September 2020 – Theallthatis

Creating Space – Internally & Externally

Creating space for ourselves is a powerful yet sometimes overlooked practice, that i want to highlight today. Creating space for ourselves is such a vital component to finding true balance in our lives that can manifest in many ways. Creating environments that we can dive deep into our practice. Without it, we ignore the parts of ourselves that need to be seen, acknowledged, hugged & loved.

First of all we are going to explore the importance of creating space Internally. With this inward practice, a natural space of mindfullness can be cultivated by becoming present to ourselves, to our breath, our train of thought, heartbeat etc.. When we create this space inwardly, we can begin to notice the subtle plays of energies in the body as well as the running dialoge of the mind. When we create this space for ourselves we honour the deepest aspects of our being, for creating space intrnally is a gateway to the I Am presence, that is not only reading the page, but is writing the page, listening to the voice and the very container of the experience.

We can create this space internally by focusing on the pauses between inhalations & exhalations. This meditative practice, that many of you will already know, in its very essence, is providing those perfect moments of stillness internally. The breath is the supreme anchor in your life and taking moments in your day to reconnect to yourself, through it, is a matter of presence. We can find little moments to cultivate a continued awareness of our inner dimension. Some moments after first opening our eyes for example or inbetween moments in our day where we can, for some use the breath to connect to our inner experience. This practice can help to cultivate non attachment. When we can go within and unplug from the external World, we can use these techniques to master our habitual vices. Any practice that helps bring awareness and centerness is something to be embraced.

Close your eyes and slowly breathe with an awareness on the breath. Become aware of the pauses between your inhalations & exhalations. Allowing yourself to enter this space of stillness. Let everything go with each exhalation, thoughts, plans, desires.. Let them all go with the breath. Detach from any outcome or external goal. Just be.

All of these concepts and practices can be harnest to create a inner space, to come into a healthy relationship with the different dimensions of our being.

Lets have a look now at creating space for ourselves externally. This is a practice many of us may need more practice in. I have found, speaking from my own expereince, that creating space for myself has been one of the most rewarding practices i do. Particularly in the fast paced World we live in, the ability to create space for ourselves, can be the difference between exceeling at something or failing misrably. Those who know how & when to take time for themselves will often have more patience, have more energy and sharper focus. Often we as people, friends, family etc, can be drained by the constant pressure to be the best version of ourselves, for others. This is a beautiful outlook to aspire to yet if we do not create space and set boundaries for ourselves we can easily get burnt out in the process of giving. If we are depleated because we havn’t given ourselves that space to be, we will find our cup empty and when we try to give from an empty cup, there is nothing left to give and we burn out. I use this analogy as it prefectly describes the state of imbalace so many suffer from when we do not find space for ourselves. When we do and we recharge the batteries, our cups are full and create a optimal environment for our well being..

There is a need to put ourselves first. It may go against the philosophy of Karma yoga for example, yet i feel very passionate about the importance of creating space externally. When we do this, we are communicating to the universe that we honour ourselves. The cultivation of Self love is ultimately what we are talking about today. Giving ourselves moments to be with ourselves, internally & externally with gratitude for who we are and the expereinces we are having. When we fill our own cups up we have something to offer. This is self love. It is very healthy to set boundaries in our lives. We begin to align with true integrity when we honour ourselves and our loved ones with setting healthy boundaries. We must check in with ourselves to make sure we own our practices and boundaries whilst checking in to see and feel they are coming from a place of balance or resentment or the belief in a lack of something. Ask yourself.. Have i given all i can? Have i done by best today? If this is a yes, Give yourself some space, either internally or externally or even both.

Remember, it is only us who can change our habits and cultivate new ones. We must be brutally honest with ourselves when we need raise our game, whilst at the same time, creating soft, loving, benefitial environments for ourselves to go deeper into who we truly are.. From this place we can taste the potentiality of our greatness.

I invite you to honour & embrace your inner & outer experiences, as a daily practice. Cultivate space so that you can know yourself & function fluidly through your life.

This inquiry into Creating Space, has been written to be part of a tutorial series, that is part of an amazing meditation app called Souse Guru. Created with Martin Bone’s vision and guidance of meditation. I am honoured to be asked to contribute to this beautiful project, to spread this sacred art form we know as meditation.

