Let Go Of Attachment

Sometimes the root of attachment goes beyond the physical connection. It has deeper roots. Understanding that everything that has a beginning has an end is the first step towards freeing oneself from the suffering of loss. Impermanence is the only constant. This meditation is about letting go of the physical connection and nurturing, learning, and letting go of the emotions surrounding that relationship. I hope you enjoy it.

Transcript

Happy, Happy to be here. Very, Very happy to be here. Always, Always great to be able to think about these sessions, Prepare these sessions and participate in a community. Thank you for coming. So, Beautiful Friday, As we are all trying to enjoy a quarantine the best way possible. I've been thinking about a lot of things, But mostly to, To bring to our meditation today. But one of the things that I wanted to talk about is attachment and the concept of impermanence. We touched those concepts before in different sessions, Especially the concept of impermanence that nothing lasts forever. Everything the Buddha said that everything that is created or is born dies, Everything that starts ends. So that's the foundation of impermanence. And by knowing this, What lead us to, To attach to something, If we know that something's gonna end. And we do that unconsciously. We do get attached to things, We do get attached to people, We do get attached to situations, Sensations, You name it. Attachment can escalate to addiction. And the addiction comes from the form of attachment to pleasant or neutral things. So the pleasant things is those things that bring you joy artificially, Let's say. Unpleasant are those relationships or those connections that, You know, Brings you down. So there are a lot of those out there. And also neutral, Which is something that is, As per my observation, Something that is growing more and more nowadays is that state of numbness, The not connectivity that some people let themselves in. So one of the examples is, You know, You see a lot of people in their cell phones, Completely obliterated from what's going on in the world, That they're just, You know, Connected to their cell phones and all, Everything that is going on in their lives are related to that connection. And there are a range of, The neutral form of attachment is a range of gray between pleasant and unpleasant. Sometimes it's hard to put our fingers on and to identify, Oh, Okay, I'm attached to this, I don't know why, You know? So it kind of comes as unharmful, Which is not true. Okay? So in order to understand what the attachment is, There's a BKS Iyengar, One of my gurus, A yoga guru, He talks about this example, Like if you attach to an object, Let's say a table, Okay? It's been in the family for generations and you don't want to let the table go. And one day something happens and the table breaks. Okay? So what do you do with that? So what he says is that you go back inside yourself and remember what is the significance, What is the meaning of the table, What emotions that table brought you. Is that the memory of the family? Is that the pride to possess that object? Is that the beauty? Is that the, You like to show the table because it's a rare thing, So it's an ego thing. So what is the emotion that is attached to the table? Because that's the long lasting thing, Not the material table itself. Right? What lasts inside ourselves is the emotional connection that we have with those objects or with those people. So in order to understand the attachment and to let it go, We have to understand first the emotional connection. And it's a journey inside, You know, We're not going to do that today, We're just kind of practice how to identify what kind of connection we have with things. If it is a pleasant, Unpleasant, Neutral, Something that we've done before, But mainly it's a going deep inside process that it's like an onion, Okay? You have to unpeel it so you get to the source of the problem. Many times it is done side by side with the therapist, If it is a chronic thing, A chronic condition. But you can do it yourself by asking why, Why, Why, And get to the root of the problem and understand, Oh, I am attached to that thing or to that object or to that person or to that emotion or to that whatever because of this. And then you come up again from growing from that with the new, With a different state of mind, Which will bring you into a different onion, Let's say. Okay? A better, A well-known, Better onion. Okay, Enough talking. So, Wow, I spoke for eight minutes. Okay, So we have 22 minutes to go. We go up until 7 p. M. All right, Let's do this. Find yourself a comfortable position. Either sit it on the floor or on a cushion, Just make yourself comfortable. We start by taking a couple of deep breaths of deep inhalation. Helps you straighten your spine, Open your chest, Raise your head, And you exhale through your mouth. Deep and long exhalation relaxes the body. Once again, A deep inhalation, Filling in your chest, Raising your head, Straightening your spine, And exhale through your mouth, A long exhalation, Relaxing your body, Relaxing your muscles. One more time. Deep inhalation through your nose, And exhale through your mouth. Now gently and softly bring your attention to the present moment. Making aware of your, The way you're seated, Where you're seated, How you're seated. Your body touching the ground, Your hands touching your legs or knees or each other. What does it feel to be right here, Right now in the present moment? Breathe gently, Softly through your nose, Welcoming the present moment, Your posture, Your connection with the floor, Ground. Inhale softly through your nose, Exhale gently, Softly through your nose. Allow yourself to disconnect from the world. Bring your attention inside yourself within. Your connection between you and