Meditations from Dzogchen Teachings
Topics:
“Meditations from Dzogchen Teachings”
“The Power of the Pause”
“Turning the Light Around”
“The Amazing Aspects of Meditation”
Monday, September 22, 2025 (Private/Phone)
Participants: Mary (Michael) and Julie (Fontine)
(Audio begins partway through session)
JULIE: This is kind of fun but also kind of something that I’ll probably teach. One of the Dzogchen Rinpoches that I’ve really liked and learned a lot from and resonated with was Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, and out of all of them… I began practicing Dzogchen before getting involved with him, but some of the experiences that I was having are the same, very similar to the ones that he describes, and that includes just reality creation. None of the others really talk about it very much, but he talks about how you do this meditation and then everyone starts cooperating with you and everything happens so easily and everything falls into place effortlessly, you know? Like he really describes it in a way that westerners like. We like this practical application of our meditation.
I don’t really want to teach Dzogchen, and I’m not even part of that tradition. It wouldn’t be good to do that, but I’d like to kind of adapt his lineage teaching to a more western kind of thing.
ELIAS: Such as?
JULIE: Well, let’s say I thought I would go over… He’s got a little series of lines of kind of philosophy but it’s also insight, and I thought I would kind of go over that with you and maybe get your take on it, how it fits in or how you might describe it.
ELIAS: Very well.
JULIE: The first thing is taking refuge in the silence, the stillness and the spaciousness. Which to me, that’s very similar to being the eye of the storm, that meditation that —
ELIAS: I would very much agree. Yes.
JULIE: Yeah. Okay. So that’s the first thing, is taking refuge. And I wanted to ask you about that, because in your description of it – and I’ve practiced that one a lot – my question was, is that a kind of separation when I say, “I’m only the stillness, only the calm, everything – all the noise around me, all the feelings and thoughts and the weather and all of that – is the storm but I’m the calmness in the center”? Is that a separating from others?
ELIAS: Actually, in how you’re describing it, it IS somewhat. What I have expressed is that being the center, you are the stillness and the calm, but all of the chaos and all of the storm that is around you is a part of you also.
JULIE: Right. Yeah, I know that.
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: I know that! (Laughs)
ELIAS: That’s ALL a part of you.
JULIE: Yeah.
ELIAS: It’s simply that YOU are directing it. And if you’re directing it, then you can direct it by actually being that center and being that stillness, because as you expressing that, being that stillness – and that doesn’t mean you’re always calm, but you can be still without necessarily being calm. Things can be happening that you might be responding to – not reacting, but responding to – and in that, you can maintain that stillness and still also be expressing in a manner that’s not necessarily calm. Which can include excitement in a positive manner, not necessarily negative, because you can be excited in a negative manner also. But you can be expressing that in relation to sharing and still maintain that stillness and that center, because you know that you ARE that center and that everything else around you is a part of you that you’re directing, because you’re directing you. Therefore—
JULIE: Okay. So it’s like I choose this and I don’t choose that. That’s directing.
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: Yes. Okay. And so I am kind of separating from what I don’t choose, but it’s not like separating from others.
ELIAS: No you’re not, actually.
JULIE: Oh, okay.
ELIAS: You’re not separating from what you don’t choose. You are making a choice in relation to what you’re including in your reality here.
JULIE: Okay.
ELIAS: And in that, what you don’t choose will be expressed in some other reality.
JULIE: Okay. A probable reality? (Laughs)
ELIAS: Yes! Yes.
JULIE: Okay.
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: All right.
ELIAS: Therefore you’re not actually expressing a separation; you’re simply directing what you want to be included and inserted into your reality here and now, and knowing that the rest will be inserted in some other here and now, but not yours.
JULIE: Okay. You know, when I do this, when I’m being that stillness, I’m not thinking about even what I choose. I know – I know, but I’m not (laughs) like separating things out or making mental decisions a lot of time.
ELIAS: I understand. What I would say is that in that knowing, it’s also important to be intentional. In that, then you’re not moving in directions in which you are incorporating choices that you don’t necessarily want. Do you understand?
JULIE: Yeah.
ELIAS: Because when you are making choices that you don’t necessarily want, then you put yourself in a position in which moving forward you’ll likely have to undo the choices that you didn’t want.
JULIE: Yeah. And that’s where wisdom comes in. But I guess I don’t always (laughs)… I don’t always know what I want.
ELIAS: I understand. And that’s the point of being more self-aware and using the power of the pause.
JULIE: Yeah.
ELIAS: Because if you can remember to pause, then you can give yourself that point in which you can assess what your choices are.
