Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020
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0:00 - 0:04So now we do our meditation session.
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0:04 - 0:11So if you'd like to close your eyes.
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0:11 - 0:14With your eyes closed it's like you're not
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0:14 - 0:18drawn out into the world, you can stay
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0:18 - 0:26home in your body and in your emotional world.
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0:26 - 0:29Just in my position I have to do
lots and lots of work -
0:29 - 0:32I'm really welcoming the help from the committee
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0:32 - 0:34and operations manager and other people
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0:34 - 0:37for next year, it's just what we have to do
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0:37 - 0:39but when I meditate I can close my eyes
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0:39 - 0:42and forget about all of that and just go
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0:42 - 0:48inside - first of all go inside my body,
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0:48 - 0:53I'm aware of how I'm sitting
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0:53 - 0:56to make sure it's a comfortable posture
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0:56 - 1:00as I feel it, not according to any books or
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1:00 - 1:04any recommendations by other teachers,
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1:04 - 1:09to be able to know yourself what you need.
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1:22 - 1:27And then I become even more specific.
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1:27 - 1:33I ask my legs - "legs, how are you?"
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1:33 - 1:37When I ask a part of my body how it is,
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1:37 - 1:41I'm more mindful, aware, so I can be very
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1:41 - 1:45conscious of any feelings in my legs and
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1:45 - 1:48if I need to move and adjust,
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1:48 - 1:52out of kindness I will do so.
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1:52 - 1:55And after I move I have mindfulness of
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1:55 - 1:59the new positions, see if it's better.
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1:59 - 2:03This way using the feedback
for mindfulness -
2:03 - 2:08and the kindness and care I have
for my own body, -
2:08 - 2:15I make sure my legs
are in the best position. -
2:15 - 2:20Not only does this mean
for a comfortable meditation -
2:20 - 2:23it's also most important
development to get peace -
2:23 - 2:29inside the mind as well.
Awareness and kindness. -
2:29 - 2:31Then I move up from my legs once
they're comfortable -
2:31 - 2:35to my butt and once again
I haven't got -
2:35 - 2:38my cushion in the proper position
so I'm going to now -
2:38 - 2:44adjust the cushion underneath my butt.
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2:55 - 2:58That's good.
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3:01 - 3:05And once that's adjusted it feels good
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3:05 - 3:07then I go to my back,
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3:07 - 3:13give it a stretch as I usually do
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3:13 - 3:18and ask my back does it need
any more adjustment. -
3:18 - 3:21Sitting on a chair you can lean back if
you wish or you can lean forward -
3:21 - 3:25whichever is more comfortable for you.
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3:25 - 3:28It doesn't always need to be the same
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3:28 - 3:34every week or every time you meditate.
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3:34 - 3:38I ask my back - "back, what do you want?
how do you feel?" -
3:38 - 3:45That's mindfulness, that's
being sensitive to your back right now -
3:48 - 3:52and following those instructions until
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3:52 - 3:54you get as comfortable as you can.
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3:54 - 4:01You can't get full comfort but you
can get pretty good. -
4:01 - 4:08And then to be aware of your shoulders,
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4:08 - 4:14and to relax your shoulders
however you manage to do that. -
4:14 - 4:18And one way is to imagine
those shoulders like a -
4:18 - 4:24bunch of strings on either side of
your top part of your spine -
4:24 - 4:28and then be pulled, stretched,
by invisible monsters. -
4:30 - 4:36Now you relax, let go,
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4:36 - 4:40nothing is being pulled or squashed
or stretched, -
4:40 - 4:45the stress is going till the shoulders you
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4:45 - 4:47can feel them change and the awareness is
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4:47 - 4:51in one part of the body, you can see the
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4:51 - 4:55feelings change there and soon by
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4:55 - 4:58experience, often by trial and error,
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4:58 - 5:05you learn how to totally relax
feelings in your body. -
5:09 - 5:13And then I go to my hands.
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5:13 - 5:18Where my hands are
just defines where my arms are -
5:18 - 5:21so I look at my hands,
make sure they're comfortable. -
5:21 - 5:23If anyone watched every week
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5:23 - 5:26my hands will be in a slightly different
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5:26 - 5:29position because every week is different
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5:29 - 5:32every time is different so make sure my
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5:32 - 5:36hands are okay, then I go back up to my
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5:36 - 5:39shoulders and on top of my shoulders
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5:39 - 5:42my neck, making sure the head is balanced
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5:42 - 5:44on top of the neck, not too far back,
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5:44 - 5:47not too far forward,
not too far to the left or -
5:47 - 5:49the right and as often happens wearing
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5:49 - 5:51these robes sometimes I get the cloth
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5:51 - 5:54a little bit too tight
which it is right now. -
5:54 - 5:58I'm just going to adjust my robe.
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6:03 - 6:06That's that much better.
