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Welcome to Awakening the Body, and welcome to this website, our virtual meditation

hall for the coming ten weeks.

As we begin our time together, I�ve been contemplating our program title. What does
it mean to awaken the body? What does it have to do with meditation, and what does
it have to do with my life?

I find �body� to be a difficult word to pin down. In exploring the practices


presented in this program over many years, I find myself less and less certain of
what my body really is. It is no longer a solid thing which I take for granted, and
yet it is nothing I can clearly identify in a linear, consistent way. All I can say
is that as I practice, I uncover an experience of my own body that is both more
relaxed and less definable.

Awakening is a word equally difficult for me to pin down. As I walk through the
days of my life I�m often aware that part of me is slumbering. Sometimes the sleep
is deep, impenetrable, sometimes the sleep is light and reality creeps in around
the edges. Sometimes the dream is lovely, sometimes a nightmare. But the nagging
fact remains: for much of my life, I am sleepwalking, casually following waves of
habit and impulse, lost in thought.

And then, occasionally, I wake up.

And when I wake, I awaken to a world that is alive, sparkling, unexpected, ever-
changing. I discover something vast and still. I awaken to a body inseparable from
the cosmos. When I wake up, pains and pleasures dissolve into a fiery potency that
hums inside the cells of my body.

And this awakening can happen all within the simplicity of a moment, standing at
the sink doing the breakfast dishes. Or in the familiar ache of hanging up from a
phone call with my daughter who is away at college. Or while crossing six lanes of
traffic to make the exit on my way to work in Denver.

This awakening seems to happen effortlessly, spontaneously. It is as refreshing and


ordinary as summer rain. It happens both inside and outside of formal meditation
practice. And as soon as I try to map it, define it, repeat it or control it, it
disappears.

For some of us, the teachings presented in this Awakening the Body program will be
brand new. For some, these practices seem at first to be familiar territory. And
yet truly for all of us this is a new experience. These are living teachings,
unfolding in our bodies in real time. With the supports provided in this program �
the meditation instructors, weekly discussion groups, written online forums,
questions for contemplation � we�re invited to travel ever deeper into our own
direct experience. No one knows what that might look like. But our own curiosity
can be our trusted guide on the path.

"The essential purpose of this course is a change in your existential status, a


change in your perception of yourself, your perception of what your life is, your
perception of the world, your perception of other people. We often say that we do
things based on what we think. But the fact of the matter is first comes what we
see. How we see. How much we see. How clear and open and unobstructed our
fundamental perception is. If perception doesn�t change, our basic way of
experiencing the world, then we don�t change."
�Reggie Ray

�Your interpretation of the world is very different from the world itself.�
�Reggie Ray
�Everything that can ever be known by us is already known by our cells, these pools
of awareness.�
�Reggie Ray

�Ultimately, in order for the body to truly be our resource, our guide, and our
reservoir of wisdom and knowledge and understanding, we have to dismantle what we
think about it. That�s the journey of somatic meditation.�

� Reggie Ray

�Is it possible to act when in a state of unconditioned awareness or is this state


mainly a passive state?�

When I read this, I paused and searched inside � what is true for me around this?
Because I�m not all that interested in the theoretical answer, but more the real
true practical experience.

And what I found when I searched inside was that unconditioned awareness is not a
passive state at all! In fact, it feels potent and alive. And yes, I absolutely can
be rooted in the state of unconditioned awareness while acting in the here and now.
Does that mean I always am? Not even close! But when I am, I encounter the moments
of my life in a much different way.

I notice for myself, generally, that most thoughts seem to emerge from the grinding
of ego, but those thoughts are quite different in feel from the inspirations that
arise from unconditioned awareness.

Action that arises out of that state of unconditioned awareness feels like an
imperative from my innermost soul. I can recognize it because there�s not too much
story around it, and I feel my body completely as it arises. Those inspirations are
decidedly not well-thought out. They often surprise me. And as a result, when I
live in orientation to them I often surprise myself. I become less and less certain
who I am and how I will behave in given situations.

Is it possible to live without concepts? I know only that as I practice over the
years I find I ruminate far less and experience/feel far more. When I�m maintaining
contact with unconditioned awareness in my day to day life, there�s some thinking,
but the thinking mind is a servant of the awakened state. It�s not as if my
capacity to function goes offline � in fact, I seem to function far more
effectively when I�m free of all the chatter and strategizing. It�s a relief when I
can let it go and just live.

The thing about unconditioned awareness is: it�s happening all the time. It�s
always here. Like a river flowing through my experience. It is underlay and
overlay. It perforates and interpenetrates my day to day world, revealing life to
be far more nuanced and creative than I ever imagined possible.

