A Restful Meditation - The Radiance Sutras - Sutras #62 & #59

Rest is one of the superpowers of meditation. Is this practice we inquire - Who is it that needs to rest? We honour all of the roles we play, then wonder - what is the elemental nature of our resting. Do we prefer to feel held by the earth, floating as if on water, warmed by a blanket or the sun, caressed by the ocean of air around us, or simply dissolve into space? And we soak in a couple of The Radiance Sutras - Sutra 61 and Sutra 59.

Transcript

Meditation to rest. Let's just take a breath and feel for a moment what rest is for you. Just for a moment. What would it feel like if I gave myself the opportunity to rest. Sometimes, Sometimes a rest can be inspired by a sigh. So our practice today will be made up of a couple of parts. First of all there'll be just an inquiry into who is it that needs rest. And we'll think of rest in relation to the triple Shakti model, The loves that Prana, Prana Shakti has of rest and healing and action. And then we'll just soak in a couple of sutras and a couple of the radiant sutras that will invite you, Invite you into rest. So the first inquiry is who is it that, Who is it that needs, That wants, That desires rest. Part of our instinctive meditation practice is to honor all of who we are and to do that sometimes we want to inquire what are all the roles that I play. What are all the hats that I wear. We all spend our days navigating life with a series of hats. Sometimes it's teacher, Sometimes it's student, Sometimes it's parent, Sometimes it's child, Business owner, Friend, Lover, Parent, Sibling. So let's take a few moments to honor and welcome all of the roles that maybe that you've played today, Just today. Acknowledging the energy that you've spent in life in attending to other people with all of these hats that you that you own and that you wear. The carer, The creator and simply inviting your awareness in too. All these different roles and perhaps they need a rest of some sort. Who is it that needs to sigh and sink into the support of the earth? Whether you're sitting on the earth, The raw natural earth or whether you're sitting on a cushion or in a chair or you're lying on the floor or on a bed. Who is it that's surrendering into the embrace of the earth? Let's deviate a little into an inquiry into our elemental nature. We have tendencies towards certain characteristics of nature whether it be the earthly quality of nature or whether it be fire or air or water or space and if we hold this intention of rest and we allow yourself to overlay this intention of rest with your natural inclination towards one of the elements. What would that be? Is it that you sink into the support of the earth? Is it that you feel this floating fluidity of water as you rest? That you're sort of just floating? Do you feel like the air around you is just touching you gently, So tenderly supporting you into feeling cocooned? That you're completely held by this atmosphere of air? When you rest is there some sense of the warmth of fire that whether it's I feel like resting in the warmth of a blanket or in front of a fireplace or that I can lay myself under the Sun and be warmed by the Sun? Feel it touching your skin or when you rest do you feel that you're simply dissolving into space? And these are simply inquiries. What's my tendency? What's the elemental nature of my rest? And when we invite ourselves to rest this initial invitation into our practice we welcome and honor and acknowledge the other energies that can flow into us and through us. We have this love of rest but also as we rest as we allow ourselves to sink into the support of nature of our elemental tendency our elemental joy. As we let ourselves rest we know that there's an energy of healing that is invited to attend to us as well. Now as we relax as the body releases there's room and space for the healing energy to start to move through us and there can be moments of replaying the past, Moments in time that can be a little tender, Sore to touch on. There can be replaying of conversations that you've had maybe today that didn't go exactly as you might have liked. When you invite yourself into rest you're inviting your soul, Your spirit, Your subconscious to bring up healing and our discipline is to hold ourself tenderly, Simply holding yourself tenderly through our experience, Nothing more. Whatever arises we practice being light-handed with ourselves as if you're holding your baby as if you were stroking a kitten. You Who is it that needs to rest? What elemental affinities do we hold? Earth, Water, Air, Fire, Space. And as we allow ourselves to rest we honor our healing energies that start to flow through us and we hold ourselves tenderly through our experience. For those of you who are outside Sutra 61 is an invitation, Adorable one sit or lie down completely immobile beholding the cloudless sky or if there are clouds the sky beyond. As vastness envelops you, As vastness envelops you the body vanishes, Thoughts forget to come. You are the nature of the great sky you For those of you who are inside you sitting on a soft seat or lying on your mat experience the space below as offering no support. You're simply suspended floating in space. Structures of the mind release, The reservoir of habits dissolves. In an instant lifetimes of patterns vanish you you you you you. Who is it? Who is it that needs rest? When you allow yourself to sink into rest we hold that simple discipline of letting the little outches of healing play through you and hold yourself tenderly through that and then we can naturally cycle towards action again preparing to be in the world whether we're ready to move into the rest of our day into evening in our meditation practice we cycle through this rest healing choreographing or preparing for action. You and if there are moments that arise of wondering what am i doing what am i what's happening now the simple reminder oh that's right I was meditating what was it what was what was I meditating on what was my doorway so we call that's right um acknowledging all of the all of the roles that I play and inviting all of me all of those roles to rest you may sigh again feel yourself sink into the support of the earth again you may feel yourself warmed by fire of the Sun or a fireplace you may feel yourself floating in water or dissolving in a space or by being held by the ocean of air around you you're letting yourself rest in nature in your your natural way and maybe some some other moment in time some other feeling emotion or arise for healing sitting on a soft seat or lying on your mat experience the space below as offering no support you're simply suspended, Floating in space structures of the mind release, The reservoir of habits dissolves in an instant lifetimes of patterns vanish you're simply suspended, Floating in space you're simply suspended, Floating in space you're simply suspended, Floating in space you're simply suspended, Floating in space you're simply suspended, Floating in space recognizing where you are in your day whether you're moving into evening, Whether you're already deep into the evening or you've had a morning rest, Recognizing where you are, Your transition wants to be appropriate if your day is just beginning, Then we want to become a little vital as you transition you might want to strengthen, Stretch, Open, Fill yourself up bring yourself back into life, Back to a strong sense of being present in the space around you if you're in the evening and you're moving towards sleep your transition will be gentle, You want to carry with you the sense of rest towards the rest of your evening if you're in the afternoon and you're looking to move towards preparing your meal then your transition will be different again you want to open your senses, Feel, Smell, Taste, Touch the world around you your transition is your own and you wonder how do I carry forward the sense of rest, The sense of being replenished and what's left of my day if you're watching the recording make sure you're ready to move off safely that you're ready to attend to the world around you that you feel that you have returned to this body, This space attending to the world around you