Tara Brach - Meditation: Collecting, Unifying and Opening the Mind (25:06 min.)

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

Collecting, unifying and opening the mind, we begin with a listening attention, noticing sounds that are here. Relaxing open and letting sounds wash through. With the same receptivity to sounds, listen to and feel the aliveness of the body. Listening to the breath as if you're listening to the voice of a quiet loved one – really close in, tender attention – and including the background sounds. Not pushing away anything – a very open and relaxed, receptive attention. Sensing what's actually happening in this moment – perhaps the sensations of the breath, the other sensations through the body, the play of light and dark in the eyes, sounds… Closing by sensing all in the foreground and in the background – that alert inner stillness, that light of awareness, that which is our deepest, formless nature.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. Coming into silence and take a few moments to make whatever adjustments you'd like in your sitting posture so that you're sitting in a way that allows you to be upright that invites a quality of alert-alertness. So you're sitting tall but not tense or stiff. And then see if in the midst of that tallness you can find a balance and an ease. Let the attention come to the breath and we'll take a few long deep breaths together to collect to arrive more fully. So inhaling deeply now.

filling the lungs, and then a slow exhale, slow enough so you can be conscious of the sensations of releasing the breath. And then inhaling again, filling the lungs, filling the chest. When you're full hold the breath for just a moment, you might stretch the shoulders back and down a bit to open the chest a little more, holding, holding. Then again a slow out breath, slowly releasing, letting go. Letting go. And then once again, inhaling deeply. When you've inhaled as much as you can hold for a moment again and just feel the stretch

across the chest, sitting tall, and again releasing slowly, softening down the length of your body, letting go, allowing the breath to resume its natural rhythm, just receiving the sensations of the breath and mindfulness. sensing the possibility of relaxing as the breath comes in. Just as a balloon might inflate, just receiving, yielding, opening. And with the out breath, softening, relaxing more, letting go. There of more presence, more of a quality of being right here,

taking some moments to listen to your heart. With a listening attention, just notice the sound, that are here, relaxing open and letting sounds wash through you, the close-in sounds perhaps in the room, including the sounds in my voice, noticing the space between sounds, sensing the space in the room listening into that space and then the more distant sounds, noticing that sounds aren't known by bringing the attention. to them, they're received, they're known spontaneously. There's nothing to do.

The same receptivity of listening you can listen to and feel the aliveness of the body. Just as with the appearing and disappearing of sounds, just since the arising of sensation, this play of tingling and vibrating, heat or cool, dense or loose, light or heavy, Just letting this play of sensations move through you. If you notice a place of real tightness or tension, sense what happens when you soften around it? Just let it float.

What happens when you feel the shoulders from the inside and just let it float? Whatever tangles might be there. When you soften around the hands and just feel the life in the hands floating in awareness. loosening and softening in the belly, softening around the life that's there and letting it move and float just as it is, allowing the awareness to scan down through the legs, just receiving the life that's there

as if you're listening to your life, letting it happen, letting it be just as it is, perhaps softening around the feet, letting the sensations there, float, move, be received in awareness. Sensing this subtle body, this energy body, is a field of sensation, listening to and feeling this changing dance,

noticing that you can listen to and feel the breath, a very light, intimate attention, letting the breath breathe itself, listening to the breath as if you're listening to the breath, to the voice of a quiet loved one, really close in tender attention, including in the background sounds, not pushing away anything. It's just a very open, relaxed, receptive, receptive attention. Can you receive this next inflow of the breath? Aware of the outflow. Perhaps you're feeling the breath in the nostrils. Perhaps you're feeling the breath in the chest, that opening,

rising of the chest with the in-breadth, a little bit of the collapsing with the out-breath. Or maybe it's the inflating, deflating at the belly. For some, being what the breath is breathing with the breath throughout the whole body, as if you're feeling every cell. even the spaces between the cells opening with the in-breath and letting go, releasing with the out-breath. Send your whole awareness listening to the breath, feeling the breath, and explore how fully you can relax as the breath comes in.

Just relax and receive, yield. Explore how fully you can soften and release with the out-breath. If there's any tension, any controlling the breath, just notice that and listen to sound again. Perhaps sense of smile spreading through the eyes, slight smile at the mouth, just letting sounds wash through you. Then again, just bringing that very intimate attention, that soft attention to the inflow and the outflow. your whole body's awareness with the breath coming in and the breath going out.

You might notice the mind drifting into thoughts. When you do, it's an opportunity to invite yourself back right here with real friendliness, sensing what it's like to relax again with the next inflow or outflow of the breath. moment by moment, noticing what it's like to relax, to soften as the breath comes in, and to let go, let go, let go with the out breath. You might sense the possibility of an attention to the breath that expresses a feeling of being in love with the breath, how you'd be paying attention if you're in love with the breath, that subtlety, that intimacy, that listening, that tenderness, very close in as the breath comes in and as the breath goes out.

If you discover as you collect and unify the mind in this way, a very deep kind of pleasure arising, let it be as big as it wants to be. Let go into that pleasure, pleasure, fully embody it. sensing the possibility of this presence shining through every cell, every part of your being. You might ask yourself, is it not true that the stillness I seek is already here? Is it not true that the peace I seek is already here? Is it not true that the happiness I seek is already here? Is it not true that the love I seek? is already here.

As a way of closing tonight, you might sense what's actually happening in this moment, perhaps the sensations of the breath, the other sensations through the body, play of light and dark in the eyes, sounds, sensing that all in the foreground and in the background,

that alert inner stillness, that light of awareness, that's our deepest formless nature.