Vipassana Meditation For Beginners Day 2

Vipassana is an insight or clearly seeing meditation used for the practitioner to see things the way they are rather than the way it is wanted. Vipassana is a powerful presence meditation practice. This recording also includes the introduction of Sammata and RAIN meditation instruction.
This recording was taken from a live Vipassana for Beginners Course on Insight Timer. This is the recording of the meditation only. Note that this is a live recording and some background noise may be present

Transcript

In today's meditation,

We're going to practice the loving compassion of RAINN.

That is an acronym that I will describe in the practice today in conjunction with a Vipassana meditation.

I'm going to use the sound of the Tibetan singing bowl as a point of concentration ringing it about every minute or so as a way to bring your awareness back into what is actually happening and not into the stories that the mind wants to generate.

It happens all the time and it's okay.

It's alright that that happens.

So as you arrive,

Decide which posture you would like to take for your meditation today.

This may be a seated down posture.

This could also be laying down.

I'd like for you to take the physiology of readiness and one that says I'm here to meditate.

I'm ready to experience and explore.

So as you come into the space,

I'm going to let you hear the sound of the Tibetan bowl again knowing that this is your anchor,

Your home base,

Your space to remember to come back into present moment.

Resting your eyes if that feels comfortable or having a light gaze at something that is not moving.

As you begin to move into practice,

You may feel a sense of shift or potentially you feel I'm in practice now.

This gentle reminder.

In doing so,

I don't want you to force any breath techniques that you may have learned or experienced but simply move into the soft cadence of your breath.

Noticing as it comes into the body and noticing as it exits and you may say exhaling,

Exhaling,

Exhaling as you bring that in with your next breath which is this new,

This new moment,

This new experience,

This new sound.

You breathe it in and maybe with your exhale you say I'm letting go,

I'm letting go,

I'm letting go.

Moving from moment to moment with awareness of the internal temperature and the environment in which you carry with you.

As you sit in this comfortable posture,

Laying down,

I want you to see if you can begin to notice or witness any sensations that are happening near your feet.

You may feel the inclination to want to move but to see if you can just noticing and then releasing that sensation.

Shifting and moving your awareness now up towards your right knee.

You may feel as though as I say that it wants to move.

That's okay,

That's these emotions or sensations coming and rising and falling just as your breath does here.

Not needing to move it.

Sometimes our body thinks we'll be happier if I move it or if I scratch it.

If I fulfill this sensation or this need,

Can you just notice the knee,

Your right knee and then watch the sensation rise and watch the sensation fall.

And then there's this new moment,

There's this new thing or new sound.

Begin drawing your awareness maybe up to the space near your heart.

As you do that you may find that you can feel the heart beating.

Feel its gentle cadence.

If you can't that's okay.

What I'd like for you to do is begin to offer the sensation or the feeling of a smile.

Beginning to come into that space near your heart.

What would that feel like if your heart could smile?

What areas would it tug upon or what emotions or sensations would it release?

As you simply begin to shift the awareness of saying hey this is me in this moment offering a smile to my heart.

This may cause you to gently find a smile in your face.

This may change the dynamic of those muscles,

Those small muscles near your mouth,

Maybe even near your eyes.

Just recognizing that as it comes.

That smile near my heart is making the smile near my face respond.

And come back to the rise and the fall of the breath.

In this moment resting in the area any point on the head will do.

I like the area right between the eyebrows though.

Using this as a point of focus for my meditation.

You may find that you want to use the little patch of skin right below your nose as the place of your awareness.

As you can feel your breath easily coming and going.

You may find that you like to use the top of your head.

Wherever you're focusing on today I want you to recognize any sensations,

Emotions or feelings that are coming up in this moment.

Even if they are distracting.

They may be that of need,

Emergency to react to something.

They may be that of something that happened yesterday.

A gentle reminder,

Hey you did this yesterday.

What may be arising is you in a place on your chair feeling maybe even moment of discomfort.

