Awakening Advaita Vedanta Practice

Have you ever thought about what makes you, you? You enjoy meditation; but now, are at the point that you feel stuck in your practice? The rapid gains you made are now slowing down and you feel that you’re only getting better at watching your breath. Have you ever asked yourself the question ‘Who am I?’. We seldom do. Why would we need to? It’s obvious, isn’t it? Can you really be so sure? Social conditioning facilitates and perpetuates the illusion of separateness, which in itself likely represents, a requisite step in the evolution of human consciousness. This 30 minute meditation draws upon the Advaita Vedanta principle of 'Neti neti' (Sanskrit ~ 'Not this, not this'). Who you are is indescribable, so this meditation uses this principle to examine your experience to analyse what you are not, so to eventually realise your true nature; the only thing that has remained unchanged, continuous and unperturbable in your entire experience.

Transcript

DONG Welcome to this 30 minute guided meditation.

Please make sure you're sitting comfortably,

Either on a chair or on the floor.

Have your back straight but not tense.

Your neck,

Back and abdomen should be aligned.

Have your eyes open and be aware of the visual perceptions in your field of vision.

Now take five deep breaths in as fully as possible through the nose,

Then out as gently as possible through the mouth.

On the fifth breath,

Gently close your eyes.

Feel the points of contact of your body against other surfaces,

Your arms against your chest,

Your hands on your laps.

Your fingers touching each other,

Your thighs and bottom against the floor,

Your feet touching the floor.

Move your awareness from the points of contact in the body to the external environment.

Recall the last visual perception you had.

See it clearly in the mind.

Now become aware of any sounds you hear.

Don't let them distract you,

Just be aware of them.

Notice any smells that might be present.

Notice how you were not aware of them beforehand.

Are they familiar or unfamiliar?

Notice any taste in the mouth.

Be aware of the taste but don't let it distract you.

Visualise your body,

What it looks like sitting.

Now feel the sensations that make up your body.

Move your awareness around different parts of your body and see how this awareness,

The attention,

Gives your body its solidity.

If a sensation feels unpleasant,

Don't dwell on it.

Similarly,

If a sensation feels pleasant or satisfying,

Just be aware of it and let it pass.

What feelings or emotions do you have at the moment?

Be aware of them but don't dwell on them.

See what a fleeting nature of feelings and emotions have.

Like thoughts,

Emotions come and go.

Let them arise and pass,

Holding onto and rejecting none.

Just being aware.

Now visualise yourself sitting.

Imagine a green beam of light over your head.

As this beam passes over your body,

It will bring awareness to that region of the body.

Just experience your body's sensations as they are.

You may feel some tingling or some warmth but this is normal.

Be aware of the external perceptions and internal body sensations as the beam moves its way down your head.

The beam now illuminates your eyes,

Nose,

Mouth and chin.

The light moves on down,

Illuminating your neck and your chest.

You feel the warm illumination around the top of your chest,

Upper back,

Your shoulders and upper arms.

As the light moves down,

You feel it give solidity to your forearms and your hands,

To your abdomen and lower back.

Lower still you feel the solidity in your bottom,

Your thighs and your legs.

Finally the light illuminates your feet.

In this calm,

Take a moment to be grateful for all the things you've experienced in the day or the preceding day.

Big or small,

Take the opportunity to feel this gratitude.

This meditation through your own direct experience will show you what you are not.

Only then can you have the possibility of realising what you truly are.

No effort whatsoever is required for this practice.

We are just going to examine your experience through your own awareness.

If you have got to this stage in your meditation,

You will have begun to see the benefits that meditation has for you and those around you.

And those benefits are just going to get more fulfilling as its impact will have greater effect on society.

Don't underestimate the power of this ancient practice.

You will have noticed that thoughts arise.

You will have been taught that when they arise to go back to the object of your meditation,

Whether that be your breath,

A mantra or beads.

In this meditation there is no object,

No anchor to go back to.

Just let your thoughts arise.

Let mental images arise.

Do they seem connected?

Are they related to this current situation?

Are they past events?

Are they thoughts about the future?

Just let them arise.

Are they coherent?

Do you want to reject them or are you clinging to them?

Mental images may also arise.

Allow them to arise.

See how sometimes there is not even any coherence or flow to the thoughts and images.

Is this you?

Your thoughts cannot be self-aware.

You are not your thoughts.

You are that which is aware of the thoughts.

Now rest back into gentle awareness,

Making no effort whatsoever other than to be aware of the next thought or mental image.

When a thought arises,

Simply ask the question,

To whom does this thought arise?

Do this now for the next few minutes.

Now rest back into gentle awareness,

Making no effort whatsoever other than to be aware of the next thought or mental image.

You You You You You You Do your body sensations have any continuity or are they discontinuous just like your thoughts?

See that you're not the body you are that which is aware of the body You rest back into gentle awareness making no effort whatsoever other than to be aware of your body sensations If you're distracted by thoughts when a thought arises simply ask the question to whom does this thought arise?

Then rest back into gentle awareness of your body sensations Do this now for the next few minutes You You You You You You You You What is your emotional state currently?

Why your body sensations right now?

