Sound and Silence

Hello, and welcome. Today's meditation practice is gonna have a focus on being able to master our reactions a little bit better. Pathanjali in the many, many, yogic sages really discovered and saw within themselves first how we wanna push away things that are uncomfortable for us. And that makes sense. I think we want to keep ourselves safe and protected, but when it gets into how we are repulsed by people and things and experiences in life.

It just keeps us running to what, to pleasure, to what we want to get away from and attach ourselves through our senses to feel comfortable when we feel anything just, when we feel discomfort, whether in our bodies, whether it's in the world, whether it's within ourselves, either we wanna lash out, or we wanna push it down. And so there's many different tools so that we can begin to rein and work with how and again, those emotions aren't necessarily bad. A lot of the times, they will keep us safe. But when it comes to it becoming toxic and taking over our minds and our lives, it can turn into, you know, all sorts of prejudices in the way that we treat other people in the world. So, I'm so grateful to be able to have these tools, especially through the use of the llamas that really help us in our relationships with others.

And mostly, it goes to how to keep our own sanity within ourselves. So the practice of brah Macharia, it's the fourth, it's the fourth Yaman in the list of five. And, known as, you know, the actions that lead to Vermont. So it's the right use of our energy. Again, sometimes it's called celibacy, but it's beyond that.

It's about how to control all of our responses that can be or actions or habits that can become destructive. So, to reign in and to be able to use our senses, another one of the limbs of yoga, which is called Pratyajara, is learning to withdraw our senses, so to master our senses inward as it goes from gross, the Yamas are the relationships to the world, and slowly begins to move the Yamas asana, Praniyama, we begin to more and more take our external antennae and turn them in towards our true nature, leading with the senses, which is very, very we need our senses to be able to connect to the world. So by focusing them, we'll be less distracted, reactive, over reactive, and all those things. So this is a wonderful, moodra practice, and it does also have a little sound. For me, I don't know. I was at first averse to it because you do also make the sound like buzzing bees, and sometimes I can be like, ah, but within all of the sound and then closing off all of our senses, we can really learn to in the midst of all sorts of situations stay calm and in control and, again, in our integrity, in our truth. And so it looks like this.

Sean Muki means the six headed Muka is face. So it's a six faced, kind of monster or demon. And that is, you know, many times in the different myths. There are these big, fast you know, demons with many heads and many arms. Many times these demons are used as metaphors. And, generally, it's the demons or these allegories that are within our own minds and our own tendencies.

So we get to work with them through these beautiful practices of the Yamas. They rip the palms together, making a little bit of heat. And then here we have our five, senses And then so you're gonna, start by taking your don't do it right now because you won't be able to hear me, but you can take you take your thumbs and gently press, like you're gonna close off the sound. And then with your index fingers, you take them to your eyelids and gently close them down. The ring finger is your underneath your nose controlling the sense of smell, so it's not so much blocking it off because you do want to breathe. So it's gentle pressure. And then you have your, fingertips over your lips and this being able to close off all of the senses.

The six head is our ego, our mind, of course. So this is what it looks like. You're genetically practicing, closing off the senses. And then you make the sound like a beat. It goes like this.

Just this gentle vibration, and you'll take a few cycles of breath. But we're gonna start it together, and I'll let you know, when to stop. And so let's take a deep breath in and begin buzzing like a b bramari breath. You can keep it going for a little bit. It can begin to slowly quiet down that buzzing feeling the mind in like the honey that we can create the sweetness.

You can gently begin to release your hands down, even placing them gently down onto your thighs. And we'll meditate here for about five minutes together. So make sure that you're comfortable. If this becomes uncomfortable in your seated posture. Feel free to change positions. So you're both alert.

And being able to be relaxed. This little effort and ease to find the ease within the challenges as we, and approach things, people. We begin to see our likes and our dislikes. But we also run away from the opportunities to learn and grow. So with our senses, mastered.

We can be in the midst of everything in the gitas as in cold and in heat. Fire will not burn it. A sword will not pierce it. Water will not make it moist. You can stay rooted even in the face of some of the world's most challenging situations.

As we face what we need to face. I'll place your mind on the breath. You've been calling to view as a meditation, something, someone that most challenges you, seeing if you can feel free in the midst of that emotion, non reactive. We practice equanimity. If you notice your mind wandering off into an emotion, even can feel our blood start to boil.

You can bring it back. With that exhale, the anchor, heal yourself alert. And then softening the face, the eyes, the belly, the gentleness. We can learn to respond in different ways. By restraining.

You're gonna be feeling subtle, sensations in the body, feeling them. Net softening. And see as you begin to gently make your awareness back into your body in the room. If you can hear sounds. Where you are in your home or wherever, if there's people, reactions you're having is there's a desire to jump out, react, to do something.

But staying. That the senses loosen their power on us. Go back into the many situations we know are out there in our lives. With more poise, with more restrain. And again, learning to develop more positive responses, helpful responses and actions.

Rather than engaging sometimes to walk away all to preserve our own inner peace. And once you gently open your eyes, gazing down at the earth, of course, all of its beauty that we're drawn to and its pleasures also the challenges, the pains that are out there. Still staying seated. I'm gonna take one more breath in together. And you can let out a little sigh.

Shake it out. Shake out your legs. You can lie down for a moment before making your way back into the rest of your day. Thank you so much for joining me. And I'll see you next time.