GUIDED MEDITATION of EXPANSION & CONTRACTION ~ by SHINZEN YOUNG

Hum.

Once again take a moment to stretch up and settle in.

The spine is.

Iraq through balance.

And alignment.

Less through strength.

That effort.

Like a tree expanding to meet father Sky.

Well, the whole rest of the body hangs limb and loose.

Yielding to the contract if force of Mother Earth.

This posture is born in between expansion and contraction.

Therefore.

The first consciousness, the Shoshin.

Sometimes translated as beginner's mind.

The first thing you experience.

When you said.

Exemplifies the ultimate goal of the practice.

To give yourself back to the fundamental forces of expansion and contraction.

We've been exploring.

What I call surface?

Expansion contraction, meaning manifestations of the source that are available to anyone.

Of course, they may not seem like the source they may seem quite ordinary.

Sometimes uncomfortable even problematic.

A good doctor can cure your disease.

Only an extraordinary doctor can convince you you were never sick.

Let's review what we've explored so far.

Will begin with the principle love increase or decrease?

Something they can get more intense.

Something can speed up.

Something can.

Get larger in one, two or 3 spatial dimensions.

Nothing special about that its expansion, though.

Affirmation the principle of increase.

Something can decrease in the same ways.

Get less intense.

But the frequency of an arising can slow down.

Or something can shrink in one, two or 3 dimensions of space.

Let's take a moment to explore expansion and contraction in this guys.

You may only be aware of increase or decrease you may be aware of both at the same time.

Or there might, not be any such movement present in which case it's actually.

A form of rest freedom.

From those 2 kinds of change.

The expansion and contraction in the sense of increase decrease may be in just one part of your being or in one modality or one location or it may be evidente broadly throughout.

Your experience, perhaps even a sense that.

There's always both everywhere.

Sometimes the expansion contraction could be cyclic something expands then it contracts.

Or something.

Both simultaneous simultaneously both expands and contracts.

And then they disappear.

Sometimes the sense of expansion and contraction can be.

Abiding.

There is an internal.

In and out.

In part or all of your being.

It's all good. It's all natural a certain amount of guessing and groping will be involved. If you haven't done a lot of this.

Recall that one of the dimensions of mindfulness is clarity and one of the sub dimensions of clarity is the ability to detect.

And this is a detection skill and noticing of a commonality.

That may be subtle.

If you wish to label the labels would be expansion contraction both.

And rest or none.

For an absence.

OK, good now let go of that.

And we're going to explore another manifestation.

Which is pressure force? Often it's in the body but it could be in visual and auditory both inner or outer.

You may have a sense that something's pushing in.

Pulling in rather or pushing out, we're doing, both at the same time or there may be no pressure whatsoever anywhere in your beard.

Instead of interpreting pressure as problematic, we're going to just think of it as.

Of course.

Let's moving out or moving in.

Or moving in both directions at once.

If it moves in both directions at once it might interdigitate sort of pass through itself.

Or there might be a clash and interference.

But there's no one to play.

If the pressure waves just pass through each other interpenetrating without interfering.

Like 2 ghosts.

Walking along a Rd.

Move through each other well, then fine but if there's a bang.

Like 2 cars, hitting each other.

Just have equanimity with that to the best of your ability.

If there's no pressure enjoy the Freedom from pressure.

It's a rest or a non situation.

Typically, we have a sense, we need to do something about pressure.

Emelia rated in some way and actually there can be times when that's useful appropriate.

But for now, we're just going to observe it.

OK dad now let go of that.

Then we're going to explore yet another manifestation.

Of expansion contraction.

One, which is often interpreted.

As problematic.

And then leave is from a certain perspective, but from another perspective can be looked upon impersonally.

And Blamelessly.

As just part of the dance of space, you may be aware.

Of.

Your attention scattering.

Or being flooded your pool to more than one thing at the same Top.

Pulled in and out at the same time or full to many places in your body or pull to your mind and your body or your mind goes too many places.

Scattering.

Will consider that to be a form of expansion?

Or you may be gripped and held by something.

It won't let you go often we interpreted as I won't let it go.

And that can be a valid interpretation, but we're going to think of it differently now.

Your space is being limited held.

It's nothing personal about it.

There's no blame.

Scattering.

Is this?

Part of the dance of space gripping as part of the dance of space.

So if there is no scattering or gripping great enjoy that's arrest, State of Freedom from this aspect of expansion contraction.

But if there is.

You too it.

Let yourself be spread.

To the 6 directions.

Or let yourself be.

Nail down.

Without fighting.

Just taking it to be the flow of space.

Seems like it's scattering and grouping forces.

But actually it's just the curvature of space.

It's actually an interesting metaphor.

From general relativity.

Little different way to think about things.

OK, good.

Now we're going to explore one more.

Ordinary manifestation of expansion contraction.

But I'll give you a little heads up there's some subtlety involved in this one.

We like to get comfortable by.

Resting in some center.

Maybe we are enjoying thinking about a certain something.

Or were

Comfortable.

In a certain.

Sensory environment, we settle it.

Or quote get centered.

It is.

Comfortable it's ordering.

To be centered somewhere.

