Introduction To Chanting Meditation #9 Sounds And Thoughts

Session #9 begins our Insight Module. Insight can also be thought of as our clarity muscle. We’ll be exploring sounds and thoughts.

Sometimes people think of Insight Meditation as mindfulness meditation. But mindfulness is really all meditation and not just one pillar. Mindfulness comes from the word “sati” which means to remember. To remember who we really are. There are two pillars of meditation, calming and insight. They work together and mutually self-supporting.

So, how does this work? Let’s find out. Enjoy the meditation!

Transcript

Hello, Good morning, Good afternoon, And good evening to everyone around the world. Thanks for coming today. Today is session number nine in our 30-session How to Meditate course, And we're going to be moving directly into the next module of our course called Insight Meditation, Or Vipassana Meditation. Last week, We learned a handy technique to pop out of our thoughts and then calm and settle ourselves. By learning to recognize our thoughts and when they're happening, And yet not become triggered, Swept away by them, Or feel compelled to act upon them. To instead simply observe without judging or criticizing, And just seeing what's going on in our mind. So today we begin our insight module. An insight from a more modern standpoint could be thought of as your clarity muscle. We'll be exploring sounds and thoughts today. Now insight meditation, Sometimes people think of it as mindfulness meditation, But really all meditation is mindfulness. It comes from the word sati, Which is remembering. Remembering who we are. Now we waited until session nine to teach this really important component of meditation, And there's two main components of meditation. There's calming, And then there's insight. So why did we spend so much time on calming at the very start? Well, We focused on posture, We focused on our body awareness, And we focused on breath, And finding our center. Because it's really important to first learn how to calm ourselves, And to ground ourselves, And anchor ourselves. Because contrary to popular thought, Insight meditation isn't all, You know, Roses and rainbows. It can be really unsettling. Why? And this has really been rarely talked about until recently. A notable example is Brown University in Rhode Island has done some extensive studies and research, And found that insight meditation as a sole pillar causes anxiety in about 10 to 15 percent of its participants. That's like, What? Really? And they have a word for it. It's called meditation sickness. Why is this? Well, In insight meditation, We're being invited to closely observe and experience our feelings, Our feeling tones, Our thoughts, The sensations, Both internal and external. And sometimes these experiences can become very intense, And bring up old past memories that we thought might have been buried or resolved. And it just brings those traumas back, Rushing in our mind. And we use our calming skills and our concentration muscle to reground ourselves when we get wobbly, And things get too intense, And to anchor us in the present moment. So don't be scared. I'll be here with you the whole session, And we're not going to get anything too intense. But when things do get intense, Please remember to come back to your breath, Come back to your body, Let all this stuff go, And then reorient yourself. And then if you choose to keep going with what we're doing. So how does this work? Let's find out. Enjoy the meditation. Coming now to sit. Entering into our meditation. Setting your intention to be here, Present, And alert. Taking a few moments to settle into your favorite meditation posture. Gently swaying back and forth, And side to side, To find a nice neutral position. Sitting as tall as you can, With the least amount of effort. Back straight, Aligned, Body relaxed. Resilient in the balance between effort and ease. Beginning with three deep calming breaths. Breathing in through your nose, And out through your mouth, Making a soft sigh. Softening your forehead, Eyes, Cheeks, Jaw, Mouth, Neck, Shoulders, Arms, Hands, Chest, Lower back, Belly, Groin, Legs, And feet. Bringing your attention to your breath. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. In, Out. Expanding your awareness from breath to include the whole body as you sit here, Breathing. The cool, Warm air passing into and out of your nose. The rise and fall of your belly. Expanding and contracting of your chest and ribs, In front and behind. A slight stretch up through your whole body with the in-breath. And a gentle settling with the out-breath. A sense of ease and comfort with each breath. Your whole body gently swaying and shifting as you breathe. Almost like your body is dancing with your breath. The in and out and up and down of the breath is like a great, Gentle ocean swell. Your awareness is lightly floating on top of it. The swell is a pulse within your body that soothes and nourishes you. The swell is the great mother ocean that cradles you. Just this breath coming in. Just this breath going out. A continuing cycle of renewal and flow. Each breath is unique. Each breath, A new beginning. Each breath, A letting go. As you sit here, Bring the focus of your attention to