Tara Brach - Meditation: Space and Aliveness and Awareness (2018-01-10)

Episode Date: January 11, 2018

Meditation: Space and Aliveness and Awareness (2018-01-10) - This meditation engages the breath in a way that it connects us with our energetic aliveness and the space that holds and is intrinsic to all life. A body scan using this breath opens us to the body as a field of aliveness. We then rest in the changing flow of experience, and the still presence that is our essence.

The following meditation is led by Tara Brock. To access more of my meditations or join my email list, please visit tarabrock.com. In the stillness, become aware of the breath at the heart, as if you could breathe in and out of your heart, sense that you can bring an inner listening to the heart and ask the simple question, what is my intention for practice right now?

what brings me here, what really matters. And then just listen for what feels most sincere in you. Aware of the movement of the breath and extending the breath, lengthening the breath. So it's a long, full in-breath. You might count inwardly to five. And a slow-out breath, an even-slow-out breath, releasing and letting go. and then again without a pause, breathing in, counting to five, and then gliding right into the out breath,

counting to five, and breathing in, long and deep, and breathing out, softening, relaxing as you exhale, continuing in this circular breath, letting the breath be as smooth and continuous as possible. You might sense when the breath comes in, filling with energy, filling your, the aliveness that fills you. With the out breath, sensing, breathing out into space, sensing the space that includes this whole living experience. Breathing in and feeling the energy and aliveness.

Out sensing the space it's happening in. And breathing in and sensing the breath contacting and enlivening every part of your body, even in a cellular way and with the out breath dissolving outward, sensing the space that's around and interior to all the aliveness and then letting go of all

control of the breath letting the breath be natural and just observing the breath gently scanning through the body observing and sensing where there might be tightness, tension in the body

and sense what What might want to let go a little more right now? What might want to relax? Letting the attention fill the area of the eyes and the brow. You might smile into the eyes. Let the outer corners lift. Let the brow be smooth. That whole region soft.

And sense as you breathe in that you can feel directly the aliveness that's there, the tingling, the vibrating. and as you breathe out the space it's happening in, interior space that everything's emerging out of, energy and space, relaxing the jaw, slight smile at the mouth, feel the inside of the mouth smiling, and again, feeling with the in-breath,

the aliveness, sensations in the mouth, and with the out-breath sensing the space it's happening in, the space inside the mouth, Let the shoulders fall away from the neck and let your awareness fill the shoulders. From the inside out, feeling. And again, the breath can guide you, the in-breath, feeling the aliveness, the sensations inside the shoulders. With the out-breath, sensing the space everything's floating in, energy, aliveness, and space.

See if you can let your head. hands rests in a very easy, effortless way. Softening the hands. Softening again. And then from the inside out, again, feeling the aliveness inside the hands, tingling, vibrating, pulsing. Can you also sense the space that it's happening in inside the hand? Aliveness in space.

Letting the chest be open. And feeling right inside the heart area. Again, if it helps to use the breath with the in-breath, sensing the aliveness, the energy, sensations, the felt sense in the heart, is if you're directly contacting the heart with your breath and also sense the space it's floating in, the space around the heart, the interior space that sensations arise from. You might imagine as with the whole universe particles emerging out of emptiness and dissolving into emptiness, aliveness and space.

Feeling the awareness in the area of the belly, you might let this next breath be received in a softening belly, this breath, and then this one, and again. Feeling inside the belly, sensing the play of sensation there, if it helps with the in-bris, breath, the sense contacting that aliveness, feeling it fully with the out breath, sensing into the space that it's happening in, the surrounding space, also the space that emerges out of, interior space, emptiness and form, form and emptiness, filling the pelvic region with awareness. And again, if the breath helps to let the breath assist and feel it feeling the aliveness that's there, movement of sensation and energy.

You're opening deep into the torso and also sensing the space that this whole dance is happening in, the interior space that vibration emerges from. Where of the length, the volume, the weight of your legs, feeling the whole play of sensation that fills the legs. the space inside the legs and the feet where pressure, warmth, letting awareness fill the feet from the inside out so you can feel the play of aliveness there. Can you imagine and sense the space it's happening in widening the attention now to experience this whole body simultaneously as a field of sensation?

when you notice how everything is moving, alive, vibrating, glints of light in the night sky. It's all floating in space, emanating out of space, not opposing anything, resting in that openness that includes this whole dance. You notice your mind drifting away from this living presence of space and aliveness into the thought forms, in those moments you can relax awake, just notice, oh, thinking, thinking, and gently settle again, noticing the sounds and sensations, the aliveness that's right here, this changing river of sensation in the vast space that it's happening in, that it's rising out of, dissolving into.

And if you find the mind is really getting busy in some way with thoughts, you might let that simple breath recollect you, just breathing in and feeling the breath touch into the aliveness right here, right in this moment, with the out breath sensing the space again, openness that everything occurs in, utterly awake, senses wide open, utterly open, non-fixating awareness. You might sense in the foreground the changing currents of sound, appearing, disappearing, sensation, feelings, and in the background that silence, that presence that's aware, just knowing that open wakefulness as your deepest nature.

It's naturally luminous, tender, and vast.