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6:06 - 6:10Well also I'm aware of inside
my neck in my throat, -
6:10 - 6:13I do have hayfever and every now and
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6:13 - 6:16again so I make sure that everything
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6:16 - 6:22inside is nice and relaxed
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6:22 - 6:29so I don't need to cough.
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6:29 - 6:32Just learning how to relax
one part of the body -
6:32 - 6:36I use my mindfulness,
I'm aware of just that -
6:36 - 6:40one area and see the feelings change.
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6:40 - 6:47I know what to do through experience
of how to relax. -
6:50 - 6:53And then I move my attention to my face
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6:53 - 6:56especially the muscles around the eyes
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6:56 - 7:00and the mouth, sometimes they are tight
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7:00 - 7:05simply because they're expressing the
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7:05 - 7:09emotions inside - it could be tiredness,
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7:09 - 7:14it could be fear, could be anxiety,
whatever, -
7:14 - 7:18could be happiness,
but your face is what -
7:18 - 7:22shows other people your emotional world.
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7:22 - 7:27So I make sure everything is relaxed
on my face. -
7:27 - 7:32Muscles around my eyes
are just totally loose. -
7:33 - 7:39Around my mouth is also loose.
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7:41 - 7:44Been doing this so many years
I know how to relax pretty quickly . -
7:44 - 7:48Muscles around my face.
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7:48 - 7:52When I do that it means the emotions are
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7:52 - 7:58also relaxed and positive, at ease,
loose, free. -
8:01 - 8:05And before I leave my body I just watch
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8:05 - 8:10the whole of it, not as parts
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8:10 - 8:17but as a unified one organism
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8:17 - 8:24nicely relaxed as I check
from the head to the toe, -
8:24 - 8:26from the toe to the head,
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8:26 - 8:32is anything in there which is tight,
I loosen it -
8:32 - 8:37until I can feel what every
Friday I teach here, -
8:37 - 8:43I call the delight of a relaxed body.
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8:43 - 8:53It's not 100% relaxed but it's so
relaxed that my body feels at ease. -
9:21 - 9:25While you stay with that relaxed body
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9:25 - 9:29for a few more seconds
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9:29 - 9:32when my body is at ease
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9:32 - 9:35then I can let it go
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9:35 - 9:41and go to my emotional world,
the world inside. -
9:41 - 9:45I look at what I call my peace-o-meter:
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9:45 - 9:48how peaceful am I right now?
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9:48 - 9:53I had quite a bit of work for
the last hour and a half -
9:53 - 9:57so my mind is a little bit tired,
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9:57 - 10:04so my peace-o-meter is a bit
not as peaceful as usual. -
10:04 - 10:08So your peace-o-meter, give it a
reading from one to ten. -
10:08 - 10:16One is really peaceful, ten is agitated.
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10:16 - 10:20So you know where you are,
how peaceful you are, -
10:20 - 10:25and now find out what is
necessary, what is the cause, -
10:25 - 10:30for lowering the reading of
your peace-o-meter? -
10:32 - 10:36For me it's just letting things be.
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10:36 - 10:40Giving up all past and all future
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10:40 - 10:49and being kind in this moment,
allowing this moment to be. -
10:49 - 10:56When I smile at the present, the now,
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10:56 - 11:00the now smiles back.
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11:00 - 11:04I'm happy to be here.
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11:04 - 11:08And I know from so much experience that
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11:08 - 11:12now is where my future is made.
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11:12 - 11:16If I want to give a good talk later on
I don't think about it, -
11:16 - 11:19instead I stay with this moment
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11:19 - 11:25be so kind to this moment,
called now. -
11:25 - 11:28My peace-o-meter goes down more
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11:28 - 11:32more peaceful, more more relaxed,
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11:32 - 11:38more and more at ease.
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11:38 - 11:42I know a lot of the time
it's not what I say how it is said, -
11:42 - 11:49where it comes from.
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11:49 - 12:00I make sure there's peace inside,
acceptance, kindness. -
12:59 - 13:02Staying in this moment..
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13:02 - 13:07Sometimes I've seen people
carrying heavy bags, -
13:07 - 13:09one in the left hand,
one in the right hand. -
13:09 - 13:14Bag on the left hand, on the outside,
most shopping bags have got -
13:14 - 13:18letters on the outside.
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13:18 - 13:23This shopping bag has the four letters
P A S T. Past. -
13:23 - 13:26Because in that shopping bag you keep
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13:26 - 13:31all of your memories from the past,
you carry them around with you. -
13:31 - 13:35No wonder you're tired.
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13:35 - 13:38In the right hand there's another
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13:38 - 13:43shopping bag with the letters F U T U R E.
Future. -
13:43 - 13:45You also carry that bag around.
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13:45 - 13:50Those hands carrying really
heavy loads, -
13:50 - 13:54no wonder people can get
angry and negative. -
13:54 - 13:57Just tiredness that's all.
