Namaste fellow traveler.
From the 5,
000 year old scripture,
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,
To modern quantum physics and leading research based findings on meditations,
Being the observer is a core pillar of meditative practice.
If you have been meditating for a while and want to level up your practice,
This meditation is useful to do on daily basis.
Once while meditating by the river Ganga in Rishikesh,
India,
A nomadic sadhu was sitting next to me.
He said to me,
Do you see this great river flowing?
It brings with it mud and silt from the mountain tops.
Sometimes there are flowers and leaves that float by and other times there are giant trees that are uprooted and flow through her.
When we meditate sitting by this river,
We do not jump into the river,
Hold on to these things that flow.
We observe.
We watch them from a distance.
We allow.
We see them come and go.
Meditation my child is similar.
What he told me was to be the observer of everything that flows through awareness while meditating.
Let's begin this beautiful journey of self discovery.
Sit with your eyes closed.
Get about 10% more comfortable than you already are.
Arrive gently at the soles of your feet and observe the sense of touch between the body and the surface.
Let's take a deep breath in.
Gently act.
One more deep full breath in.
And a deliberate slow exhale.
There's one more time,
A deep full inhale,
This time a little more fuller.
Hold your breath there and feel it between your shoulder blades.
And let's exhale slower and more consciously.
As the breath resumes its natural rhythm,
Let's bring on a subtle smile on her face.
The half smile of the Buddha.
Observe.
Observe the breath coming and going.
Where does your tender inhale land?
Do you observe the slightly warm exhale saying goodbye from the tip of your nostrils?
And now arrive in your heart space.
Can we extend that smile on our lips into our heart,
Lightening it,
Nourishing it with a loving breath?
Now,
Let's visualize a royal posh comfortable seat.
This is the seat of who you are behind your identities,
Roles,
Labels,
Opinions and desires.
Sit in this seat of your true self,
Your loving awareness,
The ecstatic blissful self.
Now,
Visualize a movie screen in front of you.
Observe whatever comes onto the screen.
Remember,
You're not the visuals on the screen,
You are the observer of it.
Here you have a detached involvement.
Detached involvement.
There are no restrictions here.
Everything is welcome in your awareness.
You're that mysterious womb of the ocean that can engulf anything comes into her lap.
Observe the sounds around.
Remember,
There are no distractions.
The only sounds you observe are from the seat of your awareness.
Observe your body sensations.
Soften your forehead.
Relax your eyes.
Unclench your jaw.
Relax your cheekbones.
And allow your face to completely be free.
Move your shoulders away from your ears and relax your neck and shoulder.
Allow your fingertips to just be and observe the life inside them.
Observe your back and see how that feels.
The chest,
The belly.
Observe how the breathing moves your chest and belly.
Observe the pelvic region,
The limbs,
The thighs,
Ankles and toes.
Observe the sensations in the body.
The big whales that swim the oceans have smaller fishes pecking on its large body.
The whale doesn't worry about these fishes.
It just allows them to be and goes about exploring the vast oceans.
Similarly,
As you sit in observation,
Your mind will crave attention.
It will throw at your seat various thoughts,
Past,
Future,
Fears,
Doubts,
To-do lists.
These are all these small fishes pecking at your marvelous existence.
Let them be and continue your observation.
It's natural to get carried away by thoughts.
Let's not resist.
Let's observe the river of thoughts from the banks.
Let's observe the visuals on the screen from your seat.
Every time you let a thought go and you return to your breath,
You flex your brain.
You progress one step further as a meditator.
So every distraction,
So to say,
Is an opportunity to let go and progress.
Just be.
Let's observe.
In the movie screen,
If there is a violent fight on the screen and there is fire,
The screen does not catch fire.
If there is a storm in the movie,
The screen doesn't get blown away.
If there is rain in the movie,
The screen is not wet.
These visuals,
Sensations,
Thoughts are mere temporary bits of information that come and go.
They are not you.
You are in the seat of awareness,
Unaffected observer,
Observing the sensations and emotions.
You are only the observer.
You are not what you observe.
Just be.
Just be.
Just be.
Let's gently bring our attention back to the sounds around us.
Aware of our breath,
Aware of the shape of our body,
Aware of our surroundings and slowly,
Gently open your eyes to a beautiful screen.
Namaste.
