Tara Brach - Meditation: Awake and Open Awareness (with Oms) (2015-11-25)

Episode Date: November 28, 2015

Meditation: Awake and Open Awareness (with community chanting Om's) (2015-11-25) Free download of Tara’s new 10 min meditation: “Mindful Breathing: Finding Calm and Ease” when you join her email list.

The following meditation is led by me, Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. Closing your eyes and a good way to find a sitting posture that works is once your eyes are closed to just move your body a bit, making whatever subtle adjustments bring you to sitting in a way that's upright. And sometimes it helps to lean a little to the left, a little to the right, forward, back,

and then just sense with gravity that alignment when you're balanced, stable. Once you're sitting tall, see if you can relax whatever parts of your body might want to soften, be more at ease. Just feel your body sitting here breathing. letting the attention come to the area of the heart. You might listen a little and notice what the state of your heart is right now. We often don't check in so much with ourselves.

So just taking some moments to notice without any judgment what the quality or mood is of the heart. whatever emotions are here or perhaps there's a sense of peace or maybe there's a sense of numbness or excitement squeeze see if you can witness and notice

and let it be okay however your heart is and still with the attention in the heart area to ask yourself what your deepest intention is for this evening or for this meditation for this time together. When reflecting on your aspiration,

it's sometimes helpful to ask again so that there's that quality of sincerity that you make room for. What really matters to you? And it's from that sense of presence and caring and sincerity that we join our voices together in a very simple chant,

the mantra oom. We'll chant at three times. times, you might begin by placing the palms together slightly, touching very gently to bring that quality of devotion right to the forefront. So centered at the heart, chending together three times oom, begin by inhaling deeply. The attention, collect with the awareness of the breath, you might extend the in-breath some, so it's long and deep. inhaling and filling the chest and the lungs. And then a slow out breath about the same length as the in-breath,

releasing slowly. And then breathing in again, a nice long in-breath. And breathing out, a slow out-breath. Continuing in this way with an extended in-breath and out-breath, matching the lengths of the breaths, not pausing in between. Slow, long, deep breath. The in-breath and the out-breath.

matched, no pausing, relaxed and present with the breath. When you breathe in, making sure you fill the chest and lungs, and with the out breath slow enough so you can feel the sensations of the breath as it leaves the nostrils. And now allowing the breath to resume in its natural rhythm, sensing the possibility of simply relaxing as the breath comes in, opening to receive the breath and relaxing with the out breath, surrendering, releasing, letting go. Still aware of the breath, you might also scan through the body and notice if there's any areas of particular tightness or contraction, places in the body that want to relax a bit more,

release, letting the awareness go to those regions. as you can sense tension dissolving a little, letting this life breath be in the foreground, resting your attention, wherever it's most easy or pleasant to feel the breath. And for some that might be the in-flow, outflow at the nostrils. Brothers, the rising, falling at the chest, or maybe the expanding, settling at the belly,

or maybe it's a sense of the whole body breathing, expanding, opening, and releasing, deflating, not controlling the breath in any way now. Let your body be breathed as if you're listening to sound, listening to and feeling the breath in a receptive way. You'll notice before too long that the mind quite naturally drifts, away from the breath, which is not a problem. When you become aware of drifting, that's an opportunity to practice this basic pathway of coming home to re-relax the attention open.

Become aware of what's right here, these sounds that are right here, aware of the sensations in the body, and then gently landing again in the the next in-breath or out-breath, rising breath, falling breath. Letting this life breath be a gateway to presence so that you know that you're right here. You might mentally whisper the word here. Just feel the vividness and mystery of presence, letting the breath be a home base. And yet if some other strong experience arises, some strong, sensations maybe that are unpleasant or very pleasant, or strong emotion, we let the breath recede in the background and let that wave of experience be in the foreground. So if some area

of the body is feeling some heat, burning, cool, twisting, aching, then we let that be right in the foreground saying yes to what what's arising, feeling it, opening to it, witnessing how it comes and goes in the space of awareness. ...with what's intense or calling our attention until it passes and then gently arriving again at our home base of the breath. If what arises is challenging, it's fine to breathe with it. the breath help to create a kind of stability as you feel what arises.

The same way of a strong emotion arises. Excitement or fear, happiness or sorrow. To open to that weather system, again, feeling it as sensations in the body, allowing it to be there just as it is, noticing how it changes, how it moves. when it's no longer calling your attention again coming to rest with the movement of the breath. Noticing where your attention is and relaxing open, relaxing back to what's right here, just to what's right here. Let the senses be wide open.

You're aware of the sounds around you, aware of the sensations in your body, perhaps letting go a bit through the shoulders, letting the hands be soft, the chest open, and the belly soft, relaxing and feeling your heart. Feel that you're all here for these last few minutes of practice. Letting the intention be to let everything be just as it is, not grasping on to anything. not pushing anything away, utterly awake, senses wide open, utterly open, non-fixating awareness.

Right here, see what it means to not control anything. Full letting be. We'll close our meditation with a short verse from the poet Rio Kahn. Without desire, everything is sufficient. With seeking, myriad things are impoverished. Plain vegetables can soothe hunger. A patched robe is enough to cover this bent old body. Alone I hike with a deer.

Cheerfully, I sing with village children. The stream under the cliff cleanses my ears. The pine on the mountain top fits my heart.