Tara Brach - 2014-10-22-Meditation - Opening to Full Aliveness

Episode Date: October 24, 2014

2014-10-22-Meditation - Opening to Full Aliveness

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock, meditation teacher, psychologist, and author. Taking some moments to scan through the body with awareness, to relax and wake up from the inside out this living body. And as we often do, using that image of a smile to invite forth a real receptivity and gentleness. You might sense yourself smiling into the eyes, eyes, letting a smile spread through the eyes, as if you could feel the corners of the eyes slightly lifted up.

If the eyes be soft, the brow smooth, and notice the sensations of aliveness in that whole domain, slight smile at the mouth, the inside of the mouth smiling, relaxing the jaw, relaxing right to the root of the tongue, and feel the sensations. your liveliness inside the mouth, relaxing in the throat area and you might imagine a smile, that curve and receptivity at the throat, perhaps feeling the breath in that area as you breathe in and out, aware of the sensations there. So the eyes are off, smiling the mouth, throat, and smiling into the heart area, letting a smile, that curve and openness and felt sense of a smile spread through the heart and chest area.

Allow yourself to directly connect with the aliveness, just as it is within the heart area, letting the awareness open in wider and wider areas so you can feel the shoulders included, let the shoulders relax back and down a bit. If you can place the whole awareness inside the shoulders, the sense of space and aliveness that's there. You might notice that the awareness in the shoulders allows a little bit of dissolving or loosening or softening to occur. Let the hands rest in a very easy, effortless way,

placing the awareness inside the hands, softening the hands. Feel the life that's there. Perhaps sensations of tingling or vibrating. or vibrating, feeling a sense of openness at the chest, and the possibility of loosening, relaxing down into the belly. Letting this next breath be received in a softening belly. This breath, and now this one, and again,

might imagine the curve of a smile spreading through the belly. See if you can sense from the inside out, the aliveness, movement of sensation, inside the belly, letting the image and sense of a smile spread through the whole pelvic region, feeling from the inside out, the aliveness, the space, the dance of energy that's right here, letting the awareness scan down the legs right into the feet, feeling the feet from the inside out. And see if you can feel the tingling and vibrating movement of energy in the feet, imagining and sensing the feet rooted deep into the earth and this earth filled with aliveness with energy this body is an extension of and a part of that vast field of living

energy feeling this whole body is a dance of sensation not stopping anything or opposing anything if you notice tightness just softening again and letting this life live through you might imagine and vision the curve of a smile spreading through this whole field of energy, letting this aliveness be all that it is, including in this vibratory field the play of sound, listening to you're listening to and feeling the whole moment, this vast, mysterious, ever-changing play of aliveness. you notice the mind's moved off into thoughts, just take a moment and pause. Without any judgment, more with interest and friendliness, rediscover the senses. Listening, re-relaxing the body,

feeling this aliveness that's right here. See how fully you can relax with this changing dance of appearances. Notice that the mind has drifted is an opportunity to practice homecoming to learn the pathway back. And key to that is to cede it with kindness, to come back gently without any judgment,

reopening the attention, to natural listening, letting the sounds of this moment flow through you. reopening in the body, perhaps relaxing the shoulders a little, softening the hands, loosening in the belly, and relaxing the heart. You're saying yes to the whole play of life and energy that's right here.

You know, something difficult's going on, if as you reopen into the body you find some pain or fear, hurt, then in addition to noticing it, just add a gesture of kindness. in some way send a wish for your own well-being, forgiveness, acceptance, something that in some way helps to soften and ease what's here. So you can feel it fully without resistance as a play of sensation. You might breathe with what it feels difficult when it no longer calls the attention.

just come back to the senses as they are. Sound, sensation, or for some if it helps to steady the attention, the inflow, the outflow of the breath. We'll be closing a bit as we open by again bringing attention to that curve of a smile, softening the eyes, smiling into the eyes,

letting the brow be smooth, feeling that receptivity that comes with the image of a smile. Slight smile at the mouth, and at the inside of the mouth smile. Letting a smile spread through the heart and chest area, the curve and felt sense of a smile, letting that receptivity open out endlessly in all directions, allowing for the full expression of life to be here, just as it is. And sensing how deeply you can say yes in this moment, saying yes to...

this changing flow, deeply relaxing with the life that's here.