hearing. Opening to sounds as they arise. From near or far. Sounds from in front, To the sides, Behind, Above, Below, Within. Noticing any tendency to label sounds as they come, Or to judge if you like them or not. Noticing how easily distractions can come. How easily sounds can create a story. If and when you notice this happening, Coming back to the sounds themselves. Allowing them to be just as they are. As if you are hearing them for the very first time. So that each sound heard was brand new to you. Cultivating a sense of wonder for this ability to hear so much that we so often take for granted. Seeing if it's possible to really hear the raw sensations of sounds. The pitch. Loudness. Rhythm. The sounds within the sounds. Some sounds are easily hidden by other more prominent sounds. See if you can be alive to these too. Noticing too if there is a quieter space between sounds. Being aware of the space out of which sounds arise. Letting sounds fade away into the background. Bringing your awareness to your thoughts. Maybe thoughts about what you're doing now, Or what you're planning on doing later. Thoughts about the past. Happy, Sad, Or neutral thoughts. Worries or anxieties. See if it's possible to observe them all. As they come, Stay a while, And go. There is no need to try and control your thoughts in any way. Letting them come and go on their own just as you did with sounds. When thoughts arise in the mind, Seeing them coming and going like clouds passing across the sky. Your mind is like the sky. Your thoughts might be like clouds. Sometimes large. Sometimes small. Sometimes dark. Sometimes light. But the sky remains. Whatever thoughts there are, Seeing if it's possible to see them as events arising in the mind, Staying around a while, Then dispersing. From time to time, You may find your mind gets caught up in your thinking. No longer just observing your thoughts, But lost inside them. When this happens, Congratulating yourself for waking up. Taking a moment to acknowledge what your mind got caught up in. Then beginning again. Renewing your intention to observe these mental events as they arise, Stay a while, And dissolve. If at any time your mind gets repeatedly drawn into the story created by your thinking, Remembering it is always possible to come back to the breath and a sense of the body as a whole, Sitting, Breathing, As an anchor, To stabilize your awareness back in the present moment. Before returning again, If you choose, To focus on the coming and going of thoughts and sounds. This is your calm space. Your safe place. Home. In your body. With your breath. Good. That was hard work. Now just let yourself drift without trying to do anything at all. And coming back now to breath. Breathing in. I know I am breathing in. Breathing out. I know I am breathing out. In. Out. Remembering that wherever you are, Whatever you're experiencing, Whenever you find your mind scattered and unsettled by the events of your day in the world, The breath is always available to nourish you and help bring you back into the present moment. To a sense of stillness. And peace. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. 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Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Returning again to breath. Breathing in. I know I am breathing in. Breathing out. I know I am breathing out. In. Out. Breathing in and out. Aware of sounds. Sounds. Breathing in and out. Observing thoughts. Thoughts. Breathing in and out. Observing my whole experience. Observing. Slowly, Gradually emerging from your meditation. Relaxing your meditation posture. Wiggling your toes and your fingers. Taking a big breath in and as you do that, Stretching up your arms high toward the sky. Nice big stretch. And as you breathe out, Lowering your arms, Letting out a nice sigh. Rubbing your legs. Rocking side to side a bit. Bringing some motion back into your body, Waking it up slowly. Reaching behind to your lower back. Giving your lower back a massage. Bringing your hands around to your lower belly. Gently holding your belly as you repeat to yourself, I am well. Hands over your heart. Feeling the warmth of your hands, The kindness, Tenderness for yourself. Repeating, I am happy, Loved and loving. Crossing your arms and putting your hands on your opposite shoulders, Giving yourself a hug. And as you lightly stroke down your arm from shoulder to elbow a few times, As you repeat, I am safe at home, In my body, With my breath. And caressing your face, Your forehead, Your cheeks and jaw. Over your head, Through your hair, Around to the back of your neck, And pausing to give your neck and shoulders a massage. Hands back to your heart and back to your belly. Repeating, I am peaceful and at ease. And take a moment to thank yourself for coming today, Giving yourself this great gift of self-care, Of calming and insight, And being able to share it with each other here in community. And take these good feelings with you into the rest of your day and evening and week. Rubbing the palms of your hands together, Warming them. Lightly cupping them over your eyes. As you breathe in, Opening your eyes into your hands. And as you breathe out, Slowly lowering your hands, Returning your awareness to the room around you.