The Space Between

I called this meditation The Space Between meditation because it has proven to be very insightful in my own practice throughout the years. In it we focus on the space between breaths, the space between thoughts, and the space between sensations, and I believe that it is in that space that we find true calm, peace and presence.

Transcript

Welcome to this meditation.

This is a meditation that I've been doing in my own practice for years,

And it's a practice that I refer to as the space within meditation.

I also teach yoga asana,

And what I've been teaching students for years is that,

Of course,

The asana practice is about,

You know,

Moving the body into specific postures and knowing where to activate and where to not,

And how to breathe and how to focus.

But something that I have also been very adamant about,

In terms of communicating to them,

Has been paying attention to what happens between the poses,

Paying attention to the liminal space,

The transitionary space,

The transitionary movements and breathwork that bring us from one state to another,

From one pose to another.

This is something that is not,

As far as I'm aware of anyway,

Not really taught in,

You know,

Conventional yoga teachings,

Yoga trainings,

But for me,

Focusing on the space between has been a game changer,

Not just for the asana practice,

But in my own breathing.

For instance,

When I sit down to do some intentional breathing,

Obviously I'm focusing on the inhalation and I'm focusing on the exhalation,

But something that I also focus on is that fraction of a second at the top of the inhalation,

Before it turns into the exhalation,

And then,

Of course,

That fraction of a second at the bottom of the exhalation,

Before the inhalation kicks in.

So,

I very often am looking for the spaces between the moments of doing,

Because in my experience,

What I have found there is being.

I have found moments of being in between the doing,

And on a very literal first degree level,

That would explain my proclivity towards meditation and being able to sit and take time between all of the doing,

But I would be lying if I said that sitting down for meditation sometimes wasn't also doing.

And so,

What I'm really looking for and what I'm fascinated by are the moments that exist between the inhale and the exhale,

Between the yoga asana postures,

Between the thoughts that pass in my mind,

In your mind.

Ram Dass once said in a lecture that I had listened to,

That our thoughts keep us connected,

I'm paraphrasing,

But our thoughts keep us connected to who we are and how it is.

And by how it is,

The way I interpret that is how life is and how we relate to it and participate in it,

And how the world is within the confines of our little brains and our massive imaginations.

And so,

A practice that has been very helpful for me and incredibly enlightening,

And if I'm being honest,

Probably one of the most spiritual,

Deeply spiritual practices that I incorporate into this life,

Is to find those moments of pure being between the thoughts,

To seek out what exists between the yoga postures or any posture I'm doing with my body,

Whether it be walking down the street,

Not just paying attention to each step,

But the space between,

The time between each step.

If I'm getting things done on my to-do list for the day,

It's very easy to stay focused on get this done,

Get that done,

Tick it off the list,

Keep going.

But what am I doing between those moments?

If you live in a city,

Or maybe even if you don't,

I would challenge you to go outside and watch people.

Just watch human behavior for a moment.

Because a lot of what you will see exists within the liminal spaces that people are moving in.

And what I mean by that is you're going to see people between the doing.

And so very often you're going to see them racing down the street with a cup of coffee in their hand.

You may see them staring at their phones as they're walking down the street with a cup of coffee in their hands.

You may notice that there is,

There's just the getting to whatever the next thing is that is informing that moment for them.

Whereas I believe that that moment is equally as valid,

If not more valid,

Than whatever is lying in wait,

Whatever the next thing on the to-do list is,

Whatever the next thought is,

Whatever the next posture is.

I think that that's where the detail is.

And there's an expression that says that the devil is in the details.

I don't believe that that refers to evil.

I believe that that expression refers to spirit.

I believe that that expression is telling us that spirit is in the details,

That spirit exists between all of the hitting the pose and getting it done,

And all of the things that we prioritize over what exists between those things.

So this meditation,

This practice that we're going to do now,

Is the space between meditation.

And so I invite you to take a comfortable seated position.

Take a moment to get comfortable.

Take a moment to find a comfortable seat if you are seated.

If you are doing this meditation lying down,

Get comfortable,

Feel stable.

If you're comfortable closing the eyes,

Please feel free to do that.

And let's just begin by inhaling deeply through the nose.

Exhale through the nose.

Once again,

Deep inhale through the nostrils.

And exhale through the nostrils.

This time inhale through the nose.

Hold it for one,

Two,

And three.

Open the mouth,

Exhale.

From here,

Close the mouth and start to observe the breathing just finding its way back to its own rhythm.

Nothing to change or fix now,

Just observing.

And as the breath stabilizes,

I want you to begin to grasp the concept of witnessing your own thoughts.

Being able to notice when the mind is thinking about something,

Someone,

Somewhere.

