Shamatha Retreat with Alan Wallace 2012 (part 7)

· · · silence, 1 minute

0:42 And the first step as always is to slip out of this habitual conceptual mode, often with the sense of being locked up in the head and releasing the concepts and releasing this confinement of our awareness within the experience of our head and descending right down to the ground in Report an error in the passage at 0:42 Highlight the passage at 0:42

1:08 this purely witnessing mode. And Report an error in the passage at 1:08 Highlight the passage at 1:08

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:44 as you grow accustomed to this entry into the practice, Report an error in the passage at 1:44 Highlight the passage at 1:44

1:50 just by letting your mindfulness fill the whole space of your body, You may immediately sense a relaxation, a softening, a loosening of the muscles in the shoulders, the base of the neck, all the muscles of the face, Report an error in the passage at 1:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50

2:14 a softening of all the muscles that are not needed to sustain your posture if you're sitting upright. And in the supine position, a softening of all of your muscles, because not a single one needs to be tensed. Report an error in the passage at 2:14 Highlight the passage at 2:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

3:08 Settle your body in relaxation, stillness and vigilance. Report an error in the passage at 3:08 Highlight the passage at 3:08

3:17 And then we move to the subtler challenge of settling the respiration in its natural rhythm. Report an error in the passage at 3:17 Highlight the passage at 3:17

3:35 And as the breath flows out, see that you're not expelling it. You're not encouraging it or pushing it out. And yet you release it completely. Report an error in the passage at 3:35 Highlight the passage at 3:35

· · · silence, 1 minute

4:30 And as the breath flows in, simply allow it to flow in without pulling it, Report an error in the passage at 4:30 Highlight the passage at 4:30

4:40 especially if you're in the supine position. You really may have the sense of breathing as if you're deep asleep, Report an error in the passage at 4:40 Highlight the passage at 4:40

4:49 if you're sitting upright. Make sure that you've struck that balance between sitting very erect, spine straight, sternum lifted, abdominal muscles soft and loose, but without being tight, without constricting the in or outflow of the breath in any way. Or Report an error in the passage at 4:49 Highlight the passage at 4:49

· · · silence, 3 minutes

8:16 to Dharma practice in general is the release of hopes and fears regarding the hedonic pursuit of happiness, the wish to be free of hedonic suffering, stimulus-driven suffering. Report an error in the passage at 8:16 Highlight the passage at 8:16

8:35 So this is central to this phase of this practice and that is to set your mind at ease, releasing thoughts of the future and the past, settling loosely but not vaguely or with dullness in the present moment, Report an error in the passage at 8:35 Highlight the passage at 8:35

· · · silence, 2 minutes

10:38 letting your awareness permeate the whole field of the body. Report an error in the passage at 10:38 Highlight the passage at 10:38

10:44 Maintain a gentle flow of awareness of the sensations related to the breathing and maintain a flow of knowing as simple, as basic as it is, simply noting whether each in and out breath is long or short. Report an error in the passage at 10:44 Highlight the passage at 10:44

· · · silence, 1 minute

12:27 When you see that your mind has wandered, you've lost your mind, so to speak, rather than feeling frustrated, it's much more realistic to feel glad because by the time you've recognized it, you're already back. Report an error in the passage at 12:27 Highlight the passage at 12:27

12:41 You've already come to your senses. Rather than regretting having lost your awareness, simply be pleased that you refound it and Report an error in the passage at 12:41 Highlight the passage at 12:41

12:59 return your awareness to the present moment and the sensations of the breath. Report an error in the passage at 12:59 Highlight the passage at 12:59

13:06 But this is the way to stabilize the attention from the ground up, not by constriction. Not by tightening control, but by releasing the energy underlying all of that conceptual turbulence of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 13:06 Highlight the passage at 13:06

13:25 Again, as if you were falling asleep, but Report an error in the passage at 13:25 Highlight the passage at 13:25

13:32 with the significance, the primary difference being that while your body is becoming more and more relaxed, your body may be falling asleep. And your mind, a conceptual mind that remembers and anticipates, that may be falling asleep. Report an error in the passage at 13:32 Highlight the passage at 13:32

13:49 But the light of your awareness remains bright and the flow of knowing continues. Report an error in the passage at 13:49 Highlight the passage at 13:49

14:01 Let's continue practicing now in silence. Continue Report an error in the passage at 14:01 Highlight the passage at 14:01

· · · silence, 15 minutes

28:41 practicing in silence, Report an error in the passage at 28:41 Highlight the passage at 28:41

28:55 relaxing with every outbreath and the respiration to flow naturally ever. Report an error in the passage at 28:55 Highlight the passage at 28:55

29:05 Maintaining the initial of clarity, flow of knowing. So let's practice now in silence. Report an error in the passage at 29:05 Highlight the passage at 29:05