Deepening Presence - Day 2

This is a recording of a live event. Day 2 of 5-Day Meditation Retreat focused on improving your daily practice, deepening inner peace and connecting with the true self. Each session will include a brief intro, guided meditation and Q&A.

Transcript

Hello, Good morning, Welcome to day two, Five-day meditation retreat. My name is Tomek, I'm a teacher here, An inside timer. Also I'm a scientist and most importantly like most of you, A seeker. We're searching for new ways for better, More fulfilled living and welcome all of you who have been here yesterday and those of you who join us for the first time. Welcome, I'll give you a moment to tune in and to introduce yourself. Hello Liz, Leslie, Sandy, Carrie, Diane, Good to see you. To answer Liz's question, Yes, I recorded the session and at some point I will post it on my YouTube channel. So thank you for being here. Hello Sharon from Canada, Beata as well, Natalia, Good to see you all. As you know, Almost the tradition is to ask those of you who are here for the first time to raise your hand and introduce yourself and those of you who are here, Who are a regular listener of my meditations and participants of my live events to welcome all those first-timers. Good to see you here. Hello Nora from Costa Rica, Beautiful, We have Central America here. Jyoti from Melbourne. Beautiful, Martina, He's here for the first time. Vee, Certainly not for the first time. Hello Vee, Welcome, Good to see you here. One of our regulars. Carrie from Oregon. Beautiful, Desiree from Italy. Beautiful, Beautiful, Toylin from Oregon, Bend Oregon, I believe, First time. Diana, Good to see you all. So a few words of explanation for those of you who are here for the first time. I decided to run this online meditation retreat called Deep in the Presence, Simply to first and foremost help myself with the meditation practice. And I always say that I feel so much better when I meditate with you guys in the group setting. It gives me so much more oomph, So to speak, And it gives, Adds so much depth into my meditation practice. So there's a selfish reason behind it. But also I really hope and I intend to help you with your meditation practice and go into those states that perhaps your personal meditation daily practice not always take you. The group setting always helps in deepening the practice and particularly in my experience Deep in the Presence is the fundamental thing when it comes to your meditation practice. Because it goes without saying that most of my meditation practice is filled with dealing with most of my ego identity, With the thoughts, Emotions, Distractions. However if I focus myself on the presence and include all those in my meditation practice, Once again particularly in a group setting, There's something special happens. That all of the sudden presence has the ability of transforming all those things that for most of my day I consider undesirable. Thinking mind, That inner commentary that runs alongside my every activity for most of the time. I just find more space around thoughts, Emotions, My actions. And it seems that all of the sudden things start flowing much more smoother. And I wonder why this is. What do you think? What is your experience of it? Hello Katie, Good to see you. We have a guest, Welcome guest, Good to see you here. And as you formulate your questions, Feel free always to put them in the comment section, And I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. It goes without saying that Deep in the Presence is not something that can happen instantaneously within a single practice. And hence I intended this five-day meditation retreat from Monday to Friday, At least Sydney time, To be something of a pattern that you developed something and deepen it and connect with it in a few consecutive days. The more we practice the better we get at it. And presence in you is no different. It is something that we practice. We make conscious effort to connect with that part of us that is always there but as I said yesterday it's very frequently covered by so many different layers of our daily living that we consider more important than the essence of self. Because when I speak about presence it's not something vague, It's not something that can be put aside. It's the part of us from which every action flows. But again there are many roadblocks and obstructions that get in the way of that true self to be expressed and the intention behind five days of practice is to get better connection with that self that is really important to us. Mary says I fell asleep in the middle of yesterday's. It means that you are very relaxed. That's a positive thing I always say. Diana says sleep is the best meditation. So I won't take it against you. Diane says reports the same thing. Natalia says me too but then I had the best night's sleep. It seems like falling asleep during my meditations there's a pattern to it. Fantastic. If you could have a good night's sleep afterwards. Gently asking the time of the meditation part and the length of the entire life. I designed it for 45 minutes and meditation practice it just depends 10-15 minutes we'll see. Atiya says it allows us to stay present more of the day so we can be connected to what truly matters so bumps don't irritate us as much. Something like that I feel. Atiya thank you so much for this comment because this points out towards the essence of this practice. It is not just about spending I don't know 10-20-30 minutes in meditation and then going with your day as nothing ever happened and making the same mistakes being irritated being anxious it's about actually taking this practice on the road on the tour so whatever presence you connect with whatever presence you developed within the practice you take with you and that presence will contribute to your day and image comes to my mind of a reservoir of presence awareness that we use up throughout the day using various doing various tasks and going along our day and that presence improves enhances and create a space and around those things