The Space Of Consciousness

Our thoughts can feel so real to us. And it's easy to confuse the thinking mind with our concept of self. This meditation, I hope, helps to separate the concept of the thinking mind and consciousness. It's a 20 minute sit.

Transcript

Please take a seat in either a chair or maybe you're sitting on the floor cross-legged on a cushion,

Wherever it is that feels most comfortable to you.

And gradually become aware of the sensations of sitting,

Feeling the pressure on the backs of your legs or your back,

Noticing the sensation of the weight of your arms as they rest at your sides or on your lap.

And perhaps take a few deep breaths in and out,

Just to help settle you into your seat,

Using each exhale and gravity to soften you,

To settle you deeper into your seat.

Gradually bring awareness now to your breath,

The moving of your breath,

Without changing it,

Just let it come and go.

Notice where you feel the breath most vividly.

This might be at the tip of the nose or in the rise and fall of your belly.

Just stay with the breath wherever you feel it most,

Noticing the obvious sensations associated with the breath,

From the very beginning of the inhalation,

Through the pause between breaths and follow the exhalation to its end,

Simply observing the breath with your awareness,

Feeling it,

However it comes.

If it's a deep breath,

That's okay.

If it's shallow,

That's fine too.

Just let it come and go naturally.

Perhaps with the next inhalation,

You might try to pick up the moment the inhalation begins,

The moment the breath begins to be drawn into the body,

Then follow it through its duration,

Continuing with the exhale,

And your mind is going to wander,

So when it does,

Simply notice the thought itself and then notice how quickly that you discover yourself in thought,

How quickly the thought disappears.

Then immediately come back to the sensations of your breathing.

You might notice sensations in your body,

Or sounds in and around you.

They spontaneously appear and disappear.

Just notice what's there in each moment.

Allowing your awareness to be in this space with curiosity,

Wherever the sensation arises.

Noticing,

Perhaps,

Feelings of pressure or tension in the sensation of breath,

And without the need to understand the sounds or label them,

Simply let them come and go.

All these things,

The sensations you're feeling,

Hearing,

Tasting,

Touching,

Everything that you're noticing is arising in the same space of consciousness,

The sounds in the room,

Any sensations in your body,

Any emotions or feelings.

Perhaps you're feeling restless or bored.

Whatever you're feeling or sensing in this moment is arising in this consciousness,

The consciousness of this moment.

Allow yourself to simply rest in that space,

To rest in the space in which sounds and sensations and emotions come and go,

Rise and fall,

Are altered and passed away.

Take a moment just to notice the sensations of your face and head.

We often feel or believe that our awareness exists behind the eyes,

In the head.

But try to sense the sensations of your face and head and realize that you're bringing awareness to the face and head in this very moment,

And that these sensations,

This awareness of your face and head is no different than the sensations of which you became aware,

Perhaps in your fingertips,

Or in the backs of your legs,

Or in the sound within the room.

The sensations that you're feeling right now in your face and head are now appearing in the same place that you think.

Your awareness or consciousness is not limited to your head.

Everything that is happening or appearing moment to moment in consciousness happens in location,

In situ,

And this includes the feeling of having a head or feet,

Or a bottom,

Or looking out at the world around you,

To see that it is other than you,

Or that which you are.

Open your eyes.

This will land on you as a change in your experience,

A shifting of light and shapes.

What you are seeing with open eyes,

The space that you see around you,

Is now in your consciousness.

It is the same consciousness which was aware of your face,

Your head,

Your breath,

The taste in your mouth.

What you are seeing is appearing in the same space where your thoughts,

Emotions,

And sensations arise in each moment.

Allow your eyes to close again.

You are still conscious of the world beyond your closed eyes.

In closing your eyes,

You are simply choosing what will penetrate your consciousness.

But whether your eyes are opened or closed,

Everything,

All matter of experience,

Is within the bounds of consciousness.

Sights,

Sounds,

Sensations,

Emotions,

All arise moment to moment.

Often we are seemingly an expression of that which is happening around us.

If something is pleasant,

We have pleasant thoughts or feel content or happy.

Something that is unpleasant might cause us to describe ourselves as sad or disappointed.

But we are not actually the experiences that the consciousness is noticing.

We are not actually sadness or happiness any more than we are the sound of a fire engine running by.

That is an illusion.

In fact,

The consciousness is a bit like a mirror.

It reflects what is directed toward it.

But the mirror itself never changes.

Take a moment and think about something that makes you sad.

Some event that didn't turn out the way you had hoped.

You felt disappointment.

Where do you feel sadness or disappointment?

You are opening your consciousness to that sensation that is present in the emotion of sadness.

Now,

Try to recall something that pleased you,

That made you happy.

Perhaps it was in seeing joy in the eyes or experience of someone you love.

Your consciousness is now aware of the sensations of happiness and joy.

Where do you feel that?

And now let that thought go.

Let the sensations associated with that thought go.

In both examples,

You opened your awareness to an experience or event in which you became aware of an emotion which you not only reflected,

You absorbed.

And yet,

You were able just as easily to release that thought,

That story,

That emotion.

Letting go the sense of being the ego or the experiencer,

And becoming instead the observer,

The consciousness of.

Becoming the consciousness of thoughts,

Emotions,

Sounds,

Available and happening all the time.

Coming and going into our consciousness,

These experiences,

However,

Are not you.

They cannot define you.

Imagine,

If you will,

An image in your mind of a cat.

Is it a fat cat?

A cat with long fur?

A big cat?

A small cat?

A young cat?

An old cat?

You have brought into your consciousness the image of a cat.

It is a thought,

Based on previous experiences.

But you are no more this thought than you are the cat.

Just allow that to set in for a moment.

Day to day,

You will be inundated with stimuli,

Sounds,

Tastes,

Opinions,

Criticisms,

Directions.

Each of these will affect you.

The question is,

To what extent will you allow them to define you?

Now,

Simple imagery.

Think of a light,

A tree,

The ocean,

A candle,

A tomato.

All of these things are imaginations that you have allowed to enter into your consciousness.

But not a single one of them is what you are.

You are simply noticing them.

And as you let each of those images come and go,

You remain the same.

The next moment,

When you are feeling anxiety or self-critical,

Ask yourself,

Am I absorbing the reflection and not behaving as the mirror?

And then return to your breath and begin again,

To remain the observer,

To open your consciousness to all that is happening around you.

The feelings of pressure or tension,

Tingling,

Tastes and sound,

And know that you are all right.

As you feel ready,

You may begin to wiggle your fingers and toes and gently flutter your eyes open and to open your consciousness to all that is around you.

Know this,

Within you is all that you will ever need.

You are enough.

May you be well and safe and free as is the right of all beings.

Namaste.

Reviews

Wonderful, thank you for relieving me from my self. 🙏

Thank you for a relaxing and mindful reminder to try and be a patient observer instead of a restless experiencer of whatever goes on in our lives. Namaste 🤓🙏🏻