The first thing is just to allow an awareness of your breathing,
Just to observe the up and down pattern,
The inward and outward flowing pattern of breathing.
And in this way,
A simple invitation to release complexity,
The difference between the mind,
The habitual mind and our inmost being as awareness and consciousness can be simply observed as the difference between what is absolutely simple and natural and what is complex.
So anytime that you notice yourself moving into a state of complexity,
Anytime that you are in the midst of activity that is compulsive or busy,
Don't fight the state,
Don't resist it,
Because that will only make it stronger.
Instead,
See it for what it is.
See it as complicated.
And to be thinking about the past or thinking about the future is complicated.
Even if somehow it is stimulating or interesting to do so,
It's complicated.
Being here in the freshness of the moment,
Being here in the fullness of your being,
Is not complicated.
It's absolutely simple.
Complex questions may arise,
Complex answers may arise.
But in our practice,
Our loyalty belongs to simplicity.
Simplicity is not without intelligence or depth of power.
It has all these with it.
In meditation we can observe the constancy the nearly endless repetition of reference points,
Points of view,
Ways of looking at ourselves,
The world,
Our experience.
But the question I have for you as you're sitting here in silence a little while,
What's it like to experience your experience without a reference point,
Without a way of judging it as good or bad or right or wrong?
What's it like when your experience is just your experience without any filter applied,
Without any way of moving it or changing it or making it better in some way?
We don't come to meditation to improve ourselves,
Our life.
We come to meditation to realize how unnecessary that idea is.
And meditation is not something that we are going to make happen.
It's an atmosphere that's already happening,
Silence that's already present.
We're just setting aside whatever interferes with that atmosphere,
Whatever complicates it,
Whatever distorts it.
You may find that as you enter simplicity you find it a little boring.
So you cook up something complex to entertain yourself.
Some thinking,
Some planning,
Something to conjure,
Figure out.
In this cycle we can watch.
But notice what it's like to watch the cycle rather than be caught inside of it.
What it's like to be aware of it.
You can even participate in it from that point of view.
If you like,
If you still want.
You may notice that in simplicity a void opens up,
A hole,
A space.
If you don't rush to fill it or stuff something inside of it or find a way to distract from it,
It's a little bit uncomfortable.
You might recognize that participating in complexity gives you a sense of being who you are.
It feels like being yourself.
But you may also notice that this complexity comes and goes.
Sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not.
So follow this simplicity.
A great space,
A great spaciousness may arise.
A great openness.
A great expanse which you may know to be yourself.
In which your thoughts,
Your feelings,
Your perspectives are very small events.
And that spaciousness is the space of your own consciousness.
The space of this room,
Space of the earth,
And on and on and on.
You may add either a book or whatever you want to add to this sixrival or any other question.
We can see that the true nature of our mind,
When it's not being filled with thought,
Is space.
Pure,
Open,
Unlimited space.
That space is silent and space is still and absolutely simple.
Immediately available and recognizable.
If you're still having thoughts,
There's no worry in that.
Simply look between the thoughts.
Look behind them.
Look through them.
And you'll see a great space surrounding every thought,
Every feeling.
I have a question.
We can see that much of our effort or striving is simply to arrive at the peace of space.
The very effort and striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
We can see that much of our effort or striving disconnect us from it.
So just take a little while to come back to your senses,
To take some movements again.
If you're enjoying simplicity or spaciousness of your experience,
You might remain just as you are.
