Well,
Welcome everybody.
And Make yourselves comfortable.
Allow your body to settle into this position.
One that feels supported and at ease.
There's nowhere you need to go,
Nothing you need to achieve.
Nothing you need to fix.
For the next few minutes simply allow yourself to be guided.
Take a slow breath in.
And a gentle breath out.
Again,
Breathing in and breathing out.
With each exhalation.
Allow yourself to soften a little bit more.
Allow the muscles of your face to relax,
Your shoulders to drop,
Your hands to rest easily,
Your body supported by the earth beneath you.
And as you're breathing,
Finds its own natural rhythm.
Become aware of a path stretching out before you.
A beautiful stone path winding gently through a garden.
Not an ordinary garden,
Though.
A sacred garden.
A place that seems strangely familiar.
As though you've been there before.
Perhaps a long time ago.
Perhaps only in your dreams.
You begin to walk.
The air is warm and peaceful.
Birdsong drifts through the trees.
Sunlight dances between the leaves.
And yet.
.
.
Despite the beauty surrounding you.
There is a feeling that something is missing.
You cannot quite name it.
Only that you have come here searching.
Searching for something precious.
Something has been forgotten.
And as you continue along the path,
A small monkey appears.
Bright,
Energetic,
Restless.
It leaps from branch to branch above you.
Look over here,
It calls,
And immediately your attention is pulled away.
A memory arises.
Something that happened yesterday.
A conversation.
A mistake,
A regret.
The surface of your mind ripples.
You continue to walk.
A few minutes later the monkey calls again.
And what of tomorrow?
And now plans begin to appear,
Things to do,
Problems to solve.
Responsibility is waiting for your attention.
Again,
The surface ripples.
The monkey means no harm.
It believes it's helping.
That believes that if it keeps you busy enough,
Alert enough,
Prepared enough,
You'll be safe.
But every time you follow this direction,
You drift a little farther from the peace you seek.
You smile gently.
And thank the monkey for its efforts.
And continue along the path.
With each step the garden becomes quieter.
The sounds of the outside world are beginning to fade.
The monkey's voice grew softer.
The path leads you deeper.
And deeper.
And deeper into the garden.
Past the ancient trees.
Pass flowering plants.
Past quiet places where sunlight rests upon the earth.
And with every step,
You feel yourself becoming lighter.
Lighter.
And lighter.
More present.
More at ease.
And now you arrive at beautiful clearing.
In the center rests a still pond.
Perfectly round.
Perfectly peaceful.
Its surface reflects the sky above like a mirror.
You're drawn to water.
Slowly,
Naturally.
As though something has been waiting for you here.
You sit beside the water.
The monkey sits nearby.
Watching quietly.
Watching quietly.
Drifting downward.
And then,
Pebble falls into the pond.
A memory,
A ripple,
And another,
A worry,
Ripple.
A plan.
Riffle a judgment,
And yet another riffle.
Each thought touching the surface and sending waves across the water.
You simply watch.
It's not your job to stop the ripples.
Simply watching.
Not resisting.
Not chasing.
Not fighting.
Just observing.
Become the observer.
Simply watching.
And your notice.
The pebbles become pure.
The ripple smaller.
The water karma.
The monkey grows quiet.
The garden grows quiet.
And for a moment.
.
.
No pebble is thrown.
No memory.
No future.
No striving.
No problem to solve.
The pond becomes perfectly still.
Perfectly still.
Allow the stillness.
Too perfect.
Perfectly still.
And as you gaze into the silent water,
Expecting to see your reflection.
Something surprising happens.
The boundary between yourself and the garden begins to soften.
You notice the trees surrounding you.
The same trees that release the oxygen you breathe.
You notice the earth beneath you.
The same earth that provides every morsel of food that your body has ever consumed.
You notice the warmth of the sun.
The same sunlight that sustains all life.
And Enablement.
You realize.
That you're not separate from any of it.
You never have been.
You are not a visitor in the garden.
You're a part of it.
As the wave is part of the ocean.
As a leaf is part of the tree.
As the breath as part of the wind.
You belong here.
You belong here.
You always have.
The water remains perfectly still.
And now the reflection begins to fade.
Not because anything's wrong.
Because there is no longer a need to search for yourself.
There is only stillness.
Only awareness.
Only peace.
Rest here for a few moments.
Nothing to do.
Nothing to become.
Simply resting by the pond.
Allowing yourself to experience the quiet presence.
A gentle contaminant.
A natural ease.
Notice the bliss's dull excitement.
It's not intensity.
It's not something that arrives from outside.
It's the quiet joy that remains when the ripples settle.
The soft peace beneath striving.
The calm presence beneath thinking.
The still water beneath every passing wave.
Take a few slow breaths here.
Breathing in peace.
Breathing now is.
.
.
Breathing in stillness.
Breathing out effort.
And now you discover.
.
.
The treasure you've been seeking.
Not hidden somewhere deeper in the garden.
Not waiting around the next corner.
Not belonging to someone else.
It's been here all along.
Quiet bliss,
Resting beneath every thought.
Peaceful presence beneath every distraction.
A sacred space that has never left you.
And whenever life becomes noisy.
Whenever the monkey becomes restless.
Whenever the surface becomes disturbed.
You can return here.
To this garden.
To this pond.
To this stillness.
Not because you created it.
But because you've remembered it.
Take a deep breath now.
Feeling the body once again.
Feeling the surface beneath you.
Feeling the gentle rhythm of your breathing.
Carry the sense of peace with you.
Slowly start to wiggle the toes and the fingers.
Allowing your awareness to expand.
And knowing the garden remains within you.
Always available.
Always waiting.
Always home.
Slowly come back now.
Coming all the way back now.
The Splix Blissful practice is over.
Namaste.