JULIE: Mm-hm. Okay. All right.
So the next phrase in his philosophy: “Vision is mind.” And what he means by vision, that’s your whole objective reality; that’s all the imagery, basically. Your imagery is your own mind. It’s coming from your mind. And so he teaches you’re looking, every situation you’re in, that’s your own mind, basically. That make sense?
ELIAS: Yes. Because it’s your reality.
JULIE: Yeah. Yeah. And so, still on board with that one, “Vision is mind.” And then next phrase is: “Mind is empty,” meaning that when you look closely at it, you don’t see it. Which I guess he means that’s your subjective? Or also sometimes when they say that mind is empty, it means that there’s actually… you’re looking for your own mind. It’s not separate from anything else. It’s… everything. (Laughs)
ELIAS: Or, I would say, empty. Because that would be accurate, that that’s what you begin with, and then you create everything from that point.
JULIE: Mm. Yeah. You start at zero and then… Yeah.
ELIAS: Therefore I would agree with that also.
JULIE: “Mind is empty;” okay. And then the next phrase is: “Emptiness is clear light.” Which, clear light to them is awareness, in my understanding. It’s the light of awareness, which… Do you agree with that? Or would you say consciousness or what?
ELIAS: I would say that that is an expression of clarity, in not being cluttered.
JULIE: Okay.
ELIAS: That if you are taking the statement before that and then also this statement, they move in tandem with each other in being that with the clarity, you ARE starting from that point of emptiness.
That would be the same as what I just expressed to you in relation to the power of the pause. Because in that moment, in that pause, you ARE expressing that emptiness, and then you are evaluating what choice do you want to make. And remember: It’s not that you’re making a choice from an already existing group of choices; no. You’re creating a choice in that moment. Therefore, it’s coming new. You’re MAKING a choice. I would say that that manner of speaking that you all have in relation to “making a choice” is actually more accurate than you realize. You are MAKING a choice.
JULIE: Wow. It’s beautiful, Elias.
ELIAS: Therefore in that, I would say that I would agree that you’re starting from that point of empty.
JULIE: Mm. Okay. Thank you.
ELIAS: You are very welcome.
JULIE: That helps me. Okay. Then the next phrase is: “Clear light is union.”
ELIAS: That is very understandable. Continue; you explain.
JULIE: So union means it’s a part of everything. It’s everything.
ELIAS: I agree. Therefore that is the interconnectedness. And the more clarity you have, the more you are aware of that interconnectedness.
JULIE: Mm-hm. And then the last line is: “Union is great bliss.”
ELIAS: I agree.
JULIE: That would be the harmony, the deep fulfillment and satisfaction and happiness.
ELIAS I agree.
JULIE: Yeah. Okay, so it matches.
Yeah, so it’s that clarity piece. I think maybe sometimes I rush ahead too fast and I don’t stop in the emptiness.
ELIAS: I would say that it is a tremendous benefit to use that pause and to remember the power in it.
JULIE: You mean before making a choice?
ELIAS: I’d say yes. And in any situation or moment, I would say that moving in the direction of allowing yourself that pause is something that gives you clarity.
Everything is a choice; therefore yes, it is associated with choices and seeing your choices, because every moment of your existence, you are making choices. You are choosing in every single moment of your existence.
JULIE: Mm-hm.
ELIAS: Even when you’re choosing, in your perception, nothing, that’s still a choice.
JULIE: Mm-hm. Yeah, and everything happening around me is —
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: — my choice. Yeah.
ELIAS: Yes. Yes. It’s your choice to participate or not to participate. It’s your choice to feel or not feel. It’s your choice to pay attention or not pay attention. All of it’s your choice.
JULIE: Yeah. Okay. And then there’s this very deeply fulfilling choice that comes from clarity, that occasionally I make that choice. (Both laugh) And that —
ELIAS: I would say that that clarity can be something that you have all the time the more self-aware you are, rather than occasionally. (Chuckles)
JULIE: Yeah. Mm-hm. Yeah. You know, before you were telling me that self-awareness is my desire, I was always like, “I just want clarity! I just need clarity! I need clarity.” (Both laugh) I’ve always known that that’s what I want. (Elias chuckles) Yeah. (Sighs)
ELIAS: Ah, but the more self-aware you are, the more clear you are.
JULIE: Yeah. And I do want self-awareness. And… yeah, so the pause, that’s the magical key to (laughs) just that openness, basically.
ELIAS: I definitely would say yes. That—
JULIE: Yeah, just being open. Right?
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: Yeah.
