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Michael W. Taft

Negative Self Talk

Seeing Through Negative Self Talk and Beliefs

Remember that because we are already existing fully awakened enlightened beings. You know, Green Taras, Buddhas, Shiva, Shaktis, whatever your belief system, whatever the most sacred, most awake, most compassionate, most loving being is, we are already all that. And so it doesn’t matter what the thoughts are. They can be things like I was abused so much as a child I can never recognize my buddhahood. That thought is empty and it’s not true because the buddhahood is stronger than that.

central channel

Central Channel Mandala Visualization

In this place there’s nothing to do, there’s nothing to change, everything is just right. Just rest into, rest as, vast, spacious awareness. Already awake, totally clear, utterly complete. Nothing to do and no doer. 

mother buddha love

Mother Buddha Love

Now let’s imagine this light coming from the sun in front of us, the sun of enlightened wisdom beaming into our hearts. And now it’s radiating up and not only filling the head but it’s filling the neck, and the throat, and the shoulders, that whole collar region in front and in back, and even all the way inside.

inquiry practice

How to Do Inquiry Practice

If you’re trying to figure it out, stop doing that. If you think you’ve solved it, keep looking. Just keep looking in that place or listening or feeling or whatever. Where are thoughts coming from? Are they..? If you think you found it, look, or investigate is the right word; investigate more clearly, more precisely. Right now, look. Where do thoughts originate?

inquiry practice

Inquiry Practice

What is awareness? What is awareness? We could even ask what is aware? Look now, look in your own experience. Feel, notice what is aware?

mind as path

Taking the Mind as Path

Remain uninvolved with anything. Awareness is bright and clear. It’s very very awake. It’s also vast. It’s spacious. It’s open. It’s at ease. It’s restful. There’s a sense of space, of room. It’s just wide awake and resting – resting like an ocean, resting like a mountain. It’s just being. It’s wide awake itself – uninvolved with anything. Notice that any idea, that you’re even doing something, is a kind of involvement. So let go of the sense of doing a meditation, of trying to do a technique. Just rest as the vast spacious awareness you already are and always have been.

equanimity

Equanimity Amidst Chaos

For so long you’ve thought you are the thoughts and feelings of the ripples on the surface, but if you’re anything at all you are this deep ocean of awareness that can be aware of those ripples sometimes but right now is just aware of its nature as peace and stillness and wakefulness, undisturbed by anything. 

Effortless Awareness that is Always Present

There’s nothing to change. There’s nothing to fix. There’s nothing to control. There’s nothing to manipulate. There’s nothing to make better. There’s nothing wrong at all. There’s nothing at all to do. Just rest as the awareness that is always there, uninvolved with anything, simply aware of its own awareness without any effort. Zero effort. Rest like that. 

Jailbreak! Escape the Cage of Your Mind

We’re bringing kindness, and caring, and a sense of dignity, and equality to even all the animals on the earth, and every river, and every stream, and every rock, and every plant, and every bird, and every drop of water in the ocean, and every cloud, and every fish, and all beings on the entire earth becoming healed, and joyous, and thriving, again.

total relaxation

Total Relaxation

So we want that in our practice both in our body and even in our mind, where the mind is relaxed, the mind is open, the mind is at ease. As I sometimes put it, you know, I said it tonight, the core of your mind relaxes.