My name is Larissa.
We're going to practice together for about 15 minutes.
As always,
Just take these first couple of moments to settle into your body.
Just make any small adjustments that are needed for you to feel stable,
Steady,
Supported.
And then as you're settling into your body,
Let's take a moment to decide how to soften your gaze.
You might just simply close your eyes.
Or you might choose to set your gaze downward,
Just letting your eyes rest softly in their sockets,
Lids heavy.
And then from here,
We make another choice to start to notice sensation in your body.
And that is essentially a large part of our meditation,
Just making choices when we are aware of what our mind is doing.
And the awareness is such an important piece.
It's not about being perfectly still.
It's not about trying to make yourself calm,
Although very often that happens once we slow down a bit.
It's just choosing anytime you are aware of what your mind is doing,
Choosing this gentle concentration,
Just noticing sensation of being in your body.
And we choose the body because it is always present.
Your body,
This vehicle you get to exist within.
What do you notice about it in this moment here?
How do you feel gravity holding you?
Can you notice the subtle movements in your body,
The breath coming in and out?
Depending on how you're situated,
If your spine is not resting on anything,
There's very often a subtle sway,
Very subtle.
You might even notice at the very bottom of your exhale when there's an emptiness.
You might even notice there your heartbeat.
Let's bring some curiosity here.
What do you feel?
What kind of sensations is your body sharing with you in this moment?
And with deep curiosity,
Curiosity the antidote to judgment,
You just bring your curious awareness to sensation again.
Where do I feel my breath right now?
Then just curious again.
Where do I feel my breath right now?
And this is the practice,
Just nowness again and again and again.
As our brilliant mind jumps to the future,
Back to the past,
This little creature that lives inside our skull that helps us time travel.
How incredible that our mind can do that.
And at the same time,
How beautiful it is that our body is just existing here in the nowness.
You just come back to that question a hundred times,
Many times throughout the day.
But we get to practice here,
Just the simplicity of where do I feel my breath?
It gives our mind a moment to rest.
We get to soften for just a moment from all the responsibilities and the sorrows and the excitements of being in a human body.
It's our mind that's constantly taking us out of all the sensation.
And here we have an opportunity to simply feel.
Beginning with that simple question,
Where do I feel my breath?
Can I feel the firmness of gravity beneath me just holding me?
That steadiness is constant.
The change of breath is constant.
Our mind is this continually moving creature.
But like all creatures,
Creatures want safety and care and love and belonging.
So never making your mind wrong,
Just noticing,
Oh yeah,
There goes my mind.
Here is my breath.
To witness your breath move is to remember that we are nature.
Sometimes the sorrows of being human is caused by our disconnection from nature.
Somehow we're beings sitting on top of nature instead of a being made of nature.
It's our brain,
This little creature that wants comfort and safety and love and belonging,
As all creatures do.
Some may say that's anthropomorphizing an animal.
Does an animal really want love?
But perhaps they don't have to want it because they always simply belong.
They haven't forgotten that they are a part of nature.
Whether it's a lone tiger in Russia,
Or a bunch of bunnies in a nest outside your window,
Those creatures have not forgotten their belonging.
Very often the longing of our mind to be somewhere else,
The future or the past,
Is because we've simply forgotten our belonging.
So just notice here how your body nestles into gravity,
And gravity delights to hold you.
How your ribs gently slide out of the way,
So air can come rushing into your body and bring you life again.
This soft animal body you get to exist within has not forgotten its belonging.
So no matter how many times you need to invite your mind to come back and rest in the rhythm of your breath,
Your heartbeat,
Each moment of that arrival is enough.
And it's just right here in the nowness again.
So here's my breath.
Where do I feel it in my body?
Notice again a breath.
We don't have to try hard to invite our mind back.
It's just noticing a breath again.
You don't have to get rid of a thought or push it away,
Or soften some anxiety or even some excitement.
You don't need to tether your mind.
Your body is simply here.
Just notice a breath.
This idea of longing and belonging,
As I was playing with that word in my mind this morning,
This belonging in my own body,
Listening to the bird songs and having some enjoyment in that.
I had this realization how close those words are,
Longing and belonging.
The only thing that longing is missing is the be,
The being.
So anytime I feel in longing and some nostalgia that I don't even fully understand,
Just come back to being.
Just be with your breath and suddenly your body reminds your lonely brain that you're already here.
You are already belonging to nature.
There isn't anything missing.
I invite you to bring your hands into any closing habits or practices.
Using your hands to feel the sensation of being in this body.
I'll end with a few loving kindness phrases,
Repeating them back as they make sense for you.
May I remember I already belong to myself.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
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.
Go slow if you can.
It's just one breath.
Whenever you feel complete,
Flutter your eyes open,
Find a little movement,
Take a moment to thank yourself just for showing up.
As always,
Thanks for being here,
Being part of our sangha,
Our community.
