Jack Kornfield: Open, Spacious Awareness Meditation

Over the weekend I was caught in an emotional jam. I was panicked about a certain situation, despite being able to give a list of reasons why I was sure my mind was overreacting. The reality wasn’t nearly as dire as my brain was making it out to be. That’s what the mind does; it will grab onto any scary scenario in order to warn us of impending doom. It’s trying to protect us. I had 30 minutes before walking into this scary not scary situation, so I turned to this grounding guided meditation by Jack Kornfield, one of my favorite mindfulness teachers. It was an enormous help in returning me to a perspective that wasn’t laced with conditioned hysteria. I was having a moment in which I was vomiting up old fears based on a narrative I’d been fed since childhood: if you screw up in any way then you’ll be shamed, rejected, and banished. Love, approval, and acceptance will be ripped away.
I have done so much work on myself over the past few years, been in talk therapy for 15, a meditator and yogi for 5, a zen practitioner for 3, and yet I still get caught in these terrifying moments where I’m hijacked by very old stories that I know no longer hold true. Dense, deep trauma needs so much patient and persistent tending to. I feel very held at this point in my life, and am so fortunate to have discovered these tools and teachers for how to address and soothe my triggers. This brief guided meditation was exactly what I needed. It worked: I relaxed, regrouped, readjusted, and remembered my true self, the self that isn’t subject to the ever changing winds of the body mind. That space of inner peace and protection is ever present, I just needed to find it and feel into it.

*this offering is found on the Dharma Seed app. It’s my favorite app. Tons of talks and meditations are offered freely from a wide variety of excellent dharma teachers. My most delicious mornings begin when I’m snuggled in bed listening to a talk.




I'm listening to "Open, Spacious Awareness Meditation | Monday Night" by Jack Kornfield
https://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/85/talk/70078/