Space, Silence, Stillness

Michael Taft leads a guided meditation resting in the silent, spacious stillness beneath all thought and sensation. The session begins with seated stretching to open the rib cage and pelvis, followed by alternate nostril breathing and chanting Om Mani Padme Hum to settle the mind. Michael then guides participants into vipashyana, inviting them to notice the natural openness of simple presence without manufacturing stillness or silence. He uses the metaphor of putting down an internal video to describe disengaging from thought content while remaining aware. The practice deepens by recognizing the radiant darkness and silent stillness that allow all experience to appear, culminating in resting as wide-awake primordial awareness. In the dharma talk, Michael references the Mandukya Upanishad to explain how awakeness knows waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states. He describes this groundless ground as the source of all experience, urging practitioners to remember their true identity rather than identifying with the dream of separation. The Q&A addresses fears of losing oneself in stillness, reframing them as grief over forgetting one's source, and discusses how consistent practice stabilizes this recognition. Timestamps 0:00 – Introduction 2:33 – Seated stretching: opening the rib cage 4:41 – Alternate nostril breathing with hreem 8:47 – Chanting Om Mani Padme Hum 12:09 – Resting in simple presence and openness 25:51 – Disengaging from the internal video of thought 32:35 – Noticing unmanufactured stillness beneath movement 39:46 – Resting in silent, spacious stillness 49:29 – Radiant darkness allowing visual experience 55:52 – Awakeness reflecting on itself 1:00:57 – Chanting HUM to dispel delusion 1:05:53 – Dharma talk: Mandukya Upanishad and the four states 1:09:57 – Deep sleep as a gateway to awakeness 1:12:23 – Primordial awakeness as the source of experience 1:17:37 – Q&A: Awareness limited to one's own body 1:20:38 – Q&A: Fear and sadness in stillness Donate here: https://deconstructingyourself.com/do... Sign up for Michael's mailing list: https://deconstructingyourself.com/si... Support more videos like this contributing on Patreon:   / michaeltaft   Want to learn more about nonduality? Start here: https://deconstructingyourself.com/no...