My name is Larissa.
We're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
Take a couple of moments here just to settle in.
Any of those small movements that you might make a little wiggle in your torso to settle a little deeper a couple of neck rolls,
Sometimes just a couple of deep breaths,
Maybe even a couple of sighs,
Just letting your body land.
Whenever you feel ready,
You can close your eyes or set your gaze downward.
Just softening.
Just letting the vigilance of your eyes become a bit slower.
You might notice when you bring your attention to your breath,
It automatically deepens a bit.
Slows down a bit.
And as we slow down our physical form,
We're also inviting our mind to slow down.
And it doesn't always happen immediately.
Sometimes our mind actually speeds up a little bit.
There's many parts within us that are asking for attention and sometimes when we slow down those parts start speaking.
Other times we slow down and we get a little sleepy.
And then there's a million things that might happen between those far ends of sleepiness and a very chatty brain.
None of it is good or bad.
All of it just experience.
Just take a few moments here just to land.
What is the experience of being in my body right now?
Can you notice your feet touching the floor?
Perhaps even.
The sensation of material your feet are touching.
And within the slowness of your body,
You can start to really feel the movement of your breath.
Where do you feel it?
Where do you feel the movement the most?
Can you notice the stillness between breaths,
That little space before you breathe in again?
And it's just this as many times as needed,
Just returning to yourself.
To notice the movement of your breath.
I've heard Sharon Salzberg tell this story a dozen times when she first went to India to study meditation.
She said her first instruction was just to notice her breath and to count 10 breaths.
She had some frustration around that.
She said,
What a silly thing.
I've traveled all the way here,
Spent all this time and energy,
And the instruction is just to notice my breath.
How easy is that?
She said about three breaths in,
She realized she lost count.
And then she started again per the instruction.
And then after a few times of not getting past the second or third breath,
She realized,
I have no idea what my mind is doing.
And perhaps this instruction is much more difficult than I considered.
And I love that frame of just the simplicity of it and how beautifully complex our minds are,
And sometimes the simplest thing is hard to hang on to.
It's not even that phrase I say the word hang on to.
We're not trying to cling to it.
But return to it because it's always here.
It's the simplicity of breathing.
We need these moments of gentleness,
Of softness,
Of letting our mind rest.
Your body will just carry on breathing for you,
And you just get to witness it.
And it's not about being perfectly still and watching every single breath that comes in and out with vigilance.
Softening the vigilance and just noticing,
Oh yeah,
There goes my mind again.
There's thinking happening.
In this way,
We become gentle with ourselves.
There's nothing we need to judge or fix or change.
It's just witnessing.
On occasion we need to Grab our mind by the hand and draw it back.
Just like a kid playing in the yard,
Suddenly they run towards the street.
You run towards them and you grab a hold of them to keep them safe.
It can be the same in our meditation when our mind starts to travel down a pathway that's no longer helpful for us.
An old thought pattern telling us what we're supposed to be,
What we should be,
How other people are wrong,
How we're wrong.
Just witness these things.
So yeah,
I notice that's happening.
Right here is my breath.
Right here is the tender care of the present moment.
Heartbeat.
Breath moving.
Birdsong happening outside my window.
And there's a steadiness,
There's a calm presence.
When we are in presence.
Just returning to yourself a hundred times,
As many times as needed.
So yeah,
Here's my breath.
There's that steady space between breaths,
That moment of pause when I'm totally empty,
Just available to receive whatever is here.
Breath by breath.
Returning to yourself every time you notice your breath.
There's a simplicity in it.
And there's also a profound reverence in it.
Is the fact that Our body keeps breathing for us.
There's a beautiful quote by,
Excuse me,
Paulo Coelho.
Who wrote The Alchemist.
And he says,
You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.
Each day is a different one.
Each day brings a miracle of its own.
It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.
You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one.
And I like to bring that down to the level of the present moment.
I can become blind by seeing each breath as a similar one.
Yes,
There's the beauty of rhythm and consistency and trusting that my body will take this next breath.
There's a similarity.
A familiarity.
And our brain feels very safe with what's familiar.
And so just slowing down to notice your breath,
There's a safety in it.
That's where that ease comes in,
In moments.
But also to recognize that every breath is brand new.
Significant on its own.
It's the both hand,
Which is exactly what life is.
It's very rare.
That it's either or.
We're either happy or sad.
We're usually both.
We cannot take the inhale or the exhale.
We definitely need both.
And so just as our breath becomes ordinary,
Our rhythms and habits become ordinary.
When we slow down and really pay attention,
Suddenly the ordinary becomes extra ordinary.
Extraordinary,
Just taking in this breath.
What a miracle it is.
Our brilliant,
Beautiful brains could not possibly think our way into the pathway of oxygen to blood as it gives us life.
We just have to receive that gift.
Even if I know innately.
How respiration works,
The knowledge of it.
Doesn't give me the body wisdom of life.
So every time we slow down and just witness a breath coming in,
We are giving reverence to the life that moves through us.
Even if it's just for a half second and then immediately a thought takes back over.
That's perfect.
That's exactly as it is.
And because it is,
There's nothing wrong with it.
For making your mind wrong.
Just witnessing its movement,
Just as you witness the movement of your breath.
Notice again,
Where do you feel your breath?
Can you notice the space between breaths?
Notice this breath moving through you.
Notice the fullness of it.
As you inhale.
The softening that comes as you exhale.
It's just a matter of paying attention.
That very often we're just so busy with.
What our mind is doing,
What's coming next,
Or what just happened.
That we miss it,
And that's okay,
There's nothing wrong with that.
Right here.
It's the opportunity.
To not miss it,
But to fully receive it,
Just the present moment.
Paying deep attention.
As Paulo Coelho says.
It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.
Last week I shared Diane Ackerman's quote.
We can enchant ourselves by paying deep attention.
We'll invite you to bring your hands into your closing habits or practices.
This deep invitation to pay attention to what's present.
Never with forcefulness.
But with insight,
With clarity,
With wisdom,
With gentleness.
Paying attention to the best of your ability.
And using our breath as a grounding reminder.
Of presence.
We'll end with a few loving-kindness phrases,
Just repeating them back to yourself as they make sense for you.
May I notice what I'm paying attention to today?
When action is needed.
May I choose to move with ease and peace.
And may the merits of our practice ripple out to benefit all beings.
Whenever you feel complete,
Go slow,
Find a little movement.
Take a moment to thank yourself.
As always,
Thank you for being here.
Thanks for supporting each other.