Now just concentrate on your emotions and feelings See how your emotions change Their type,

Their intensity,

Their duration Have you ever had the experience of an emotion or feeling staying exactly the same?

Is it not true that looked carefully not only does it change minute by minute but fluctuates every second?

How can an emotional state that has no consistency or pattern possibly be you?

How can an emotional state that has no consistency or pattern possibly be you?

You are not your feelings and emotions You are that which is aware of your feelings and emotions It is that awareness that gives continuity to your experience Rest back into gentle awareness making no effort whatsoever other than to be aware of your feelings and emotions Rest back into gentle awareness making no effort whatsoever other than to be aware of your feelings and emotions Whether good or bad,

Happy or sad,

Be aware of them Allow your feelings to arise and pass naturally The negative emotions are often the most beneficial Remember that you are using them to better yourself so you don't need to reject anything If you are distracted by thoughts or body sensations or even thoughts about body sensations Simply ask the question To whom does this thought arise?

Or to whom do these sensations arise?

Or to whom do these sensations arise?

Then rest back into gentle awareness of your feelings and emotions Do this now for the next few minutes For more information visit www.

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No part of this recording may be reproduced without Mooji Media Ltd.

's express consent.

Copyright © 2020 Mooji Media Ltd.

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this recording may be reproduced without Mooji Media Ltd.

's express consent.

Your five sense perceptions allow you to experience the world But can you ever remember any continuous perception?

Even the perception of sight Imagine yourself staring at an object for a few minutes You think the perception hasn't changed But if you focus in on your sight you would see microscopic changes Thousands of times per second In fact every blink changes the view We wouldn't be able to function if we had continuous perceptions Even sound You need to have the silence between sounds to have music Without silence there would be no music No words No discernible sounds No discernible sounds The same is true for smell and for taste The same is also true for the external sensations of your body which are the perceptions of touch See how even that changes depending on where your attention is placed Any continuous sensation or perception would be entirely useless See that you are not your sense perceptions You are that which is aware of your sense perceptions Now rest back into gentle awareness Making no effort whatsoever other than to be aware of your environment Does the darkness in your eyes vary?

Do you see lights or images?

The sounds that you hear Don't label them,

Just be aware of them If you are distracted by thoughts,

Emotions or body sensations Just ask to whom do these arise Then rest back into gentle awareness of your external environment and the perceptions on your skin Do this now for the next few minutes Now you are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self You are aware of your inner self Now slowly become more aware of your surroundings The sounds,

The smells,

The taste in your mouth Feel again the pressure on the floor or the chair against your bottom and your thighs Feel your feet again against the floor Become more aware of the environment around you as you feel the normal sensations return to your body and a sharp alertness in your mind When you are ready,

Slowly open your eyes

Reviews

Very good, thank you so much for the wonderful meditation!

The guidance was perfect and experience deep, quiet and calm. Thank you

Loved it. Relaxing, gentle flow of speaking, being just like I am in the here and the now. Endless and infinite. Namasté. Thank you.

Love this meditation and your voice! Self-inquiry made easy

I really enjoyed this meditation. Thank you. Some of the thoughts and emotions that I observed felt very much as if they wanted to be claimed by me. As if they wanted to be a part of me. I will have to try this meditation again and see how that changes. Thank you.

A wonderful meditation and it cleared my head. Thanks for those new thoughts! 💕

Lovely, clear and well paced. A balanced start to my day. Thank you 🙏

Excellent meditation. I have just finished reading and am now re-reading(!) Michael A Singer's beautiful book "Living Untethered". This meditation ties in wonderfully with the book ❤️

I had a little issue with understanding the accent but this was great! Thanks 🙏🏼

I love this meditation and very interested in the tradition

I have done this meditation over 15 times and every time I hear something profound. So grateful for this calm, peaceful voice and guidance

I enjoyed this meditation. I appreciated the music, calmness, voice and especially the teaching. The pace was a little fast for me and could’ve been slower. For example, I was on my fourth out breath of five when the guidance began again. I definitely would like to share this with others.

Good direction and enough silences to practice and develop. Thank you. 😊

I had recently said to a friend in psychology, almost defiantly, that I was certain that it has been my experience that I have always known exactly who I am. My struggle has been to not be enslaved by my overactive amygdala from extreme past trauma over the course of years. This feels like the place where, when I am having a athsma-turned-panic attack, I can keep it together enough to direct someone to my inhaler and sit with it while slowing my breath. This meditation feels like a
the natural next step in healing trauma. I just turned 40. I feel like I am finally nearing a necessary and long sought place of growth. I may be coming at it from a whole other angle but I'm excited to learn more about this part of practice I am unfamiliar with. It felt like I was strengthening a muscle I had previously just barely wiggled on accident and from desperation. I have chronic pain (EDS) and this also helped me ease better into the current pain flare I'm having. I feel much better oriented to it.

Thank you, beautiful, relaxing meditation, loved it

Separating myself from my body, emotions, and perceptions in meditation is a gift I hadn't thought to give myself. Thank you.

Absolutely love this and return to it regularly. Thank you Dr Pandey, beautiful offering.

Good meditation - I shall be returning to this one.

I have participated in this meditation on a few occasions, each time l have a different experience. I was given a message, "everything comes to teach us".🛐💟🕉️