Welcome,
My friend.
Welcome to this practice of radical allowing.
For the next few minutes,
There is nowhere you need to get to.
Nothing you need to figure out.
Nothing you need to change.
You don't need to become calmer.
You don't need to quiet your mind.
You don't need to relax your body.
You don't even need to feel okay.
This is simply a space to practice being with what is already here.
So begin by finding a position that feels workable for you.
You can close your eyes,
Soften your gaze,
Or simply let your attention rest somewhere in the space around you.
And just notice that you are here right now.
And before we do anything else,
See if you can release the idea that there is a particular way this moment is supposed to feel.
Maybe your body feels comfortable.
Maybe it doesn't.
Maybe your mind is quiet.
Maybe it's busy.
Maybe there is ease or tension.
Sadness,
Fatigue,
Anxiety,
Pain.
Restlessness,
Numbness,
Or something you can't quite name.
Whatever is here,
This is where we begin.
And actually,
This is where we stay.
There is no better moment waiting for you at the end of this meditation.
There is only this one.
Begin to open your awareness to the whole field of your experience.
Rather than focusing closely on any one sensation.
Allow yourself to notice the larger landscape.
Sounds around you.
The feeling of your body being supported,
Light or darkness behind your eyelids.
Sensations moving through the body,
Thoughts appearing and disappearing.
Emotion,
Breath,
Space.
You don't have to hold your attention anywhere.
Let awareness be wide.
Let experience come to you.
Now notice if there is anything you're subtly trying to change.
Maybe you're trying to breathe more deeply,
Trying to relax a tense muscle.
Trying to stop thinking.
Trying to make an uncomfortable sensation go away.
Trying to get yourself into the right state.
If you notice that,
Nothing has gone wrong.
Even that urge to change this moment can be allowed.
You don't have to get rid of the desire to fix.
You can simply notice,
Ah,
This is here too.
What would happen if,
Just for this moment,
You stopped negotiating with reality?
If tension is here,
Tension is allowed.
If discomfort is here.
Discomfort is allowed.
If anxiety is here.
Anxiety is allowed.
If your mind is racing.
The racing mind is allowed.
And if you desperately wish something were different.
.
.
Even that is allowed.
Not because you like it.
Or you want it to stay.
But because simply,
In this moment,
It is already here.
I'll see if you can let your experience have a little more room.
Not pushing it away,
Not pulling it closer,
Not analyzing it,
Not turning it into a lesson.
Just allowing it to exist.
Sensations can be sensations.
Thoughts can be thoughts.
Sounds can be sounds.
Feelings can be feelings.
Nothing needs to become anything else.
Now allow your awareness to become even more open.
Notice that experience is happening all at once.
There may be sensations in the body.
And sounds outside the body.
Thoughts and silence,
Movement and stillness.
Comfort and discomfort.
Things you enjoy and things you would rather not be experiencing.
All of it appearing within the same wide field of awareness.
You don't have to choose which parts belong.
For a little while now,
Let go of even these instructions.
No technique,
No task,
No particular place to put your attention.
Just awareness.
Just this moment being exactly as it is.
As we begin to close,
Notice if there is any temptation to evaluate what just happened.
You may ask,
Was it peaceful enough?
Did I allow enough?
Did anything change?
You can let those questions go unanswered.
Radical allowing isn't about creating a particular experience.
It's about discovering that this moment doesn't have to become something else before you are allowed to inhabit it.
And you can carry that with you as you move back into your day.
Pleasant moments can come,
Unpleasant moments can come.
Energy can come and go.
Thoughts can come and go.
Sensations can come and go.
You don't have to arrange all of it perfectly before you begin living.
For now,
This is what is here.
And here is where you are.
Nothing to fight,
Nothing to force,
Nothing to figure out.
Just this.
Just here just now Thank you for practicing with me today.
Take care.