You can download the app for free via this link which gives you access to the basic content. With monthly donations you gain access to a library of wisdom, including guided meditations, breath work, techniques, practices & podcasts.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinbonemeditation.scouseguru

Awen.

Awakening

Awakening on the spiritual path can be an elusive experience. We hear about the journey of enlightenment that many of the great yogi’s have made. This is all well and good, reaching for the highest most illuminated state of consciousness. It is important to highlight in the same breath, there is nothing to obtain. The awakening process is as slippery as a snake, especially when there is a goal in mind, an idea of what samadhi is or working on specific practices to raise kundalini shakti. Who is that which wants enlightenment? Who is that which longs to raise the kundalini?

For me, i feel the most important attribute to cultivate on this path of spiritual awakening is to direct the attention inwards. This enquiry inwards, of this inner dimension is about as much as is needed, for the experience of becoming one will happen of it’s own accord. No practice can categorically bring this experience. We can create benefitical spaces and environments for this to occur yet ultimately, no practice will make it happen.

That is not to say, to lose motivation in the practices that have bought you peace, inner stillness or some other beautiful space. We can cultivate non attachment to our practices. In fcat it is from this type of detachment that a deepening of expereince can emerge. When we let go of the need or the perfection of a practice or anything external to our own expereince, we flow with a current of life that is not dictated by the mind/personality. When we cultivate an attitude of surrender into the moment, whether that be to a sensation, a thought, we give up the individualized experience to the greater pool of eternal oneness.

We can acknowledge different types of awakening experience. For me, i have felt shifts in my awarenesss that have been triggered by revealing knowledge from books. I have had energetic expereinces that have caused bouts of tears of joy. I have felt myself dissolve into the heart of my lover and psychedic journeies on cannabis and other medicines. All of these in my eyes are shifts of consciousness. It is hard to know that these expereinces, in and of themselves, are awakenings, yet one thing, i feel does ring true, is that the World/my experience was seen from a different perspective, after the events.

Matt Kahn calls these awakenings new plateuas. New vantage points to see the World from and each time we have a shift, we unlocking our remembering who we are.

There is nothing to do for we already already are..

It has been presented by the great philosopher Ken Wilber that there are three developmental stages into maturity Waking up, Cleaning up & Growing up. Many of the New Age communities and conspiracy therorists have gone through some kind of Waking up process, whilst many of the conservative, political & coroporate systems have gone through a Growing up process. To find balance in these areas, it is clear there needs to be focus on other developmental stages, growing up for the spiritual communities, whilst waking up for the corporate capitalist demograph. It is pretty clear, we all need to clean up. Something that is obvious in both spiritual communities, through fasting, detoxing, etc. Whilst also seeing a similar drive from the office heads who have become fitness fanatics. This is a good thing. We all need to clean up, to heal, so we can grow into true maturity. Those of us on the spiritual path can look to the professionalism of the office crowds to strive to succeed and to believe and embody a intigrated growth to the second tier of development. Those on the capitalist gravy train can do with some spiritual depth and fairydust in their lives, to bring a deeper understanding of the reality we live in and laws that govern it.

There are so many perspecitives and experiences we awaken to.. The Ultimate Truth being the absolute, void, known as Nirvakalpa Samadhi. There are sublte states of consciousness that layer experiences in form to the formless through identification where the subject becomes the object. Other awakenings come through energetic expereinces that can be triggered by physical practices and awanreness of the body. Astral & medatative visions & journeies can be seen as shifts of consciousness.

Emotional openings too, can be seen as aspects of awakening, especially through heart break, expereinced and grief and dispair.

One paradox of discussing the process of awakening, is the limiting words we have to describe an expereince, that is beyond words. Like the analogy of the finger pointing to the moon.. all these perspecitives and definitions are simply the finger pointing towards the truth/moon. They can never be the moon, or the truth.. It is our experience that reflects our truth to us. Can you see it?

We can cultivate a desire to know and to create space for internal enquiry is the most direct path to that knowing, whilst coming into relationship with this reflective nature of reality. Once we wake up to this knowing, we become lucid in the waking dream.

