It is our continuous and steady mindfulness daily practice that will make our shift of perception to take place,
To swap from that oblivious standpoint,
That place without,
To a stance where we can see things beyond with the creative touch of mindfulness,
In that place within honest openness and fearlessness.
Afternoon tea with friends is another mindfulness practice we can use to weaken the deep-rooted suffering we all carry inside our inherited luggage as human beings,
To recognize and allow and let whatever is here to simply be here just as it is.
We suffer even more when our suffering is squashed inside us.
So,
Rather than suffocating it,
Give space for your suffering to breathe and breathe with it by recognizing it is here.
Breathe in your suffering and breathe out your suffering.
Allow it to be and be consciously present with it.
Hold its hands and be kind and compassionate with the feeling,
Emotion,
Whatever is making you suffer.
You will see how at ease you will feel afterwards.
Pema Chodron says that making friends with our own demons and their accompanying insecurity leads to a very simple,
Understated relaxation and joy.
This is a seated practice.
You may sit on whatever you feel comfortable and relaxed.
You can do this practice with your eyes open or closed,
Whichever is best for you.
Feel the weight of your body against the surface where you are sitting upon.
Feel the contact of your feet on the floor supporting your body,
Calling your awareness to feel your breath.
Breathe in and out three times.
I've been breathing in.
Feel the air coming into your nostrils.
As you breathe in,
You may mentally say to yourself,
I'm breathing in.
Feel the air coming into your nostrils.
As you breathe out,
You may say,
I'm breathing out,
Feeling the air going out of your nostrils.
I'm breathing in.
Feel the movement of your belly rising.
And when you breathe out,
Feel the movement of your belly falling.
As you breathe in,
You feel the fresh air nourishing your lungs.
As you breathe out,
You feel the air moving out of your lungs.
Feel the space where you are in right now,
Wherever you are.
Feel your body and everything else surrounding it.
Feel the space.
Feel your body.
Feel your feet on the ground,
The weight of your body against the surface where you are sitting on or lying on.
Feel your presence inside this body which you are in.
Feel yourself here.
Move your attention,
Your awareness to what's going on inside your mind.
Be curious and open,
Gentle and equally kind to yourself and to your thoughts.
You may imagine thoughts as friends having a cup of tea with you.
You remain silent,
Having your tea.
Let them do the talking.
Do not go searching for any thoughts.
They will arise anyway,
So let your thoughts arise naturally as they will.
Just observe them.
Open your heart with curiosity and kindness without judging them in any way.
Invite a smile to your face,
Feeling the movements of the muscles around your mouth and at the corner of your eyes as if your eyes were smiling too.
Just have your cup of tea in stillness,
Observing friends doing what they do best,
Talking.
Observe when you leave your seat in that place within to respond to your friends' talk,
When you get involved with your thoughts,
When you get caught up inside them.
There is nothing wrong with it.
Just be equally kind to yourself and to your thoughts as this is a great moment for exercising the opening of your heart.
This is when you realize you've left your peaceful place within and got caught up in the fantasies,
Stories,
Plans,
To-do lists,
Worries and the narratives of your mind.
Notice any feelings that may accompany them.
This is the light of your awareness shining and bringing you to the present moment.
This is the light of your awareness entering your wombs.
Smile to yourself when this happens.
And when it does happen,
With no judgments,
You move back to that peaceful place within stillness and begin to observe your friends again using your breath,
Sounds,
Bodily sensations as a tool to bring you back to the present.
This is the game here in this exercise,
To simply observe what guests arrive for your afternoon tea time.
It is the nature of the mind to be dynamic,
So let your guests make their noise with their talk.
Just observe without following them.
Yes,
It is not that easy,
But just try.
Let them come and go as they will.
Keep yourself silent in that place within curiosity and kindly smile to them.
Again,
Anytime you notice that their presence,
The presence of any of your thoughts or dreams,
Fantasies,
Whatever it might be,
Or their talk,
Is bringing you any kind of feelings,
Be they pleasant or unpleasant or even neutral feeling,
Simply observe this movement with gentleness and kindness to yourself and to whatever you might be feeling.
Smile,
Be receptive,
Be curious about what's going on.
Remain receptive,
Allowing your heart to open to whatever is happening without any engagement,
But kind acknowledgement and acceptance.
You may mentally say these words or any other words you feel more comfortable with.
I open my heart and breathe in the presence of this feeling in my presence with kindness.
I smile with kindness.
I open my heart and accept it as it is.
You may repeat these words or something similar.
Each time you notice the presence of any feeling,
Comfortable or uncomfortable,
Do not push any feeling away from you or cling to them.
Just breathe it in and breathe it out with the kindness,
Tenderness,
And compassion you have in your heart.
Call in your awareness to sounds.
Pay attention to sounds.
Near sounds.
Distant sounds.
Take a couple of breaths,
Feeling your body gently moving your fingers and toes,
Feeling your presence once again in this place you are in right now.
Breathe in,
Smile and feel the gentle movements of your body.
Breathe out,
Relax your hands and feet,
Smile.
Breathe in,
Smile and feel your whole body.
Breathe out,
Relax your whole body.
Relax yourself,
Smile.
It has been a great pleasure to guide you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for letting me guide you.
I'll see you next time.
You take care.