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13:57 - 14:01So now feel that shopping bag in the
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14:01 - 14:04left hand - that's the past.
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14:04 - 14:07Imagine lowering that shopping bag
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14:07 - 14:11to the ground - when it meets the floor
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14:11 - 14:15there's no more weight.
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14:15 - 14:18You can uncurl the fingers of your
left hand and move them -
14:18 - 14:21up to your side so you can rest and
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14:21 - 14:26regenerate, have some peace.
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14:26 - 14:29The shopping bag in the hand hand,
the future, -
14:29 - 14:32all your worries and concerns
and anxieties, -
14:32 - 14:36also your hopes and dreams as well,
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14:36 - 14:42carrying them around incessantly,
sometimes day and night. -
14:42 - 14:46Imagine lowering that to the ground.
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14:46 - 14:50When the bag of your future worries and
concerns and hopes, -
14:50 - 14:55when that meets the ground,
the weight disappears as well. -
14:55 - 15:00You can move your hand away,
let go, -
15:00 - 15:05until your right hand and arm is
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15:05 - 15:12loosely by your side, relaxing.
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15:12 - 15:15When you let go of the past and the future
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15:15 - 15:20it's like you're standing in
its place between them -
15:20 - 15:23with no weight, no burden.
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15:23 - 15:26Relax, you can pick up the past and
future whenever you want -
15:26 - 15:28but not now during the meditation.
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15:28 - 15:35This is free time, because you deserve it.
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15:35 - 15:38We're staying here, opening the door of
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15:38 - 15:42your heart, your mind, to this moment
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15:42 - 15:45no matter what it is,
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15:45 - 15:52because the most important thing is
to be here - right now - -
15:52 - 15:57keeping the past and the future
on the ground. -
15:57 - 15:59You're in the present moment.
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15:59 - 16:05Your peace-o-meter should give a
very low reading now. -
16:12 - 16:15And for many meditators,
once they let go -
16:15 - 16:19they become aware of their breathing,
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16:19 - 16:23one thing which is always moving.
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16:23 - 16:26But as you are watching your breath
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16:26 - 16:29just imagine, visualize,
as you breathe in, -
16:29 - 16:34breathe in peace, or health,
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16:34 - 16:37whatever you want to breathe in,
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16:37 - 16:41good spiritual peace, health, kindness
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16:41 - 16:44As you breathe out,
breathe out, let go, -
16:44 - 16:50any attachments, tiredness, worries.
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16:50 - 16:54Let your out-breath carry it away
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16:54 - 16:57out of your mind, out of your body.
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16:57 - 17:05Out, breathe in peace, happiness, health.
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17:05 - 17:11Breathing in peace, and feel it come in.
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17:11 - 17:17Breathe out - let go.
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17:17 - 17:21Breathing in peace,
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17:21 - 17:26breathe out - let go.
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17:26 - 17:31Breathe in, no controlling.
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17:31 - 17:38Breathe out, letting things disappear.
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17:43 - 17:47I'm going to be quiet for five minutes,
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17:47 - 17:53when I start speaking again it'll be
close to the end of meditation. -
24:01 - 24:07Sot it's getting close to the end of the
meditation now. -
24:07 - 24:11How do you feel?
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24:11 - 24:15What's it like inside?
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24:15 - 24:28How peaceful are you and how relaxed is
your body..if you can feel it? -
24:28 - 24:31Sometimes the body gets so relaxed that
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24:31 - 24:34it just disappears, it is with your mind
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24:34 - 24:38and that relaxes, it gets so peaceful,
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24:38 - 24:43so free, not a thought in your mind.
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24:43 - 24:47How blissful is that..
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24:50 - 24:57And also know what works,
what works for you, -
24:57 - 25:02because every time you meditate
we learn, -
25:02 - 25:09we learn and get better
mindfulness and kindness, -
25:09 - 25:14for the feedback until we
become in our own ways -
25:14 - 25:18expert in meditation.
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25:20 - 25:24I'm now going to ring the gong
three times. -
25:24 - 25:27When the gong finishes sounding
for the third time -
25:27 - 25:31please come out from the meditation.
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25:32 - 25:37[gong 1]
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25:37 - 25:41[gong 2]
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25:41 - 25:49[gong 3]
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25:49 - 25:55It's nice..
yeah..
- Title:
- Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020
- Description:
-
Ajahn Brahm guides a meditation for approximately thirty minutes. Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BuddhistSocietyWA
Recorded at Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre, Perth, Western Australia.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Buddhist Society of Western Australia
- Project:
- Guided Meditation
- Duration:
- 25:58
Eug edited English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug approved English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug accepted English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug edited English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug edited English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug edited English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug edited English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 | ||
Eug edited English subtitles for Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020 |