the ground touches of your hand, The way your body is positioned, Your posture. Slowly breathing, Shallow effortless inhalation in a soft and gentle exhalation. Soft and gentle inhalation in a soft and gentle exhalation. Breathe through your nose, Eyes closed or open. Just making sure you're not paying attention to anything. Your mind will wander, Will try to push you away from your attention. Thoughts, Sensations, Sounds, Smells, Situations, Feelings, All of those trying to fight for your attention. You don't engage with them. You just welcome them and let them go. They will go away. That's one of the main proof points of impermanence is that feelings, Thoughts, Those stories that your mind tells you, They will come and they will go away. I'm sure that as of two minutes ago, The thoughts you had, You don't have it anymore. The sensations you had, You don't have it anymore. That's impermanence. Continue breathing softly and slowly. Let's stay here for a while. Just settle in. Welcoming this moment. When I suggest you welcome your thoughts, Your sensations, Your distractions, It's about acknowledging them, Allowing them to come. And the same way you allow them to come, They may stay, But you don't have to engage with them. By not engaging, You're not attaching yourself to them. You just let them go. They might have a residual feeling that will go away too. Just keep your attention on your breath, Keeping it soft and gentle. The Buddha said that the source of suffering is attachment. Once you learn to let go, Everything transforms into a new state of being without suffering. From the example I said, If you're too attached to the table, You're going to suffer because you don't have the table anymore. But if you acknowledge the feelings you have towards the table, Welcome it and let it go. Don't fight it. Don't get attached to it. Just acknowledge what kind of feeling you have towards that object. Let go. Just let go. It helps you grow inside. It helps open space inside you for new feelings, New objects, New sensations, New experiences, New connections. It really opens your heart and your mind to new connections. And those new connections will come and go as well. That's the whole cycle of impermanence. So let's walk around a body doing a body scan and then noticing without rejecting, Without adjusting ourselves to make ourselves feel better. Just acknowledging and noticing how the sensation will go away. I believe we've done that before. Let's do this. Gently invite your attention to the top of your hand and be open to any sensation that might be there. It might be an A. G. Sensation or that sensation we have that our hair is moving or something. A warm sensation. No sensation. No sensation is good. Let's check our forehead. Is it brain cold? Is it warm? Cold? Are your eyes brow, Are your eyebrows raised? Your eyes. Your eyes. Your eyes. Your eyes. Your eyes. Your eyes. Your eyes. Your ears. Your nose. Your mouth. Your jaw. If you notice any sensation during this body scan, Stop there for a while and observe how the sensation changes through time. You might get stronger or weaker. Like if you're feeling some kind of warmth in the face, Bring that magnifying glass and explore that sensation to the detail. That's impermanence. Nothing stays forever. Feeling sensations, Thoughts, Little stories that your mind tells you. It will go away. A soft and gentle inhalation, And a soft and gentle exhalation. The sensation might be pleasant, Unpleasant, Or a neutral sensation. No matter what, It will go away, If you let it go away. And not letting it go away is the foundation of suffering. You get attached to it. You bring it inside and you nurture it. And it grows just like everything that is nurtured. And it transforms itself into consequences. One of those consequences is addiction, As I mentioned. It can be any, There are a long list of diseases. Let's move on to our shoulders. Arms, Hands, Fingers. Elbow. The tip of the shoulder. Just acknowledge it. Acknowledge the sensation and notice how it changes. Your chest, Belly, Hips. Lower back, Upper back. Just walk around those places in your body. Softly and gently breathing through your nose. And lengthen the face. Lengthen into your regard. Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho your Comp immensely- becomes wild. Move your breathing pack. Inyou y Feet, Toes. If you find any, If you come in contact with any sensation or intention of sensation, Just like the thoughts, If you come in contact with thoughts or intention of the thoughts, Just observe and realize the impermanence. Understand that you, As you let go, You don't get attached to it. You don't build a relationship with it that might harm you in the future. The whole basis of non-attachment is the understanding of the impermanence. As you understand, You question the motives behind your attention, Which is a great exercise. Now slowly and gently bring back your attention to the breathing. Take a deep breath in, Open a chest, Wiggle your shoulders, Your head, Your mind wiggle your hands, Rub each other. Bring your chest, Bring your shoulders back and forth. It's very challenging to understand and realize the flow of impermanence, Especially because we don't stop to see it, We just let ourselves go with the flow, Which has not been determined by us. So the whole idea of meditation also is to make you stop and think, Okay, What's going on? All right, So I don't like this kind of behavior, What's happening. And then it's when you realize that you have the power to change your behavior towards things, People's emotions, And etc. You gain freedom. And that's what freedom is about. Okay, Enough for today, 7. 01. I wish you a very pleasant weekend. Thank you so much. Namaste. Thank you. Enjoy your weekend. And I hope I'll see you on Monday. Okay? Thank you. You're welcome. Bye.