December 28, 2022
The Edge Between Sleep, Emptiness, and Being
El borde entre el sueño, la vacuidad y el Ser
This session explores what happens when the mind encounters emptiness during meditation, including the tendency to fall asleep near states of present awareness. The teacher discusses how being is always already present but overlooked, using metaphors of fish in the ocean, lamps, and Sisyphus to illustrate recognition versus achievement. Dialogues cover the gap between group and solitary practice, the role of curiosity and relationship in spiritual growth, and how waking up transforms repetitive life from burden to joy.
dialogue
The Edge Between Sleep and Waking
A student asks about the tendency to fall asleep during meditation when approaching a state of present emptiness, and the teacher explores what happens when the mind encounters the unknown.
dialogue
What Is Meditation?
A student expresses feeling lost about what meditation actually is, and the teacher reflects on the limits of language in describing it, eventually sharing what has been most useful in practice.
teaching
Following Your Own Curiosity
The teacher reflects on what has been most effective in their own meditation practice, emphasizing the role of personal curiosity and intuition over rigid structure.
dialogue
The Point Is to Walk the Earth
A question about how to know whether one's practice is guided by something beyond the mind, and how spiritual work relates to living a more loving life.
dialogue
The Lamp That Is Already Lit
A student reflects on losing the desire to meditate alone after a significant shift, and the teacher explores how to discover what is always present, whether in a group or on one's own.
dialogue
What Is Always There
A question about how something so fundamental and ever-present can be so easily overlooked, and why it resists being recognized as a "thing."
teaching
The Fish That Cannot Find the Ocean
The teacher explores why being cannot be known as an object, using the metaphors of fish in the ocean, the noumenal versus the phenomenal, and the lamp of recognition.
dialogue
The Boulder and the Joy
A student expresses gratitude for the teacher's sharing, which leads to a reflection on effortlessness, service, and how the experience of growth transforms after waking up.
dialogue
The Most Unique Thing That Never Was Before
A student asks whether the teacher experiences the repetitive, Sisyphean quality of life as a burden, leading to a reflection on how the same activities that once felt miserable can become infused with wonder, and how each moment is utterly unique and precious.