Talk � Fundamental Human Transformation and the Practicing Lineage


In this talk, Reggie explains that the purpose of this course is not to gather
information, but to effect a shift in existential status and perception. He
introduces us to this lineage, and addresses the question of spiritual capacity in
modern people.

Guided Meditation � 10 Points Practice


This practice forms the basis of all other somatic practices in our lineage. It is
here that we begin to make a relationship with the fundamental wakefulness of our
bodies.
Study Questions
Discuss the difference between vertical and horizontal change, in the journey of
human transformation. Can you describe instances of each type of change in your own
life? See what information your body gives you on the experiential qualities of
inner change as you reflect on this question.
When we try something new, unfamiliar or seemingly unproductive, doubt can arise.
How do we work with the experience of doubt? As you ponder this question, turn
inward to see what doubt or resistance feels like in your own body.
Discuss your understanding of interoception, introduced in Reggie�s talk for this
unit.

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 5, �Practice One: Ten Points�

The Awakening Body, Chapter 11, �Intention, Attention, Sensation, and Discipline�

The Awakening Body, Chapter 12, �Tension and Breathing�

Talk � Human Spirituality and the View of Somatic Meditation


Reggie here outlines our basic approach to meditation, and compares the overall
view of this approach to spirituality with the view of modern psychology. He tells
us that this lineage takes a positive view of the human experience. He introduces
three things that hold us on our journey � the human face of the lineage, the oral
teachings, and the community of practitioners.

Guided Meditation � The Posture of Meditation


Here Reggie introduces us to the embodied sitting posture we will be using
throughout this course.

Study Questions
We are learning to open to the body without a fixed set of ideas with which to
explain, identify or manage what is happening. We may feel tempted to hold on to a
particular experience, or draw conclusions about our practice. Notice how these
tendencies get in the way of our ability to actually experience our bodies. Share
one or two experiences here from your daily meditation practice.
Reggie describes the mind as having a predisposition towards health. Describe your
sense of what it means to be fully YOU, in a healthy way. How does this include (or
not) experiences that we would consider unhealthy, or painful?
The journey of somatic meditation is completely unique and individual, yet there is
also a sense of being held and in community with others. Describe the principles of
buddha, dharma and sangha as Reggie offers them in this unit�s talk.

Readings
Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 9, �Meditating without the Body�

Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 10, �The Somatic Challenge of Tibetan Yoga�

Talk � Ways of Knowing: Understanding Body and Ego through Somatic Meditation
Here Reggie explores our self that exists beyond the voice of ego. What is ego, and
how is it separate from our true self? Reggie addresses the role of the body in
meditation, and the way in which the body serves as a gateway to three aspects of
our true personhood � our spaciousness, our creative spark, and our imperative to
act.

Guided Meditation � Earth Descent and Earth Breathing


Here we learn how to make an embodied connection with the vast body of the Earth.
Study Questions
�The soma is always in the meditative state.� What are the implications of this,
in terms of what we have to do, or not do, in our practice and also in post-
meditation?
What is the soma, interchangeably referred to in this course as the body or the
right brain? How would you distinguish it from the left brain, or thinking mind?
How much unstructured time and silence do you allow yourself in each day? Does this
feel like enough for you?Reflect on the three elements of seated meditation
practice introduced last week � alignment, relaxation and resiliency. What is your
experience of relaxation in the 10 points instructions, lying down versus sitting
up? What are some similarities and differences, experientially, between these two
postures?

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 6, �Practice Two: Earth Descent�

Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 37, �Imagination and the Bodywork�

Talk � Aspects of the Journey


In our meditative work, much unconscious material surfaces. Reggie explores our
fear of the unconscious, and emphasizes that fear is not a sign that we need to run
away, but rather an invitation to deepen. Using the 10 Points Practice as an
example, he presents the progressive steps in the process of somatic meditation,
and affirms that the communication of the body is always a blessing.

Study Questions
How do you relate with your fear of opening to experience? In the talk for this
unit, Reggie discusses the ways we exit from our lived experience. What are some of
your personal patterns of addiction and avoidance?
Have you experienced fear or discomfort in meditation? How did you relate to that
fear or discomfort?
What is Reggie referring to when he refers to the �purification process� of somatic
meditation?

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 7, �Practice Three: Yin Breathing�

Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 38, �A Tibetan Yoga Approach to Physical Pain�

Talk � Five Invitations


Reggie here encourages us to become aware of the ways in which we depart from our
direct lived experience, and invites us to engage study, practice and community in
this course as an antidote to that.

