No Distance
Sin Distancia
An invitation to notice that all sensations, sounds, and thoughts arise together in one immediate space, with no real distance separating you from experience.
No Distance
If you notice that you are with your eyes open and distracted,
looking around,
getting lost in just the activity of perception and thoughts,
then it might help to close them.
Notice your sensations and skin,
the sense of coldness or warmth in the skin,
the experience of pressure and back, legs, feet,
wherever you're resting,
the subtle sense of coolness in the inhale, the nose,
of the exhale and the nose,
the rich cloud of sensations.
No need to focus,
no need to effort.
Just notice what's already happening,
what's already here.
No distance between sensations
Notice that all sensations are appearing in the same space undivided,
no real distance between the breath and the chest and your hands.
That sense of a different location between hands and feet,
it's just thought,
the mind mapping space.
The same way, what appears as sound,
sound of a voice and sound of anything else,
it's not separate from sensations,
it's only in the same experience.
Appearing in the same spaceless space,
it's also not at a distance.
That sense and experience that the sound is appearing over there,
out there,
or to the right, to the left,
is the activity of thoughts,
the mapping,
the activity of the mind.
The directness of sensation
Notice, for example, sensations in your hand, your hands,
very gently without effort,
without strain.
All that is needed is the receptivity,
to allow, to perceive, to see what is right here.
Notice that the experience of sensations in your hands is extremely direct.
There's nothing between you and the sensations.
Any sense of a distance is the thought.
The placing of a sense of eye or perceiver somewhere else,
some location in the body, the head, the chest, behind the eyes,
that could create the appearance,
the illusion of a distance between the experience of sensation and the sensation itself,
head, face, neck.
Exploring as a possibility
This might be clear and obvious to you,
or it might be very much something that defies your experience.
And if this defies your experience,
just be gently willing to explore it as a possibility.
What if this is true?
What if this is really your experience if you look more closely?
What if the sensation of feet and hands are actually in the same place with no distance?
No distance between hands, feet or sounds.
The activity of thoughts
And from this gentle exploration,
notice the activity of thoughts,
the aspect of the mind that is creating narrative images.
Based on memories,
imagining time,
imagining before,
after, the next moment,
just all appearing in thoughts,
appearing right here.
The full experience of time appearing right here.
Nowhere else. Not tomorrow.
Not yesterday.
The full experience of space appearing right here.
Not over there.
Just this.
All of time, right here
And feel how it might recognize the timelessness of this time,
all of time appearing right now, right here,
all of the past, all of what is known as past through memories and thoughts, is appearing right here,
all of what is known as future, imagination, 100% imagination, appearing right here,
all of what is known of your surroundings,
space around you, is appearing right here,
not inside,
not outside,
just here.
All of the activity of thoughts,
the mind,
all of it appearing right here,
coming from nowhere,
going nowhere.
Everything is movement
Everything experienced is movement,
constant flow,
some of it fast,
some of it slow,
some of it gentle,
some of it possibly uncomfortable.
Nothing needs to change.
There's just this.
The nature of reality is this seeing,
this knowing.
It does not come and go, the seeing,
the knowing,
it does not change,
does not move,
it cannot move because it is not located,
it's reality itself.
One flavor appearing as many
The seeing is the hearing,
the hearing is the sensed,
the tasted is the thinking.
Many flavors,
one flavor appearing as many.
The sounds are the hearing.
The sense is the sensing,
the seeing is the seeing,
thoughts are the thinking.
No center,
no thinker,
no perceiver,
just reality.
Pure intimacy,
alive,
vital,
beautiful,
mysterious.
Letting go of struggle
Just keep noticing what is appearing.
Let go of all struggle with thoughts.
If you find the experience of this to become a deeper immersion into thinking,
don't fight it. Don't push.
Just notice.
Taste it.
Look at all the details of the experience of thinking,
closely, intimately.
What are thoughts made of?
What is the mind made of? Taste it.
Is it that different from sight or sensation?
The one who longs
What is any experience of a need for things to be different,
a kind of seeking and longing for things to change in a particular way.
Look for that which is having this need,
having this longing.
Isn't it just more thoughts, sensations?
Which is longing,
which is needing,
wanting,
restless,
that aspect of experience.
It's just a ripple caused by an illusion.
Belief that what is needed is not here.
Belief that what is wanted is missing,
can only be found in another moment in the future,
a future and a moment that only exists in thoughts and imagination,
which also is only existing now.
A never-ending search for a different mental state.
Freedom is already here
All over here,
the liveness and freedom is already here,
reality itself.
Freedom from becoming,
freedom from arriving,
freedom from any mental states.