And when it feels right,
You can soften your gaze in some way.
Eyes closed.
Or gaze downward.
Letting the resting of your eyes.
Point towards your heart.
Even in our physical presence,
When we close our eyes,
Very often our eyes just turn downward.
It's this invitation from your physical body to look into your heart space.
Perhaps witnessing the physicality of feeling your lungs breathing in and out moving around your heart in this very soft focal point.
It's so helpful for our mind that is in such movement.
To have a focal point to return to.
And not because we're ever trying to stop our mind.
Letting your mind be a mind.
Witnessing the brilliance of it.
And supporting it when your mind gets stuck in these little human traps.
We get stuck in these little loops at times.
And some of us have lots of planning loops.
Some of us,
Excuse me,
Some of us.
Have little anxiety loops or big ones.
All of us have.
Great big love loops.
And there's nothing wrong with traveling those loops.
We have an opportunity to let our eyes cast downward towards our heart and just rest in presence for a moment.
Let all of those loops rest and everything lands in this open,
Holding place of support.
We witness.
Just witness your breath moving through you.
The sweetness of your body taking care of you.
There is something alive within you.
Your heart beating.
Being generated by some force that I can't really understand.
And studying the mechanics of it.
And this is certainly important.
To have people that intimately know the mechanics of the heart so they can help heal us when we're physically wounded.
You also have the power to heal your heart.
Not as within.
And every time we sit.
Whether you sit alone,
We sit together in Sangha like this.
Every time you pause and notice a breath.
You honor.
The life within you.
You contact that healing space within you.
And you find your own flavor,
Your own pathway.
The medicine that is just yours.
Breath by breath.
Moment-by-moment,
Present awareness.
It's not a trying,
It's an arriving.
And the good news is you're already home.
You've already arrived.
Simply remembering.
I'm right here.
I am with my breath.
My body is breathing for me.
And your breath itself is a prayer.
And that word can have so many meanings.
And I don't say it.
As a way to point to any particular religion.
Our practice here is drawn from many wisdom traditions.
Some call it meditation.
Some call it contemplation.
Some call it prayer.
We call it stillness.
Whatever it is that you call it.
That's sitting with all of the longings of your heart.
And witnessing yourself.
In whatever you're experiencing.
And there's a really beautiful quote on this word prayer by Brother David Steindl-Rast.
He committed his entire life to gratitude,
All of his teachings pointing towards gratitude.
Towards this magnanimous,
Open heart,
This benevolent space within us that we all have.
He said prayer is not sending in an order and expecting it.
To be fulfilled.
Prayer is attuning yourself.
To the life of the world.
To love.
The force that moves the sun and the moon and the stars.
Prayer is attuning yourself to the life of the world,
To love,
To the force that moves the sun and the moon and the stars.
As one tradition says,
We are a prayer without ceasing.
That is our breath.
As the Buddhist tradition says,
In stillness,
Spontaneous joy arises.
This is the same thing.
And you get to decide.
What is the song that comes from your heart?
What is the attunement to yourself that allows you to be pulled forward?
No one can tell you what it is.
It is yours.
And you learn it every moment,
You just witness your breath.
I'll invite you to take a moment to notice your hands.
Creating them in a formation that feels supportive for you.
Palms together,
Like gratitude,
Hands over your heart.
A way to contact yourself.
Your own hands an extension of your heart.
We'll end with a few loving-kindness raises,
Just repeating these words.
Is mantras,
The word mantra meaning mind tool.
Allowing the tool of the mind to help you stay connected to your intention.
Through repetition.
May I remember the innate goodness of my breath.
May I allow the goodness of my heart to shine.
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,
Never any rush.
Find a little movement,
Take a moment to thank yourself.
As always,
Thank you for being here supporting the sangha,
This community.
