Vast Sky Mind Signup

Enroll in the online course
Vast Sky Mind: Fundamentals of Nondual Meditation and Awakening

Mondays, Oct 30th, 2023 – February 5th, 2024
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Pacific Time

Padmasambhava once said, “What is the difference between a buddha and a regular person? The only difference is whether or not they have realized the awakened mind. The substance of the awakened state, of Buddhahood, is already present inside you, but you don’t recognize it.” Padmasambhava’s assertion that there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, nothing to gain—because you already are that which you seek—is the essence of nondual meditation.  

Nondual meditation is the ageless path of realizing the awakened mind already inside you. Join meditation teacher and author Michael Taft and learn how to do this for yourself. Taft has trained in nondual meditation techniques for over 35 years and created this course especially for people who have done other forms of meditation, but who are curious about engaging in this very different path. While generally following Buddhist understandings, this course takes a non-denominational approach that is informed by modern neuroscience and scholarship.

Whether you are new to meditation, or if you are a mindfulness meditator whose practice seems stalled, or if you have been following Michael’s guided meditation series on Youtube, if you are wanting something more—a practice that both engages with life and that can actually lead to awakening—then this course is for you. 

In Vast Sky Mind, you will learn:
– What the term “nondual” actually means
– How to meditate on emptiness (and what “emptiness” even means)
– The techniques of “effortless” meditation
– How to overcome the obstacles that are blocking your realization
– The history of nondual meditation worldwide
– How nondual meditation is understood in Buddhist traditions such as Vajrayana and Dzogchen
– Serious practice without a guru
– A system of meditation that you can stick with
– Much more

This is a live-only, online course that takes place on Zoom. Class will meet once a week for 90 minutes. During each class, Michael will teach on that week’s topic, take live questions from the group, and lead a guided meditation. In addition, students are encouraged to join a “practice pod”—a group of others students from the course—to study, share, bring up questions, and support each other’s practice throughout the class and moving forward. There are also optional Q & A sessions, supplemental readings, and a Discord server to help deepen your practice and understanding.

Requirements:
– Commitment to meditate for 30 minutes daily
– Complete all assigned course materials
– Attend each class (videos of each class will be available during the course.)
– Strong desire to learn, understand, and practice nondual meditation
– While it’s not a requirement, this class is much easier if you already have a strong meditation background, particularly in vipassana techniques

A Note About the Dates:
Both Christmas and New Years fall on a Monday this year. Therefore, we will not have class on those Mondays, and pick back up after the holidays. Therefore, the class ends on February 5th, 2024.

Recent Students of Vast Sky Mind Say:

Michael’s ability to elicit the experience he is talking about is kind of magical. On several occasions in class, I had a direct experience of vast spacious awareness as he described it. Huge gratitude!

~ CR

Through the course, I have a deeper understanding of why I meditate. I’m not as reactionary to things that used to send me through the roof, and I spend less time scrolling mindlessly on my phone. I’m often happy just to sit and enjoy the moment during times when I’d otherwise be looking for something to distract me.

~ Tyson N.

If you are serious about deepening your meditation and being in the world in a more spacious way, this is the course for you.

~Heather M

This is a fantastic course for anyone that considers themselves to be an intermediate level meditator. Michael provides a clear overview of how and why to meditate using nondual techniques and is building a community of practitioners that can work with each other in this area without secrecy or long preliminaries.

~ David M.

This course was not only beneficial in more ways than I anticipated, but it was also great fun! Michael’s teaching style is open, fresh, and approachable. If you are looking to deepen your practice, expand your experience, clarify your understanding of multiple techniques, and apply that knowledge to your life, this is fantastic system in which to do so. Thank you Michael many times over!

~ Beau

Mondays, Oct 30th, 2023 – February 5th, 2024
3:30 pm – 5:00 pm Pacific Time

Got questions? You can ask them on the DeconstructU Discord server on the #courses-events channel.