Moment by moment.

If we get ripped away from whatever our center.

Might be.

Or if we get.

Not off center.

That's interpreted as disorder.

And it's often uncomfortable then we may scramble to get back to center.

There's nothing wrong with being centered.

But.

There's something.

Good.

About.

Becoming free from the need to be centered.

To have a fixed position.

Even for a fraction of a second.

This next exercise.

Will probably involve a considerable amount of guessing and groping and that's perfectly OK.

Notice that as soon as you might find a center.

Something is going to knock you off that center.

Pull you to the right or to the left or in front or behind or above or below are in all directions at once.

The pool might be visual auditory somatic all of 'em.

Would be inner could be outer but as soon.

As there is a centering.

There's a decent rate.

Who is responsible for the decentering?

Who gives you that gift that sets you free?

Is expansion?

Something expands somewhere.

And it could be very, very slight incredibly subtle but there's a force.

To pull you off?

Wherever the comfortable are lighting center maybe.

Duties center.

But Alternatively.

It knocks the centre aware causes a gone.

Or, a partial gone.

Up wherever the comfortable center might be.

When you're aware that you're center is being tugged.

Or the rug is being pulled.

That's expansion.

Doing that.

And the actual collapse of the center.

The slipping of the rug.

Under your feet.

Is a form of contraction?

The center will not hold.

It dissipates.

Will consider that to be a form of contraction?

It's very subtle it's counter intuitive and one way having a center itself is contraction.

In another way, the gone of the center is contraction.

Expansion.

Prevents you from getting fixated.

Leaving you with

The prospect of learning about a new ordering principle.

Becoming that authentic human that has no fixed position.

The disappearance of the center, however, is contraction.

The force that causes it is expansion.

Those forces are a primordial ordering principle that could never be disordered and to the extent that you have one foot firmly placed in each.

You can.

Travel.

Effortlessly back and forth between Heaven and hell with impunity.

If you're aware of your center.

Being even slightly messed with.

Interpret that as contraction and let it happen don't hold on.

Move up.

But also notice that's happening because of expansion you're simultaneously expanding and contracting.

And it's liberating dynamic.

I fully appreciate the words, I just spoke made me may seem utterly inscrutable that's OK just explore.

In 5 minutes, 5 years.

15 years.

15 minutes before your death.

They may be very significant.

OK, good.

So far.

All of the aspects that we've been looking at are ordinary.

Something gets more intense or speeds up.

Or larger.

There's an outward pressure for Sora scattering force.

Or, a force that pulls you out of a comfortable position.

In consciousness.

For something decreases or slows down or gets smaller or there's an inward pressure for Sora gripping force.

Or, a disappearance.

Of the ability to hold a center.

50s centered not off center.

Associated with

All of the above.

May.

Be unawareness of deep expansion contraction.

Or not.

Deep expansion and contraction is a sense of space effortlessly spreading.

Effortlessly collapsing or doing both at the same time.

Or being perfectly still.

No movement from or torrents.

Deep expansion and contraction lies around behind within.

All of the ordinary things we've been looking at.

Sorry him.

The reason for looking at surface expansion contraction is.

It directs your attention to possibly detecting.

The effortless dance of space that is the primordial great perfection.

That proceeds.

And follows.

Each sensory and motor event and actually.

If you understand deeply you'll realize it pervades.

Eat sensory unloader event.

From the good back to the good without ever leaving the good.

Is to live at the source?

To live near Fonda.

Now let's explore the possibility.

Certainly not the certainty.

But the possibility.

That's something like that might be available to attention at this time.

Recalling movie associated with the ordinary stuff.

Something gets more intense there tends to be a spreading.

Something speeds up there tends to be a spreading.

Something gets larger, obviously there's a spread.

But sometimes the pressure could cause a spreading the scattering is definitely a spreading.

And likewise for the conference.

So sort of letting go of the sensory content and becoming fascinated with the spirit contour.

Let's just explore the possibility that there, you might be able to detect at this time, the deep version.

And if that's not available. That's perfectly OK just choose one or a combination of surface expansion contraction to attend to.

Sometimes deep expansion contraction is cyclic.

There's a both.

And then a God.

Of both of them.

Both rest both rest cyclically.

Typically, small pieces of experience are born in those small cycles, a niche here an image there.

But sometimes the awareness of expansion and contraction is eternal.

It's always both.

Peppered.

By an absolute tranquility.

It's always.

None.

The reason it's always both and always gone everywhere is because.

Of all those little cycles.

They sum up.

Do an eternal E flux and reflux.

A formless.

Fountain of youth.

The formless spirit womb.

Who is peristalsis births self and world moment by moment?

It may just be an idea for you at this time.

That's fine.

But let's explore the possibility of it experience.

Now in a moment we'll transition.

From formal practice too.

A bit of discussion.

Decide.

How you like to practice?

Intentionally, if at all during the discussion period.

You could maintain formal practice.

You could have something so did going in the background, you could pepper it with micro heads or just suspend the involvement and.

In enjoy the conversation.

But make it a clear decision it's all good.

Recall that the goal is to maintain formal practice at all times. Other than the possibility of during talks and discussions and such.