Hey my friends,
Let's enter the space of a guided meditation to invite these teachings to land more deeply within us.
These teachings about the third agreement,
Do not assume.
These teachings about embracing a beginner's mind,
A don't know mind.
So I invite you to close your eyes if that's available to you and find a comfortable stance in your body,
Relaxing the eyelids and the eyes and their sockets,
Separating the lips a bit,
Relaxing the jaw,
Relaxing the forehead and the brows,
Relaxing the neck and shoulders,
Relaxing the torso and abdomen,
Pelvis,
Feeling your feet grounding in the earth,
Feeling your body grounded in the earth,
Offering a position of receiving,
Perhaps hands on your lap with palms up,
Available to receive,
Now bringing the light of your awareness to the breath,
Inhaling through the nose,
Blowing up the belly like a big balloon and exhaling through the mouth,
Squeezing the abdominal muscles,
Letting it go,
Connecting with the stillness and the silence between the words,
And if the mind stream is still busy,
You can give it a task,
On the inhale it can say,
Breathing in,
I know I am breathing in,
Breathing out,
I know I am safe.
Now let's explore the assuming mind versus the don't know mind.
If you can,
Bring up an assumption that you've made recently or in the past about someone,
About something,
Situation or conversation,
And notice how that feels,
Notice how assuming feels in your body,
Does it feel spacious or constricted,
Does it feel like it's coming from an ego centered space of knowing all,
Or from the spacious unknown,
Simply noticing without judgment how it feels,
And now let's drop this assumption,
Take a deep breath to clear it out,
Long exhale,
Now invite yourself into beginner's mind,
Don't know mind,
A mind of curiosity,
Might feel uncomfortable,
Unfamiliar,
Because the mind is so used to thinking,
But just give it a try,
There's no doing it right and there's no doing it wrong,
Take a deep breath into don't know mind,
On the inhale your mind can say,
Breathing in,
I know I am breathing in,
Breathing out,
I rest in don't know mind.
Noticing how your body feels in this space of not knowing,
There is nothing you need to know in this moment,
If you feel lost,
Just come back to the breath,
How does the body feel in this space of not knowing,
Uncertainty,
In this ever changing world,
Everything is always changing,
Come into your body and notice what is here,
Is there contraction or expansion,
There's no right or wrong,
There's simply meeting what is here,
In this moment,
And can you bring a curiosity to this moment,
How does it feel to not know,
How does it feel to rest in uncertainty,
May be pleasant,
And it may be unpleasant,
Can I stay,
Can I stay in the uncertainty,
Can I stay in not knowing,
What's next,
Can I bring a mind and curiosity into every moment in my life,
Can I see the ocean for the first time,
Though I've seen it thousands of times,
Can I see snow for the first time,
Though I may have seen it thousands of times,
Can I see my child's face for the first time,
Though I've seen it thousands of times,
How would my life change,
If I dropped the assuming mind and showed up to life with this don't know mind,
This curious mind,
This present mind,
As we prepare to enter back into our space of togetherness,
You can wiggle your fingers,
Perhaps do some circles with your shoulders or your neck,
Give yourself whatever you need in this moment,
A little stretch,
Maybe a little tapping,
Shift the energy,
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes,
Returning to our space,
Just noticing how you feel in this moment,
Noticing what is here for you,
I feel present and deeply grateful.
Our closing poem from Rumi,
The 13th century mystical poet,
Titled The Breeze at Dawn.
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you,
Don't go back to sleep,
You must ask for what you really want,
Don't go back to sleep,
People are going back and forth across the door sill where the two worlds touch,
The door is round and open,
Don't go back to sleep,
Om Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti,
Peace be with you,
Peace in your heart,
Peace in your mind,
Peace in your body,
And peace in our world,
And let us share the merit that whatever benefit might have come to us today from our listening,
May it benefit ourselves and be of benefit to everyone we encounter,
And may it aid in the healing and transformation of our world.
