Adopting your posture.
Settling into a dignified upright position,
But also one that is kind.
And practice is a gift.
Connecting with your intentions,
Your good intentions.
Warm loving intentions for yourself in being here.
I'm inviting you to tune in to connect with anything that helps bring up a felt sense of warmth in you.
So for many people that is bringing to mind someone dear to you,
Who you know cares for you.
It can be a person,
An animal,
It can be someone who's past,
A spiritual being,
It can be many people.
We're not looking for a perfect relationship or that this person or being always treated us in the way we would like,
But that we know in their heart of hearts that they care,
That they wish us well,
And want us to be okay.
Then we'll tune in to the breath.
And whenever any kind of contraction,
Suffering in any form,
Maybe in the form of a contraction,
Maybe tension,
Thinking,
Distress,
Distraction,
Anytime anything arises,
Meeting it with this warmth and the intention at the heart of it,
Which is not to reject,
To not judge,
Dismiss,
Or deny anything,
But simply to meet it with love.
So it's like a big,
Warm hug.
So this energy that we bring to it is soothing,
Kind,
Friendly.
So beginning now by settling into the breath,
Finding your anchor in the body,
Orienting towards the stillness,
So that pause in between the in-breath and the out-breath.
The quiet that can be experienced when we're simply riding the waves of the breath.
Like floating or surfing on the waves of the breath on a calm day.
Just allowing ourselves to be carried in and out,
Up and down,
So anything that is pleasant or soothing,
Any quietness,
Stillness,
Sense of spaciousness as it arises,
Seeing if you can orient towards it,
Just notice it,
It's like gently fanning the flames of a new fire,
Coaxing it,
Allowing it to take up a bit more space.
And when it leaves or you can't see it,
That's okay,
Just come back to the breath.
You might connect again with that sense of centeredness,
Steadiness,
Down through your core,
Deep inside of you.
Perhaps it's one of the elements that is most grounding for you right now,
So just choosing the base of your practice,
The breath,
The elements,
Sense of stability,
Centeredness,
And returning to that faithfully again and again,
Whenever the mind wanders.
If the mind wanders and you find yourself caught up in something,
Or if you notice any discomfort in the body,
Emotional distress,
Anything at all,
As soon as you recognize it,
Acknowledging it,
And then meeting it with this warmth,
Can be simply the felt sense of warmth in your own being,
Your own good heart,
Radiating towards it.
You can use words if you like to try and convey that,
It's not so much about the exact words,
But the message they're conveying.
You can use a sense of energy,
Light,
Or warmth,
Color,
So whatever just comes to you,
Whatever feels right as a way of meeting this place of suffering,
Can be the breath,
The breath is a really helpful vehicle.
You can let this care and support and warmth be carried by the breath into wherever this is showing up.
Remembering we're not rejecting anything,
This is something in us that needs care,
Needs to be met with kindness and friendliness,
Then it will soften.
When that dissipates,
Simply coming back to the breath,
Starting over,
Whatever arises,
Meeting it with this kindness,
Nothing is left out.
If you would like to,
Feel free to let go of the anchor of the breath,
And just rest in open awareness,
Which is where we move into this practice of the big sky mind,
Just allowing all phenomenon to come and go,
So maybe thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations,
Breath,
Sounds,
Anything that arises,
You're just observing it,
Moving through the mind like a cloud,
Like weather passing through,
And anything that has a tone of unpleasantness,
Contraction,
Or clinging,
Any kind of grab to it,
Or reactivity to it,
You're invited to bring that metta,
The warmth,
Kindness of your own good heart,
Bringing it to meet this,
And then when that's done,
Or when it's settled,
Resting back in this open,
Spacious awareness,
Simply allowing and watching all things moving through,
No need to resist anything,
No need to cling to anything,
Like sitting on the riverbank,
Watching the river flow,
Only this time it's the whole of the stream of experience.
And you may wish to do that for the rest of the time,
The next five minutes,
Or you may wish to just dip in and out of it,
And return to the breath as needed,
Meeting everything with kindness,
Nothing is left out.
It's a really powerful way of shifting the habits of mind,
The automatic reactivity,
Knowing and experiencing that you belong to something much bigger,
Not identifying with the thoughts or the momentary experiences,
But allowing them to move through you,
Witnessing them with kind,
Warm attentiveness,
And not attaching to them.
