's also a piece of insight there, But this really falls squarely in the awareness domain. And what I think is really empowering about it is even when there isn't a lot going on, If you can train that skill to stay connected to that fundamental aspect of awareness that in a way defines who we are. You can. Strengthen that skill and then apply it in a difficult situation and that's sometimes maybe why we call this a practice because we're practicing for life. Hello, Alyssa. Welcome. Hello, Jiri from CR. I don't know what CR is. Is that Cedar Rapids? Maybe Cedar Rapids. I'm in Canada, So sometimes the acronyms don't make sense to me. Fall asleep. Oh, From the Czech Republic. Wonderful. My mother-in-law is from the Czech Republic. I know your people. Okay, Let's get comfortable. If you want to close your eyes, You're more than welcome to. If you want to keep them open. I recommend finding a spot to rest your gaze. And no rush into the practice, Let's find some common ground. And just before we get started, Let's bring to mind your motivation for doing this practice today. Why are you here? Why did you click this link? Why did you sign in? Why do we even bother? Follow. This channel, Or however you ended up here. There's no need to over-conceptualize. Just notice what answer shows up in your mind. When I ask you that question, Why are you practicing? And see if you can connect that motivation to some sort of larger. Purpose. So if you're practicing so that you can relax or so that you can deal with a specific circumstance, Just connecting that to how might this practice also benefit the other people in your life, The fact that you're doing this practice right now? What might that change about the way you interact with other people? And if you want to go big, Maybe even reflecting on. How this might have a small drop in the ocean in terms of impacting the world. Or maybe a big drop in the ocean. Just letting all of this float through your mind. And motivate and inspire you to bring yourself fully to the practice that we're about to do. Okay, For the next nine minutes. We are going to practice with open space. So feel free to. Assume your own practice if you have momentum with something else, Or to just listen in if you're not so sure about this. If you're willing to follow along. See if you can tap in now not to a specific sound. Or body sensation or thought or feeling. Tapping into awareness of the open space where all of this emerges. Kind of an expansive sense of awareness. Letting everything come and go within the space of your mind. Staying connected with. The entire field of awareness within which everything comes, Fluctuates, And eventually goes. It's okay if this feels a little different or challenging, Especially if you're new to this kind of practice. We're just experimenting here, So keep an open mind. So if you're noticing body sensations. You're also noticing. The field of physical awareness within which that body sensation arises. Noticing all the areas. Currently full of a body sensation. All the empty space. If you happen to notice a sound in this moment, You're also noticing all the silence in other directions. Sound might be coming from one particular direction, But there's also a lot of silence. And what we're experimenting with here, The idea is to. . . Connect with your entire field of awareness. Recognize and acknowledge that all these sensations are again, Just drops in the ocean. Of a wider field that defines you. If at times you find your mind gets caught up in thoughts. Kind of like you find yourself boarding the train of thought and leaving the station. It's perfectly natural. It's a part of the process. The idea here is not to resist that, But actually just notice again. This entire field of mind within which the thought seems to emerge. Notice how the thought progresses and then eventually vanishes. So you're not fighting the thoughts. You're not resisting the thoughts. You're just noticing the wider context. Within which they appear. Inner space of mental talk. Inner auditory space. Letting all experiences come and go without any kind of resistance or judgment. Staying connected. With open space. Your attention may fluctuate. From one experience to another. It may land somewhere and stay there. Whatever your attention does is fine. In this practice where being aware. Of the wider field of awareness within which that attention is fluctuating. Staying connected to an expansive. . . Sense of who you are. And what it's like to be you. Including everything. It comes and goes. Within the contents of that experience. Staying connected to. Something larger. Than the specific sensations and phenomena. That draw your attention in every moment. If this has felt pretty challenging for you so far, You may want to restrict to one sense category. For example. . . Paying attention to the open space. In auditory experience, So the silence and the sound. Or in the realm of the body. Noticing this. Full bodily awareness and the smaller sensations that arise within it. And if you are getting some momentum with this practice. Keep at it. And maybe bring in a slight ingredient of. Thankfulness. For the opportunity to experience awareness, To be awareness in this moment. Noticing that sense of ease. Noticing that sense of awe and space, Maybe even a subtle smile. On your lips as you enjoy. The beauty of this opportunity to be aware. For these last few moments just. Enjoying whatever experience is arising within this field of awareness. That you're experiencing right now. Even if there's a few sensations that might be challenging, Like. . . A noisy distraction or pain. Discomfort. See if you can take these last few moments to just smile at them and enjoy them. As a part of. What it's like to be you. It's all just a gift. Even the hard parts. Okay, Letting go of that practice. Nice work. Take your time, No rush. Get a sip of water or a stretch.