So coming into a comfortable meditation posture.
Begin by relaxing the body,
Setting the body at ease.
Finding a posture where you can let your mind remain alert without getting sleepy.
Where you're comfortable enough that you don't have any physical distractions and you can allow the body to come to stillness.
And taking as much time as you need.
And as you're allowing your body to settle into stillness,
Begin to allow the thinking mind also to start letting go,
Letting go of the busyness,
The planning,
Any anxiety or distress,
Thoughts of the past or the future.
Thoughts about anyone,
Anywhere else.
Begin to allow those thoughts to soften and let go also.
Knowing that thoughts will come back later.
Thoughts will always arise.
Exist for a little while.
And flit away.
Even those thoughts that we ruminate about.
They just keep arising.
They don't stay the whole time.
They just keep coming back.
And as we can begin to let go of the domination of the thinking mind.
We can start to release the thoughts more and more easily.
Softening body and mind.
Settling.
Allowing the body and the energy to settle downward.
Releasing more with each exhale.
Noticing that you're breathing.
And begin to let your attention focus on your breath.
Notice the sensations as the breath flows in through the nostrils,
Down through the throat,
Filling the upper lungs.
The lower lungs.
And again,
As it passes back out.
Softening the body and the mind while holding the attention on the entire in-breath.
And the entire out-breath.
Relaxing into the sensations of breathing.
Coming home to rest in the breath.
Calmly abiding with your experience just as it is in this moment.
And in this moment.
Allowing awareness of all that is happening.
Within the body,
Within the mind.
Outside.
Allowing that it's just like this right now.
Letting go of any clinging to wishing it were otherwise.
In the effort to make it be different.
Returning the attention to the breath again and again.
Resting in the sureness of each inhalation.
Each exhalation.
With each breath in,
Recognizing any physical,
Emotional,
Or mental tension.
And with each breath out,
Releasing.
A little bit more.
Settling.
Calmly abiding.
Paying even more attention to the breath.
Beginning to notice that each breath is different than the last.
No two breaths are the same.
Each breath lasts only as long.
As its own inhale.
It's on exhale.
Resting awareness in the breath.
Awareness in the present moment.
Resting in the stable continuity of the breath,
Even as each breath changes,
Varies,
Comes and goes.
Resting in the stable continuity of this body.
Even as its momentary states change.
As it ages.
As it dwells in health or injury or illness.
Rest in the stable continuity of this life.
Even as everything changes all the time,
Our awareness remains steady and strong.
We have the capacity for calm abiding.
Even in the face of impermanence of change.
We can always come back to grounding ourselves in the present moment.
Through settling into the body.
Resting in the breath.
And now slowly,
Gently.
Bringing the awareness back.
And as you come back into presence in the room,
Inviting the query,
Can I see impermanence as an ally?