so we are no longer driven as much at least through our ego identity and through all those personality traits that we developed over years as a result of our upbringing and how society works but are not necessarily resonate with us we just do it on autopilot presence is an antidote to all those unconscious patterns and bring them forward and then give you a chance to decide for yourself is it something I want to do is it me you know reacting unconsciously or perhaps I can respond with more more intelligently using my best resources so these are all questions that I'm posing without giving an answer because the answer that will come to you is you're entirely it is up to you to have the experience of the meditation and then your day or your night wherever you are and see for yourself how it works for you I always say that most of the the reason I like the practical aspect of every of the sessions is because as a teacher I learned for myself it is impossible to teach anyone anything my role here is of a catalyst or to provide an inspiration for your own personal exploration to find out for yourself and then when you have direct experience of what I'm talking about all those words may ultimately fall into place but the words will follow the words are not the the words or my teaching is not a direct experience this cannot be possibly replaced I'm just a facilitator here hmm oh hey hey Ronan good to see you right okay okay so I think if you again if you have any questions you're always welcome to post them in the comment section but otherwise this is a retreat which means that I would like to focus a bit more on meditating with you and staying in presence with you as much as possible rather than just talking to the camera so let's get started let's get started and and see how it goes maybe for those of you who have been here yesterday see how it goes today see if you can see a difference maybe one more comment that comes to mind in terms of how to approach this meditation presence in a way I'm talking about it is not something that you have to develop it's something that you have to uncover and in this way it is a gentle process thoughts will come emotions will come everything will come as per normal you are still you with all the ego traits your ego personality that will get in the way of the practice and trying to get to the bottom of it however you should not be discouraged because presence is there and getting there as gently as possible is the way to go also a metaphor of an iceberg comes to mind an iceberg as you know you see only the tip of an iceberg but the major chunk of of the iceberg it stays underwater and so with this meditation even if you struggle even if a lot of thoughts come to your mind you feel distracted keep in mind but that as long as you gently and persistently move forward and keep bringing your awareness back to the present moment the process works you might not experience it immediately that the fruits of this process you might not be able to experience immediately during this practice some sense of relief or pleasant feeling but I promise and this is a fact that that doesn't mean that this meditation did not take effect and you may feel them as it happens to me many times only afterwards throughout your day experiencing those situations and realizing oh hold on in the past this really triggered me and now somehow some way I am able to to hold the space for the situation that again bothered me in the past so this is the very important thing all your effort that you're making during this meditation all the effort that you make collectively does work even though you may not see results immediately during this meditation which obviously also is very possible and I hope that this happened for you right here right now it's good to see there are so many familiar faces and so many of my regulars here good to see you all oh hello carline but I think now without further ado let's just connect together and together try to deepen our presence be more ourselves and this meditation actually started I look at the timer 15 minutes ago because everything I talk to you about I really try to focus on the present moment and I want to make sure that it comes from the present in me as much as possible and it is always a mixture of the ego personality and the essence but nevertheless I always my intention is to bring the presence forth and so this is and it starts right here right now in this very moment because there's no other place or time where presence can exist there's no presence in the past nor in the future it's right now so right now I'll ask you to close your eyes and settle in in your meditation position whichever make makes you feel at ease and comfortable and recognize the very first layer of this experience which is the space around you your physical body your physical and emotional state as it is right now without trying to change it or judge it I'm sure there is that internal conversation that you're having with yourself right now that comes so naturally and spontaneously but I'd like you to recognize that that conversation does not necessarily mean that you producing those thoughts simply come out of you on autopilot this is part of us very well trained the same way as you drive a car from home to work and sometimes you don't know how you got there and yet this autopilot took you there the same way those thoughts also come to you even though you're not always invite them as a matter of fact I hardly ever invite my thoughts and yet they come so rather than trying to push them away acknowledge them for what they are just forms that are part of our mental environment that through our actions we connect to and right now we have an opportunity to switch gears so to speak and change the tactic and rather than resisting we allow and notice that underneath the surface there is some form of stillness between the words I speak there is a space and however those spaces between my words are brief that's where the presence resides it's not about being present at all times but recognize