Study Questions
We have been invited to repeat practices, even spending an entire day repeating
those we have already covered. In your own experience, how has one of the �same�
practices evolved and changed as you have engaged with it numerous times?
What are the primary ways in which you habitually depart from somatic experience?
Do you notice specific feelings that tend to arise just prior to departing? What
is it about those feelings that seems most threatening or problematic?

Readings
Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 18, �The Body�s Own Agenda�

Talk � Implications of Somatic Meditation and Trauma


This talk explores the way in which meditation contributes to human psychological
health. We learn about the two veils that obscure our direct experience of life.
The first veil is the veil of explicit emotions. The second veil is comprised of
our assumptions from our earliest years, our style of relating with the world.
Reggie emphasizes that at the root of our unconscious, below the obscurations and
traumas, is the awakened state, a place that is vast and joyful and clear.

Guided Meditation � 12-Fold Lower Belly Breathing


In this guided meditation we make contact with our vital life force and the energy
of awareness.

Study Questions
What does it mean to say that psychological distress or upwelling of
painful/traumatic memory is an opportunity? Are you aware of any apparent
�obstacles� in your own path that could be such opportunities?
Please describe and contrast the �veil of explicit emotions� and the �veil of deep
obscurations.�

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 10, �Practice Six: Twelvefold Lower-Belly Breathing�

Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 34, �Falling Apart�

Talk � Somatic Meditation as a Path of Healing


Reggie explains that the practicing lineage gives us powerful tools to work with
our various life traumas, the things that are shutting us off from realizing our
deeper lives. He discusses the healing process that occurs when we touch the empty
open awareness of our basic nature.

Guided Meditation � Whole Body Breathing and Rooting


In this guided meditation we experience the breath with our entire being.

Study Questions
What are two main problems that come from trying to use meditation as a way to
separate from pain? How might you have related to practice in this way, and what
would an alternative look like?
What is the role and importance of the �natural state� or dharmakaya � the space
of the somatic practices � in working with incomplete experiences or trauma?

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 9, �Practice Five: Whole Body Breathing and Rooting�

Talk � Esoteric Tradition of the Body


Here Reggie presents the outer, inner and secret aspects of working with the body
in this tradition, and explains the relevance of the body in working with
psychological trauma. He encourages us to give up the authority of the ego and
allow our bodies to speak.

Guided Meditation � Central Channel I


Here we learn how to access the central channel, the space that resides at the core
of our being

Study Questions
What does Reggie mean when he says, �the body is always fully awake and the journey
is to reside there�? What is your experience the inherent wakefulness of your body?
How might we discern the difference between the voice of ego and the voice of the
body?
Describe an experience in which your somatic knowing disconfirmed ideas you had
about an �other.�

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 8, �Practice Four: Coming into the Central Channel�

Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 50, �Layers of the Interpersonal Body�

Talk � Tradition and Modernity: How to Relate to Spirituality


Here Reggie discusses modern disciplines that can be of help to us on the journey.
He explains that while discoveries in sciences and humanities look at human
existence from the outside, spirituality looks at humans from the inside. These two
approaches come together to create an integrated spirituality that is rooted in the
past but also fresh and applicable to our modern experience.

Study Questions
What is your personal relationship with tradition and modernity in your own
spirituality? What do each contribute to your mediation practice? What do each
contribute to your understanding of the world?
How does the psychological journey of individuation relate to a
spiritual/meditative path?

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 19, �The Soma and the Human Genome�

Touching Enlightenment, Chapter 56, �The Cosmic Body IV: Until the Very End of
Being�

Talk � Body as Sacred Journey


Ultimately, our path of meditation leads us to the experience of the ordinary human
body as sacred. When we experience our bodies in this way we touch fundamental
freedom. We meditate not to destroy the ego, but rather to allow the left brain to
take its appropriate role as servant to the body. In this way we discover the
boundless beauty and openness this world offers, moment by moment.

Guided Meditation � Dissolving with the Outbreath


Here Reggie presents a practice that was taught by Chogyam Trungpa in his early
days in the West. This practice has its roots in Dzogchen, and is related to the
yana of life itself.

Study Questions
In the talk for this unit, Reggie discusses the challenges our modern lifestyles
pose to somatic meditation. What do you experience as your greatest challenges on
this path?
In what ways do you experience your body as a servant to your left brain? In what
ways do you experience your left brain as a servant to your body? Reggie tells us
that the fruition of this path is the experience of our ordinary body as sacred.
How do you experience your own body as sacred? What stands in the way of you
experiencing your body as sacred?
At the start of this course, Reggie stated that our goal is a fundamental shift in
perspective. Reflect upon the ways in which your meditation practice has shifted
your experience of your daily life over the past ten weeks.

Readings
The Awakening Body, Chapter 20, �The Soma and the Cosmos�

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