Come into a comfortable seat.
If you're seated on a chair,
Uncross your legs and place your feet on the ground.
If you're seated on a pillow or a cushion,
Cross your legs or straighten your legs,
Whatever makes you feel most at ease and most relaxed and quiet in the body.
Whatever your choice of seat,
Bring your attention to the sensation of it,
Feeling the sitz bones rooted down and heavy,
Feeling your connection to your seat or that which you are seated on.
And from that connection,
Begin to bring your attention to your belly,
Lifting your belly,
Lifting the center of the chest,
Lifting the roof of the mouth,
The crown of the head,
Growing tall in your seat and long in your torso.
Then the heads of the arms back and the shoulders down the back,
Growing bright in the heart.
Notice your jaw,
Soften the jaw.
Notice the tongue in your mouth,
Soften that.
Relax your cheeks and your brow,
Soften your eyes and close your eyes.
Begin to connect with your breath.
Bring all of your attention to the sensation of your body breathing.
Don't change anything.
Just observe.
Notice how your breath feels.
Notice the rise and the fall of the chest.
Notice the quality of cool air as you inhale and warm air as you exhale.
We'll begin to match the sound,
A mantra to the breath.
As you inhale,
Quietly say,
I.
Then as you exhale,
M.
I am.
The mind may want to complete that statement.
I am a man.
I am a woman.
I am a mother,
A teacher,
Sister,
A daughter.
The mind will want to attach a label to you.
But here,
We are practicing just being,
Just existing.
And so the mind will rest simply on the statement,
I am,
Noticing what comes up,
Noticing the silence that follows,
But continuing to match your inhale and your exhale to the words,
I am.
M I am.
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The mind will wander and that's okay.
When you notice the mind has wandered,
Simply bring back the attention.
I am.
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I am.
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Who are we without our labels,
Our identities,
Our roles in life?
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I am.
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These roles and these identities that we identify with,
We've made them up in our minds,
In our individual minds,
In our collective minds.
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There's a truth that lies beneath those layers.
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The truth of who we really are.
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Which can't be known through thought,
But rather sensation and knowing.
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Continue to make that statement,
I am.
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And feel the truth of who you are.
I am.
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The silence.
The silence is the window to who you are.
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I am.
And place your hands over your heart.
Feel yourself here in your body.
Feel your lightness in the space within you and all around you.
Know that you are not the labels,
The roles,
The identities that you or others have given to yourself.
You are far greater than that.
As is everyone around you.
And I'll take a moment to dedicate this time spent to all beings everywhere.
All beings,
Whether big or small,
Near or far,
Seen or unseen.
May all beings everywhere be well.
May all beings everywhere be happy.
May all beings everywhere have peace in their hearts.
Take a nice deep breath in through the nose.
Complete breath out.
Namaste.
Thank you.