the possibility of connecting of being switching the gear from doing to being allowing yourself giving yourself permission to simply be and on the level of sensations you may perceive it as some form of opening inside of your body gentle tenderness maybe in your stomach maybe in your chest everybody experiences it uniquely individually remember this is your journey we simply allowing ourselves to walk side by side still as an individual that together with the intention of moving towards the presence that is always in us even though buried and the layers of judgment stress conditioning and I as always I'm here by your side to hold the space for you to bring you back with my words from the distraction and then you can refocus recenter once again ground yourself simply breathe in and out you may notice that your breath slow down just a bit and you may discover some form of substance within you golden color viscous but pleasant those presence takes different forms and different people once you connected with it there's no doubt that you discovered it so if you're asking yourself a question whether this is it it is most likely not it because when you're there there's no doubt doubt would be a thought presence lives outside of the thought patterns conditioning very brief moments at first spaces between the noise gently and slowly allowing yourself more and more those of you who is a bit easier to connect with that presence all the space for others that are gathered here and maybe struggling every bit of presence helps us collectively to expand that field of awareness and remember this is a gentle process presence is always soft and no harsh action can get you there your tool is kindness gentleness softness mostly towards yourself kindness towards your thoughts kindness towards your emotions gently discovering those bits and pieces bit by bit going deeper filling in moment thoughts subsiding partly sensations less frequent heard And now it is time to take this presence and expand it towards the space around you. Include your entire body, All six physical senses in this presence. You are more than this physical body, You are more than physical matter. And in presence you hold it, Not judgmental presence. It helps you to heal, Helps you to restore balance. As there is no resistance, Simply acceptance of what there is. So now express your gratitude for, Mostly to yourself, For allowing this to happen. You being the active ingredient of this process. You just connected with yourself and remember not all of this connection was conscious. It is the tip of an iceberg and you created presence within you. That will be the source of guidance for the day to come or for the night. So now slowly and gently add physical movements starting with your toes. Adding movement of your fingers. Very slow and gentle tilt of your head to the left. Feeling muscles in your neck and weight of your head supported by your neck and muscles in your neck. Gentle tilt to the right. Still very present, Very aware of all the movements. Back to the center. And finish with a deep cleansing breath in through your nose. And out through your mouth. And when you're ready, Open your eyes and we'll come back. Beautiful. Thank you so much for holding the space for me. It feels to me that the presence just appears for a short period of time. And then I'm being drawn back and I come back and being drawn back. But there is a very tangible sense of what presence is. And as I try to communicate to you, When it happens, There's no doubt about it. Yesterday someone asked, You know, How do I recognize it? You simply do because this is who you are. That's how you recognize yourself. You don't second guess yourself. Grab your hand and say, Is it me? No, You have no doubt. Of course it's you. Don't question yourself. And the same with the presence. That is that is the part of your essence. It's yeah, You are there. This part of me. This is who I am, Actually. And this is maybe the most important part of it, That we very often identify ourselves with all the external things. The roles that we perform, The hats that we wear, The emotions that we experience, The thoughts that come to my mind. We completely identified with them, Completely ignoring that underneath all this is something much more crucial and much more. Innate to who you are. And this is, In a sense, A intention behind this entire series to get you in touch with that thing that is very often buried under many layers of the things I just mentioned. Thank you, Caroline. Again, The powerful collective presence. This is something undeniable that I feel during every group meditation and part of the reason why I'm doing those group meditations rather than just sitting myself at all times. And and I'm grateful for all of you here. It's it's hundred people right here, Right now from around the world. I already saw people from from Costa Rica, People from US, From the US on the coast of of Australia, For sure. And many, Many more. So it is important that we gather and we sit together and we deepen that presence through which everything is transformed around us, Even though those negative thoughts, They also. Can be transformed through that and and we change our perspective on them, Simply recognizing them as some unconscious patterns and presence brings the consciousness to them and transfer them in a way. Sissy says, I didn't meditate since last year and today decided to open the app. And there you are. Thank you. Oh, Beautiful. There you go. You have Argentina, Sissy from Buenos Aires. Thank you, Ron. It is difficult. Teresa says it's difficult to be in your essence while you are in a conversation with someone. It is actually this is great question. This is fantastic question because the essence. You can experience your essence whilst being in the conversation with others. As a matter of fact, For me, I have a couple of friends that they bring my essence forth. It's actually much easier for me to. To be connected with my essence and my presence when with them. And that's the reason behind