Welcome to this pure awareness practice.
As we begin here,
Just noticing any natural settling happening in the system.
It could be that you're noticing a dropping down into a more settled,
Calm,
Ease place.
And if that's not what's happening,
That's okay too.
So again,
As always,
We start with welcoming whatever's here,
However it is.
And we can also begin with resourcing ourselves with things that can support us in the practice.
So one wonderful resource is the ground.
So we'll just spend a little bit of time here noticing a rich tapestry of sensations where the body meets the earth,
Pressure,
Tingling,
Pulsing,
Warmth,
Numbness.
What's here and can we dwell within it?
Noticing any signs that the body is settling,
Like softening of tension in the muscles,
Deepening of breath,
Slower heart rate,
Running to the qualities of the ground,
The stillness,
Steadiness,
Safety,
Solidity,
The way it holds us here.
And then from this firm foundation,
We can begin to sense into the whole of the upper body rising into space towards the sky.
If you're laying down,
The whole front of the body softening towards the sky,
Getting a sense of the integrity of the length of the body.
If you imagine breathing along the central channel,
Smoothing out the wrinkles and the energy centers,
This can support this uprightness,
The dignity of the posture.
And then we can begin to open from here.
So firstly opening to sounds,
Noticing the arising and passing of different sounds close and far away.
Noticing how fleeting and ephemeral sounds can be,
Nothing really there to hold on to.
Allowing sounds to come and go in awareness as we rest back more and more in that awareness.
Seeing what it's like when we can play around with letting go of preference.
So some sounds might be more pleasant than others,
And we can also simply allow all of it to be as it is,
Neither accepting nor rejecting what's here.
Turning in for a few breaths here into the senses of smell and taste could be quite subtle.
Just acknowledging these gateways for sensation.
And then turning into the visual field,
You could open the eyes here,
Maintaining a very soft focus.
Aware of what's on the periphery as much as at the center of your vision.
And just noticing the arising of visual sensation,
A blaze of light,
Color,
Shapes,
Movement maybe.
Even with the eyes closed,
Just noticing what dances on the backs of the eyelids.
And again,
Tuning into the fleeting nature of what's here.
So feel free to keep the eyes open if you're playing around with that as we move into sensations in the whole physical body,
From way out on the edges of the skin all the way into the very depths of our bodies.
We can sense a rich,
Ever-changing cloud of sensations here.
Pulsing,
Tingling,
Warmth,
Vibration,
Itching,
Aching,
Numbness,
Softening.
Tension,
Contraction,
Bracing,
Expansion.
Opening.
Might be aware of currents of energy moving down the limbs or dancing in any of the energy centers,
Pelvis,
Belly,
Heart,
Throat,
Crown.
So here,
A helpful device is to imagine you're like,
It's like you're sitting on a beach,
Looking out at a vast expanse of water,
With waves constantly forming and dissolving on the surface of the sea.
So all the different sensations coming and going in the physical senses are like those waves.
And we're just resting back in a warm,
Inviting awareness,
Just allowing it all to be as it is.
Noticing the impermanent and substantial nature of all of it,
Nothing to hold on to,
Nothing to reject.
And inevitably,
As we sit here,
The mind will continue to throw up thoughts,
Images,
Memories,
Emotions,
In response to what's coming and going.
So rather than making a problem out of that,
We could just appreciate that the mind is doing exactly what it's designed to do.
So mental formations will come and go,
Just like sounds,
Just like physical sensations.
They can also just be waves on the surface of the sea.
So Tilopa said,
Perceptions don't bind,
Clinging binds.
So cut your clinging.
So rather than making a problem out of what's coming and going in our heart minds,
We could just imagine we've got a flaming sword of awareness that can just cut through any clinging,
Any craving,
And allow those perceptions to self-liberate in the clear light of our awareness.
So one helpful thing you could do here is to get curious about the quality of the thinking rather than the content.
So how is it?
Thinking about your next retreat or holiday or that email you need to send,
Or what you're going to have for dinner.
So thoughts often have a quality to them,
A weight,
Even a texture or a color.
Some are pleasant,
Some unpleasant,
Some neutral.
So how is it?
And when we unhook from it,
What happens to it?
Where does it go?
Another thing we can do is not get precious about the practice.
So if things start to get tense or rigid,
You can always just shake a little bit,
Do a little wiggle,
The body,
The head,
The lips,
The tongue.
You can even make some sounds,
Vibration,
Or you might open the eyes and look around a bit.
Just open to what's here,
Energy,
Vibration.
As we become less and less invested in the forms,
We can also get curious about the awareness.
How is this awareness that receives everything without bias,
Like a mirror,
Simply reflecting back all of what appears as it is?
So firstly,
We can get curious about the openness of the awareness.
It's complete,
Limitless,
Boundaryless nature,
No edges.
And to explore this,
You might actually go looking for the edge of your awareness.
Go see if you can find where it ends and something else begins.
And if you can't find the boundary,
Then just rest in that not finding.
Connecting with the expanse,
The open expanse,
Full of potential,
Where anything can happen.
Within this openness,
Everything that's coming and going is perceived with clarity,
Just as it is,
Clearly known,
Direct,
Unmediated.
We don't need the thinking mind to perceive.
The clarity is apparent within the awareness.
So just connecting with that,
How clearly even vagueness can be known as it is.
And then finally,
Knowing the deep sensitivity of this awareness.
It just keeps deepening.
Our practice deepens.
Now it receives everything without bias,
As it is.
So as we rest back in the open,
Clear,
Sensitive qualities of this awareness,
We can also begin to appreciate that we are no different from that.
This body,
Totally open,
Deeply sensitive,
Receiving everything clearly as it is,
Through the six senses.
So for the last few minutes here,
We'll just rest in this open awareness,
Just familiarizing ourselves with it,
Particularly with its emptiness,
As in there is nothing there that we can pin down and call a thing.
There's only openness,
And yet things appear.
Isn't it amazing?
Just appreciating that magical display of appearances coming and going within this emptiness.
And perhaps just getting a flavor of what it would be like to rest there without wanting or needing anything to be any different than how it is.
Including ourselves.
Just this.
For the last couple of minutes here,
There's an invitation to let go of any effort you might be making.
If it's possible to rest back even further in awareness,
Just trying that on,
Trusting that awareness is enough here.
You could even slouch a bit in your posture,
You might want to put the hands palm up in the lap,
Making your best see an enemy shape,
Soft,
Open,
Gently swaying in a rich,
Warm tide pool.
Nothing to do,
No one to be.
Just sitting here as it is,
And absorbing any benefits from the practice.