Being able to,

With curiosity,

Just notice,

Oh,

The mind is focused on that.

And then slowly being able to unattach from whatever that thought was.

And then notice the next thought that replaces the initial one.

Just start to follow the mind without judgment,

Without criticism.

Almost as if you're observing a puppy who's being taken outside for a walk,

And the puppy is moving in a very non-linear fashion,

Exploring,

Sniffing.

The mind will do the same thing,

And so just observe the mind doing what it does.

Be aware of the mind thinking about one thing,

And then jumping to another and to another.

And as you get more familiar and comfortable with witnessing the mind at work,

Start to now become aware of what lies between the thoughts.

Between the mind focused on one thing and jumping to another,

There is a space,

A portal,

If you will.

And it may seem to be as tiny as a little pinprick.

It may seem to be as fleeting as a fraction of a millisecond.

But start to become aware of that space.

When you can,

Just home in on it.

Get familiar with it.

And observe how,

Regardless of how different the thoughts are that the mind wanders to and from,

What lies in the space between those thoughts is always the same.

In that space,

I believe that we find spirit.

In that space,

I believe we find the unifying force.

Pure being.

With no doing.

Just simple presence.

Now very slowly,

Let's redirect attention to the breathing without changing it.

Try to observe the inhalation and the exhalation as they pass through the nostrils.

The body just doing what it does,

Breathing itself.

And once again,

Home in on what lies at the very,

Very,

Very top of the inhalation,

Right before the exhalation begins its descent.

And then begin to become aware of what exists at the bottom of that exhalation,

Right before the inhalation begins its ascent.

The breathing will happen,

So you don't necessarily need to be glued to that process.

What I do want you to focus on is that space between the inhale and the exhale,

And the exhale and the inhale.

The body breathing itself gently,

The mind tuned into,

The space between,

The breaths.

From here,

Let's redirect attention to sensation.

Become aware of the area of greatest sensation in the body right now.

And now become aware of the area of least or little sensation in the body right now.

Just find an area of the body where there is sensation,

But it's innocuous,

Barely worth paying attention to.

We'll redirect our mind to that area of greatest sensation now.

And just welcome that sensation without qualifying it or naming or criticizing or judging it.

Just allow yourself to feel whatever that sensation is.

From here,

Let the mind start to wander to other sensations that may bubble up,

That may present themselves.

Perhaps a tingling in the left shoulder,

Or a dull ache in the right calf.

But without getting stuck on any one sensation,

Let the mind simply rotate from sensation to sensation,

All coexisting simultaneously in the body right now.

Now very gently,

Start to pay as much attention to what exists between the sensations,

As you are doing with the sensations themselves.

What exists between the feelings is their spaciousness,

Is their weight.

Is there a sense of buoyancy on the inhalation,

Of expansion?

Just tune in to notice what you find,

What the mind can become aware of that exists between the sensations presenting in the body.

And then letting go of any exercises or directing of the mind.

Just allow yourself to sit or lie in this space,

In this space between.

And then very gently,

Let's inhale a little bit deeper.

Notice that moment before the exhalation begins its descent.

Notice that moment at the bottom of the exhalation,

And then allow the inhale to just find its way back.

So I hope that there was some sort of reveal there for you in that meditation,

In that exercise.

And being able to identify the space between and to actually experience it.

First we cognitively identify,

But then it's about resting in it,

Being immersed in it,

Having it fill up the mind and the body.

Because I said,

Or rather as I said earlier,

I do believe that this is the space in which we get out of the stories,

And the literalness of the first degree experience of being human,

And of life,

The world.

Finding the space between for me has been the best way to gain perspective and unattach from all the stories and all the doing,

To keep coming back to that foreground of awareness.

That unifying force that if we all identified ourselves as being,

Would help life be a very different experience,

And help the world be a much more positive and unified place.

So I hope that you found something of value in this meditation,

In the space between meditation.

Keep doing it,

And I invite you to reach out to me and let me know how it goes.

Because this one was a real game changer for me and I hope that it will be for you as well.

I hope that it has been.

Take good care.

Reviews

Hi Bram,
This was very helpful. You aren’t working in the dark.
I also came upon this state which is unfabricated and self-existent. Then I found very specific teachings and a complete Path for this practice. It has many names and is called Dzogchen or Mahamudra in Tibetan Buddhism. It is a called Rigpa. The Path is using the awareness on all aspects that of one’s life for liberation (many small mini liberations)

But the teachings originated in India and are far far older. I also studied other methods such as Advaita and find a direct correlation there as well. They are becoming more widely disseminated nowadays. I had to discover it one my own.
I find your approach to be authentic and inspired. Keep at it.

Thank you for this new awareness 🌺✌️