I invite you to invest some time reading or listening to a master teacher who has remembered their greatness and is transmitting this wisdom. These guides can provide great insights to navigating our personaility and outer projection through their experience of waking up. Creating space to take on their teachings will provide great oppotunities for deeper Self study.

Take some moments to close your eyes…. Allow the breaths to release any stress or agitation from your day to fall away. Connect to the deepening breath, becoming aware of the pauses between inhalations & exhalations. Become the stillness you are within.. Asking the question Who Am I?

Allow this concept to arise naturally in a passive state of witnessing the experience of that question, without labeling or searching for the answer. Who is searching?

This inquiry into Awakening, has been written to be part of a tutorial series, that is part of an amazing meditation app called Souse Guru. Created with Martin Bone’s vision and guidance of meditation. I am honoured to be asked to contribute to this beautiful project, to spread this sacred art form we know as meditation.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinbonemeditation.scouseguru

Awen.

Beginners Mind

To approach mindful and consciousness practices with fresh enthusiasm, we can cultivate an attitude of the Beginners Mind. This attitude is a beautiful concept to facilitate a beneficial mentality towards our practice.

The Beginners Mind is one that is free of previous experience. Often previous experience creates opportunities for the mind to judge or expect certain outcomes. The Beginners Mind approaches a task clear of pretext. This attitude allows us to engage with the practice without expectations and as such, frees the experience up to be experiencially experienced not mentally experienced.

How do we recreate this atittude after some experience has been gained?

Think of the young people who dive into their experiences, freeing themselves of concern which creates a space of wonderment, joy and enthusiaism to play in.

When we approach our practices with child-like wonder, our adult analytical mind can take a back seat for the spontaneous experience to rise. We can bring a playful & graceful attitude to our practice. This approach cultivates a detachment from the outcome by simply becoming present with the experience.

Once we have spent some time practicing meditation, it can be easy to get comfortable and lose attention to the train of thought instead of witnessing them come and go. By cultivating a beginners mind, we can bring an alert presence to our practice that comes from first time expereinces. When we engage ourselves in activities with this mentaility, we create a beautiful space for the experience to spontaneously arise.

A state of open attention can be a great way to slip into this carefree state. When we detach our attention from any one thing, we can rest in pure witnessing. This includes, outside noises, inner dialoge, movement of energy. By detaching from the senses we disassosiate ourselves from the fluctuating experiences, dropping into the vast ocean of consciousness from the perception the body sensations and mental commentary. These concepts are inviting us towards that space of silence.

The analogy of the sky & the clouds brings a simplistic awareness of the relationship between the thoughts and the percieving consciousness. Just as the clouds may seem to block out the sky, we know the sky is always containing the clouds. So in relation to this, we can say there is nothing to achieve. Just as the clouds are there, held in the space of the sky.. Our thoughts and perceptions are contained within the greater consciousness we are one with. We are already one with all there is. Fly in the spirit of the swift bird who beautifully demonstrates a soaring playfulness that is present and alert.

Let’s close our eyes and imagine a bright blue sky, with some whie fluffy clouds. The fluffy clouds are the thoughts that you may be hearing in your mind, relating to these words your hearing right now. The sky represents our expanded consciousness. Watch any thoughts that come to mind and witness them pass. By simply remaining aware of the thoughts, we, with patience, may find a break in the stream of thought-clouds, which opens up the vast spaceousness of the sky. The stillness inside that is always there.

This stillness is the container of your existence. Everything arises from this stillness within.

In this space, there is nothing to do, we simply witness the rise and fall of the breath of life. When we realize truly there is nothing to do and nowhere to go, we can surrender to experience.. Letting go of the attachments to exterior or interior outcomes.

This inquiry into the Beginners Mind, has been written to be part of a tutorial series, that is part of an amazing meditation app called Souse Guru. Created with Martin Bone’s vision and guidance of meditation. I am honoured to be asked to contribute to this beautiful project, to spread this sacred art form we know as meditation.

You can download the app for free via this link which gives you access to the basic content. With monthly donations you gain access to a library of wisdom including guided meditations & breath work, techniques, practices & podcasts.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.martinbonemeditation.scouseguru

Awen.