behind, As I said many times behind the sessions that so many of you are a catalyst for me. And I hope to be a catalyst for you to to get to that presence. It is possible and it is certainly very, Very beneficial. By the way, Thank you so much for the kind donations. I appreciate them very much. They support my work and and thank you. Mary asks, What's helpful way to respond when you notice mental resistance to letting go? You just answer your own question. Noticing your resistance is already. Bringing consciousness to it, And that's what it is to it, And that presence, That space that you create, That noticing allows you to respond. As opposed to react unconsciously, If you and when you're aware of that, That's it. You already did a great job. And that's where your choice is. That's what your freedom is using words of Viktor Frankl. That's where your growth. That's what your freedom is in that space between the stimulus and response. Let me just check off. We have Kara from British Columbia. Hello. Rosemary, Rosemary, Rosemary asked question, What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation? That's a great, Great question. Mindfulness meditation can take many different forms. So you can meditate on, I know, On your breath and be present. Mindfulness is unconditional. Nonjudgmental awareness of a of an object or a single thing. So mindfulness, It's a subset of meditation, I would say meditation. It's a larger concept that includes many different forms. And mindfulness is that specific way of perceiving and being aware of things. If that makes sense. Thank you so much, Diane, For your kind support. Teresa asks, So one should be less reactive while in your essence. Reaction, When you say reaction, It indicates something unconscious. Once presence is the opposite to reactivity, It's conscious. So you are once you are present to what is happening around you, You automatically not reacting, But responding. So you're absolutely right. It not should be. This is not should or could. This is more about what it is. Very important distinction. If you're aware of of the conversation, As you ask, Being with other person, If you are deeply present to that other person. You consider as it comes in the present moment, Everything that comes out of this person verbally and unverbally. And there's no unconscious reactions that normally happen. Again, Here's an example of driving a car from home to work and not knowing how to get. How did you get there? Because it's automatic. It's you're reacting to the conditions on the road. Your body just knows. But it doesn't mean that you are conscious. It's it's it's I use the metaphor of a lamp that sometimes is dim, Dim and sometimes it's bright. You know, You just decrease and increase that brightness of the lamp. Right. That's how consciousness work. We are not we are not here sometimes, So to speak. Suzanne, Yesterday I listened to your talk about seeds and weeds. Is that labeling judgment? Another fantastic question. So what is judgment? When I talk about we still can make a judgment. There's nothing wrong with making judgment. We go around our day and we make decisions. We we do informed, Intelligent decisions. Judgment, However, In the sense I understand it in the way we talk about it, It's something that just comes from place. So when I ask you, For instance, Have you decided to have that thought, Which is very often a judgment? And you ask yourself, Oh, Just kind of came to me. This is the automatic reaction that is, Oh, I don't like it. Oh, This is bad. Oh, That person is such and such. And if you ask yourself whether you chose that response, Very often that answer will be, No, It just came to me. And that comes from that part of you again that has been trained as your body. Your body circulates blood and digest foods and and do all this gazillions of processes without your awareness, Which is which is a good thing, By the way. But when it comes to connecting with other people, Talking to your spouse, It is very important to be present and don't allow those automatic, Again, Trades to come forth. At least be aware of them and then make informed decisions whether you want that trade to be expressed in the way that being expressed. And that saves us a lot of hustle because it goes without saying that our automatic responses are very, Very misguided. You know, As I tried to prove in this or show or guide you in this meditation, When in the present moment, You have very different perspective of things. This is not perfect perspective of hate or anxiety. This is not a perspective that we very often be guided by. This is very different place that we coming from to make those decisions. So, Susan, Thank you for for for for that question. Once again, With respect to that very seeds and weeds, You just walk. There is a seed. There's a weed. You discern. You put a label because you decided to do it, Not because someone told you so or your mind came up with this idea. You agreed. This is my job right now. Seed weed, Conscious choice as opposed to unconscious reaction. Thank you. OK. I think this is it for today. As always, I will try to I record this session. It will try to publish here an insight timer on my YouTube channel for you to listen to it later. If you are interested in tomorrow's session, We'll be at the same time and the same place here on inside timer. So I welcome you because, As I said, Five days, It's it's the minimum time where you can deepen your presence and get a bit closer to that true self I'm talking about. So please join me tomorrow as well for another meditation and another conversation. And for now, I wish you a wonderful night or a wonderful day or pleasant night wherever you are. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your questions. I really enjoyed it and I enjoyed meditating with you. So until next time and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Bye bye.

Reviews

I can find no word to explain how I feel after this session. Deepness and lightness, maybe...I just feel like I really exist.
Great session 🙏