Whatever it is that you're feeling focus there until that need or that emotion or sensation fades away and moves on to the next thing.

Just as you hear the bell bring your awareness back to that.

Letting the breath be easy not forceful.

Coming back to the shamatha practice anytime you need to find an anchor in your vipassana.

What is really happening here may be the question that you ask as we recognize any of these emotions or sensations that are arising.

This is the R in our rain practice.

Just recognize it.

And this too.

As it rises and falls with your breath letting the things that are not calling for your immediate attention to simply pass by but the things that are asking of you to witness them.

Watch them rise.

Maybe as you exhale you just say I'm letting this go.

Almost as a small victory in that one piece of awareness.

And as we are noticing that we're recognizing something coming into our experience today.

The A in rain is to allow it to be there.

To allow it not to try to justify it or find some sort of rationale of why it's there.

That emotion sensation or feeling may just be something that is there to distract you and maybe something that's there to guide you.

Nonetheless allow it to be there as part of this experience.

Not trying to tell the story of why it's there or how it got there or even the experience that happened before that brought it there.

Just saying ah I see you.

I'm allowing you to be here today as part of my present moment pleasure.

I'm here in this pleasant abiding moment here and now and this experience has risen as I watch it,

Feel it,

Let it go.

If it wants to stay for several breaths allow it knowing that it is simply a passenger.

This passenger is allowed to be there.

We sometimes talk about these passengers as valet cars parking them in a parking lot and putting them away where they need to be as they call your attention and then coming back to your valet stand just being present waiting for the next customer.

As we allow this experience to happen you are welcome to move into the eye of rain and sometimes this eye is known as investigating investigating.

You may notice where these sensations live in the body or where they live in the mind.

This may call you to bring awareness to parts of your body like your belly or your heart or hips maybe even your mind.

This is shining the light upon that that is distracting us just as the Buddha did to Mara when meditating under the Bodhi tree.

He said I see you Mara come let's have tea.

Just saying I see you thus taking its power away that distraction that hurt that shame that malice whatever it is that arises in your light of awareness recognize it allow it to be there investigate where it may live within this experience maybe living within the body or places within the mind not trying to change it just saying I see you see what does that feel like just to say I see you maybe it gives you a sense of deeper awareness maybe it gives a sense or offers a sense of even control maybe it offers a small bit of vulnerability whatever it is that you're feeling in this moment as you investigate it this may call you to the end in our rain practice which is nurture as we recognize allow investigate any sensations that are in this present moment witnessing them as this present moment we begin to nurture them not shame or push them away and sometimes we use words like I love you I am listening to you and ask what it isn't wanting of you maybe you ask that what is wanted what is wanted why is this coming up in this experience now this present moment I'm being guided to a sensation in my body or an emotion that is rising and I can't explain it so I'm gonna ask what is wanted what is wanted nurturing this sensation not trying to identify it and give it a title of good or bad no labels are needed just saying I see you hello what is wanted these same sensations can come up in our conscious experience and not all of which are causing us to react we can sit as observers watching them rise and fall with the breath you you to bring your awareness back into your incarnation it's bringing your hands together wherever they are I'm just starting to rub them together you can kind of make that little sound of friction of rubbing your hands together just kind of feeling the sensations and with your eyes closed if they still are maybe beginning to visualize them in which you're sitted and then you start to speed up that rubbing noise with your hands creating a little bit of friction creating a little bit of heat feeling that come back into the body becoming very aware of your hands rubbing together and as they get warm as you feel them get warm I like for you to bring them right to your eyes bring the warm hands right to your eyes feeling those sensations in this moment the shift maybe from cooler air to warmer the warmer sensation of the hands and as you're ready slowly inviting sight into your experience by spreading the fingers and coming in to your space you

Reviews

oh so well crafted. you’ve brought me on a journey, an adventure of travel to heightened awareness. hello fear. how are u today. we both laugh.

This meditation opened my thoughts, feelings and sensations to a beautiful new experience ❤️🙏❤️

Thank you for sharing.💜🙏💜