Last week our focus was on Anatta/non-self. This week Joey built on that topic, drawing from a tradition of somatic meditation developed by Reggie Ray and articulated in a dharma talk by Adam Baraz. The talk includes exercises in somatic meditation that allow for a sense of expansion and spaciousness beyond the tight ‘selfing’ many of us get caught in.
Adam’s talk (labeled with his father’s name) is here:
http://dharmaseed.org/teacher/86/talk/40519/
The books which Joey read from are:
Reginald Ray, PhD. Touching Enligthenment: Finding Realization in the Body. pp. 198; 223-226, 237-238.
Will Johnson. The Posture of Meditation. p. 17-18.
And here is the poem that was read:
Free & Easy by Lama Gendun:
Happiness cannot be found through great effort and willpower
But is already present in open relaxation and letting go.
Wanting to grasp the ungraspable, you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you open and relax this tight fist of grasping
Infinite space is there: open, inviting and comfortable.
Make use of this spaciousness, this freedom, this natural ease.
Don’t search any further, looking for the great awakened elephant
who is already resting quietly at home in front of your own hearth.
Finally, here is an additional resource on Somatic Meditation:
Burlington Buddhist Sangha 