ELIAS: The pause is what you could term to be the magical moment, because that is the moment in which you can achieve that clarity that you so much desire.
JULIE: Okay. Can you just live in this state of pause where your reality’s being created around you?
ELIAS: No. (Both laugh) That, my friend, would be —
JULIE: Non-physical? (Laughs)
ELIAS: That would be, yes (laughs), the expression of disengaging your reality. Reality is meant to be participated with. And in that, I would say that in YOUR reality, there is the continuous expression of movement. And in that, I would say that that’s the reason that I have expressed that in that center it’s not always calm, but you can be still. And in that, I would say that it’s a matter of recognizing that the pause is a tool. Can you live in the expression of the tool? No; it’s a tool. It’s something that you use.
And in that, it’s an action also. And I would say that it’s a very IMPORTANT tool and one that gives you much more clarity and awareness, because it is something that you are intentionally choosing. You’re intentionally choosing to step back into that center. That’s the point, is that that’s why you use the power of the pause, because you step out of your center, and the pause gives you the opportunity to step back into your center and your stillness, to be able to make a choice that is, I would say, the greatest benefit for you at the time.
JULIE: Mm-hm. Okay. So it’s like I’m stepping out of the center but continuously stepping back in.
ELIAS: Correct.
JULIE: And that’s natural for this reality? Or can you stay in your center?
ELIAS: Yes. It IS, but I would say that almost all of you have forgotten that.
JULIE: Yeah. About the center, you mean? Almost all —
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: Yeah. Okay. But it’s natural, like for anyone, to keep stepping out of it but stepping back?
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: Just don’t forget it. Okay.
ELIAS: Yes.
JULIE: Right. Like we’re almost compelled to step out, because we’re in physical reality.
ELIAS: Correct.
JULIE: But then we keep stepping back in.
ELIAS: Correct.
JULIE: Okay.
ELIAS: Correct.
JULIE: All right. So I have another meditation that I really like, which I believe this one is actually returning to the center as you’re going about your day. It’s called “turning the light around.” It’s a Daoist meditation where you’re just continuously… We’re moving through our day, aware of… They say stay aware of your breathing during the day, but continuously just remembering to turn the light back around to self. And a little device that I use, like I don’t just stay in that all the time with my attention, but sometimes if I notice a reaction or something I’ll turn the light around back to source, back to that pause and back to that emptiness, that center.
And.. Now this sounds kind of geeky, but I do it. I set a little timer for every minute. I have a beep, and it reminds me to turn the light around. And so I’ll do that like for a whole hour or something, and my reality, it’s like suddenly all my choices are just flowing, like, “Oh wow! Wasn’t that perfect!” “Wasn’t this perfect!” “Wasn’t that the greatest opportunity.” And everything’s showing up for me when I do that.
ELIAS: Precisely.
JULIE: That little geeky thing that I do. (Laughs)
ELIAS: I’d say it’s not so geeky. I’d say it’s tremendous, and I would agree that that is, in a manner of speaking, yes, an extension of your meditation and therefore everything DOES fall into place because that’s the point of meditation. That’s what meditation does. It helps you to be aware and to direct your energy without effort, in relation to what you want.
JULIE: Yeah. It’s effortless. (Laughs)
ELIAS: Yes. Precisely.
JULIE: Yeah. Yeah. It’s magical.
ELIAS: It is.
JULIE: Yeah.
ELIAS: That is the amazing part of meditation. And what I have expressed to other individuals is that another amazing aspect of meditation is that it accomplishes immediately. You don’t have to wait for something to build up. You don’t have to wait for something to come to you. Meditation is something that you are actively doing that turns your energy immediately, and therefore you see the results of it within the same day.
JULIE: Mm-hm. Yeah. Mm-hm.
Yeah, I… I’ve never stopped meditating since I realized. I do it at least for a little bit every single day because if I don’t, my life falls into a… like a level of discomfort that I can’t tolerate anymore (laughs), and so I have to do it some every day. And the more I do it, the better my life gets. Magical, yeah.
ELIAS: I very much understand.
JULIE: Yeah. Yeah, and I’ve just been looking for that magical flow of how can I just make this even more perfect, just trying to find that balance in myself where I can… increase my motivation. I guess part of it’s just letting go of still some of the trauma habits, the coping behaviors and things that are still popping up.
ELIAS: Yes. And I would say, and some of it is also what you have learned and what you’ve been taught and you don’t even think about it, and they’re simply automatic behaviors.
JULIE: Mm-hm. Yeah.
(Excerpt ends after 32 minutes)
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