The Undifferentiated Ground of Being
El Fundamento Indiferenciado del Ser
A guided meditation exploring how direct sensation, beneath the mind's images and reflections, touches the foundational beingness we have never lost.
The Undifferentiated Ground of Being
A guided meditation exploring how direct sensation, beneath the mind's images and reflections, touches the foundational beingness we have never lost.
You can keep your eyes open, but if you're more comfortable with eyes closed, that's perfect as well.
When we come into this world, this life, we come undifferentiated. There is just being, and there is no ability to discern, differentiate, or distinguish anything from what's happening. In our upbringing we learn that process of differentiation, but it happens, in a sense, on top of this undifferentiated being. The foundation is being, and it never leaves. It is radiant and infinite right now.
The foundation never leaves
When there's a sense of joy or well-being or excitement, it's just when we give ourselves a moment to touch this beingness. Everything you are experiencing now is made from this being, and that is why you cannot find it. A fish in an ocean cannot find the water.
Breath: sensation versus image
If you pay attention to your breath, you will notice sensations. Most likely, there will be images. What is this relationship to breath? There will be images of the chest, a body, air moving. What is actually the breath, and what are the images of the breath? All that we need is to know the breath directly. Let the sensations come to the foreground. Everything is happening: sounds, thoughts, sensations, emotions.
When the inhale happens, notice. The knowing that it is breathing, the knowing that it is air, the knowing that it is a body, the anatomy: those are images, thoughts. We don't need to fight the thoughts or fight the images. Just notice what is what.
The mind as reflection
The center of the mind, the thoughts, the images, could be just a reflection. There is a tingling, pleasant sensation, and the mind reflects it as "inhale," as "air moving." It's very subtle. Come closer to the sensations. The temptation, the habit, is to put your attention in the reflection of thoughts and images.
Bring your awareness to your hands. Just that sensation is a vast, infinite source of being. The reflection, the understanding that "it's just a hand," neutralizes that, making it known. The sensation itself radiates. Sensation itself is touching the divine. It's created from stardust.
When resistance arises
You might notice resistance, more mental activity, the pull into the world of reflection. If your thoughts and images are busy, take your time to enjoy them. Don't fight it. Sensations, sounds, and thoughts are made of the same thing.
Always be curious. What is that sense that makes it seem "I am here" and "that is there"? Try to see: any answer to that is no more than just a thought.
Follow your interest
Be curious, be open, and if that is hard, follow your interest. Right now, with what is happening. There might be a longing, a restlessness. The sense of longing or restlessness is a calling, knowing something more. Something we know and we miss it. It is right here. It is you.
That longing is sacred. The restlessness is wisdom. Do not settle for the false.
Slowly, and in your time, come back to the group.