Welcome.
Let's start by anchoring yourself in the present moment.
Letting go of the past,
Letting go of the future,
Settling into the present moment.
Just get comfortable in your chair or if you're lying down on the mat and just start tuning into your breath.
Let's use the breath as an anchor without modifying the breath at all.
Just tune into it as the breath comes in and the breath goes out.
Just breathing,
Anchoring our attention.
If the breaths are short,
Noticing that.
If the breaths are longer,
Noticing that.
So let's get started.
If you would like some more time with the anchor,
With the breath,
You can pause here.
If you'd like to continue,
You can just let it play.
So to see the good in others,
We need to be able to see it in ourselves.
And this has been a challenge in this country.
We can be especially hard on ourselves in this country.
We can be overly self-critical if we pay attention to our thoughts.
A few years ago when the Dalai Lama was here,
He was at a conference and many,
Many people were talking about the common experience of self-hatred,
Self-loathing,
Self-loathing.
And his English was good,
But he still consulted the interpreter.
And they were going back and forth and the interpreter kept saying self-hatred and he said,
What's that?
And then the interpreter said self-hatred again.
And as he struggled to grasp it,
He began to say,
What does that mean?
But this is a mistake.
Why would you do this?
How is this possible?
Perhaps it only exists in the Western world.
Related is Nelson Mandela who said,
It never hurts to see the good in someone.
They often act better because of it.
They often act better because of it.
So in this moment,
Let's apply that notion to ourselves.
To see the goodness in others is to do what Einstein calls expanding the circle of affection,
Cultivating our own well wishes,
Tuning into our innocence,
Our dignity,
Our natural beauty.
This will of course help us notice it in ourselves and in others.
So to deepen this,
See if you can remember a day or a moment where you felt a lot of love.
Perhaps you were in love with someone.
Maybe you were in love with life.
Maybe you felt really connected to a friend.
Maybe you got some really good news that you were really happy about and you felt overwhelming love.
See if you can tune in to what it's like to remember that,
What it feels like in your body,
In your mind,
In your spirit,
In your feelings.
What's it like to be in this field of love?
What does it feel like?
Let's let's sit with that for a few moments.
Just let it soak in.
Tune into it.
Breathe with it.
Let your attention rest there for a while.
As it's been there,
How does this loving energy influence your mind,
Your body?
What do you take away from this?
Experiencing this state is possible.
It's always available.
It's accessible,
Not only on the easy days,
Amazingly,
But also and especially in the difficult times.
So before you come out and go back to your daily life,
Just take note.
Mindfully tune in,
Check in about how going back to that memory,
Feeling that love again,
How it registered.
Thank you so much for listening.
I would love to hear your comments and feedback.
Namaste.
