Good morning.
Today we'll be exploring resting into sweetness,
Connecting with your sweet center through the practice of gratitude.
So often we don't feel our sweetness,
We feel our shame,
We feel negative emotions towards others,
Towards ourselves,
We wish things were different in our lives,
Maybe we feel pain,
Discomfort,
Maybe we're stuck in some mental patterns,
Planning,
Scheming,
Wishing,
Hoping,
All of this is normal activity of the human mind.
And we can begin to tune in to our sweetness,
To our goodness,
To our light,
As an antidote to these activities of mind.
So find yourself right now in any comfortable position where you can be both restful and a little bit alert.
If there is a lot of pain in the body,
Lying down can be really helpful.
If there's drowsiness or kind of a sense of confusion in the mind,
You may like to sit up to bring a little bit more energy into the mind and body.
And right now,
Before we begin to drop into our sweet center,
Start to notice the overall tone of the mind and body.
What's here now?
What's it like?
Notice,
And if you find discomfort or distraction or uncomfortable feelings,
See if you can be in the witness seat.
Notice those things without fixing,
Changing,
Or identifying with them.
They are simply arising,
And in their own time,
They pass away.
Discomfort moves through us,
Just as pleasure moves through us.
It lasts for a time,
And then it goes.
And when we investigate and be with our experience closely,
We will find this to be true.
Our experience constantly changes moment to moment.
Now see if there's any areas of tension in the body that can rest a little bit,
Can let go just a little bit.
Maybe some holding in the shoulders,
Gently letting the shoulders descend.
Maybe some holding in the jaw,
Softening the face,
The eyes,
Softening anything you can without trying too hard.
If there are lots and lots of active thoughts in the mind,
Work on bringing your attention inward to the breath.
Feel the sweetness of the breath coming in and going out,
Cycle after cycle.
When the mind wanders,
We just come back to the breath with a kind of sweet,
Kind,
Soft attention,
Softly accompanying ourselves in the breath.
Now we begin to connect in some way with gratitude.
Gratitude is the doorway to acceptance.
Gratitude is also the doorway to abundance.
Gratitude helps us have an open heart,
Helps us to access our general self.
Generosity.
Gratitude is the antidote to resentment.
When we're grateful,
We stop striving for that which we do not have.
Gratitude really brings us right into the here and now.
So try,
From the heart,
You can say this out loud or silently,
Try feeling the words thank you.
And now,
With those words in your heart,
Sensing and feeling what it is that is here in your life that you can be grateful for.
Connect with the simple things that you can be grateful for.
This quiet seat that you found for meditation.
The food that you eat.
The clean water that you drink.
Any friends or loved ones.
And the positive qualities that you see in them.
The gifts they give you through their presence in your life.
Any sweet parts of your connection with them.
Feeling what is sweet.
Again,
Find the words thank you.
In this practice of gratitude,
We are consciously tuning in to the positive aspects of what it is that we have in our lives.
So there may be parts of the people that are in your life that you don't like or that even cause hurt and harm sometimes.
We don't dismiss that.
But right now,
We simply notice,
With gratitude,
That which is good.
And let the heart say thank you.
As you feel into the goodness in your life,
Feel the breath also coming in and out.
As if gratitude could ride the wave of the breath.
Keep softening the face and the eyes.
Keep softening the heart.
Deepening into yourself.
Feeling the sweetness inside you.
The sweetness of this quality of thank you.
Feel this loving kindness aspect of your being.
You are sitting here with love.
You are sitting here with care.
Without grasping for these qualities,
Simply noticing that in some way they are here now.
And before we close,
I'd like you to take an inward look at the rest of your day.
Noticing what feelings arise as you think about your day.
And considering what tasks,
Activities lay ahead for you.
Is that an intention for yourself today?
So an intention is a statement from the inside of how you would like to show up and experience life today.
You might try on the phrase,
I intend to practice patience today.
Or I intend to be kind to myself and others today.
Take a breath with that.
Feel that inside.
And we'll close here.
Thank you for your practice today.
