Welcome to this meditation.
At the autumn equinox.
And the harvest full moon.
At this time of the year,
We end one season starting new.
And then equinox is when there is equal light.
Both in the day.
And the night.
And in the fall.
.
.
It's a time when.
The green.
That has been around during spring and summer.
Gives way to.
Yellows and oranges and reds and browns.
That greenery goes into.
Slumber or Another way of thinking about it is that the green ends.
So it's a time of transition,
As is any.
Changing seasons.
And of course,
At this time,
We also have a full moon.
So lots of ending energy.
And starting energy.
It's a really great time to make intentions that that we would like to rebirth or to birth.
So.
The intention that I have chosen for this meditation is I am flexible and flowing.
So being flexible at a time of transition I think is really important.
And to flow into the next.
Phase,
Season,
The next time,
The next chapter.
Takes flexibility.
Whose intention seems appropriate for this time?
Let's begin by choosing a posture that works for us.
If you're sitting in a chair.
Notice your feet.
Flat on the ground and your back is either supported by the back of a chair or.
And hold yourself upright.
And when we're sitting on the ground,
We do the same thing.
But we're closer to the earth.
Maybe our legs are in contact with the ground as opposed to just our feet when we're sitting in a chair.
Our back is alert and relaxed.
And the visual that I like to use for this kind of posture is that our head is reaching the sky.
And our sitting area,
Legs and feet.
Are grounding,
Are settling into the earth.
And so at this time of equinox,
That visual and the metaphor of reaching up and settling in seems very meaningful.
For this change of season.
And then notice different parts of your body.
See if there's any area that is asking for help.
For attention,
For extra breathing,
Maybe even stretching.
Feel free to stretch.
You can stretch your head.
Good night.
At doing circles.
With your neck and your head.
From one shoulder to the other.
You can stretch your shoulders up to your ears,
Making circles in one direction.
And circles in the other direction.
You could even stretch the side of your body to loosen that up.
By leaning over to one side and reaching over your head.
With the arm that is an extension of the side that you're stretching.
I am switching sides.
For the side stretch is a good idea as well to balance things out.
And when we're ready,
We can.
Bring our focus to the anchor.
Attention.
And of course,
The breath is the most common anchor that we use in meditation.
I invite you to make the decision,
The choice for yourself.
Whether you'd like to follow the breath.
Or whether you'd like to follow sound.
I will ring the bell three times to start and open up our practice,
And at the end I will seal our practice with the bell as well.
And if your practice is to have your eyes closed,
Then Enjoying me in that.
And if you prefer to have your eyes slightly open,
Gazing at a neutral spot in front of you,
Maybe on the ground.
Do what is right for you.
Notice where you put your hands,
Whether you want them a clasp on your lap or palm up or palm down on your thighs.
Let's begin to bring our attention.
Getting ready.
So at this equinox,
Let's allow.
.
.
Balance to come into our posture.
And then on the inhale,
Reaching our head up to the sky.
Lengthening our back.
And on the exhale,
We can notice ourselves settling and grounding into the earth.
So there's a balance between the reaching up and just settling down.
Curiosity to this.
Balance of the reaching and the settling.
Notice for yourself.
What happens in your body when you Intentionally breathe in as you reach up.
And breathe out as you settle down.
Thank you,
Eric.
Two more quiet breaths,
Silent introspective breaths.
And bring some curiosity to the breath if you're using the breath and if you're using sound.
Bring a sense of curiosity to whatever sound.
Is coming into your awareness.
Losing beginner's mind of just noticing what is.
And actually noticing it from the start.
Of when you first notice and then when you don't notice it anymore.
So in the brackets full flow of the breath in.
Taking the breath out.
And when you're using sound as your anchor.
Seeing if you could notice when it first comes into your awareness.
And when it leaves,
Noticing the silence.
Between that sound and the next.
Could sit with that forever.
Exploring together.
And separately.
Being flexible,
The flow.
You you Thank you.
Autumn being a time when trees.
.
.
Change the color of their leaves as they dry.
Get ready to.
Go into a type of dormancy for the winter.
I'd like to read a poem about.
Trees.
What do they think about in the morning?
This poem is by Kai Seidenberg from a book of poems entitled Poems of Earth and Spirit,
A lovely book of poems for meditation.
What do trees think about in the morning?
As the sun's golden light touches each of their branches,
Gently awakening them to a new day.
Do they give thanks just to be alive?
Do they lift their branches in heartfelt gratitude for the generous gifts of this green earth?
For neighbors and friends,
Both near and far.
For the parents who gave them life.
And the ancestors who came before them.
Are they proud to be part of a vast and ancient guild of skilled artisans?
Performing the Essential Alchemy.
Of transmuting sunlight,
Water,
And air.
Into leaves and branches,
Fruits and seeds.
And air for countless creatures to breathe.
Is it thrilling to work this everyday magic to create so much from such simple materials?
How does it feel to do this noble,
Essential work?
To give so much to so many.
And ask so little in return,
Day after day.
Year after year.
Do they ever get tired of giving?
Do they ever want to be appreciated more?
What do trees think about?
Good morning.
It's allowing that to settle.
Like a koan,
A zen meditation koan.
What do trees think about in the morning?
And continue on.
Focusing on your anchor of choice.
Several minutes of silent meditation together.
So,
Yeah.
You Why don't we get distracted by sounds?
That we aren't actually focusing on for our anchor,
Or we get distracted by maybe a little pain in the body,
A little twitch,
Maybe a thought comes into our mind.
We know that that's part of meditation.
We know that it's okay.
And so I invite us to smile at the distraction.
And gently,
Non-judgmentally return to our anchor in this moment.
Coming back to the breath.
We're coming back to a sound that helps us stay focused.
And now we're seeing it again from the start to the finish.
Beginning and the end.
Cycle of life,
Cycle of the seasons.
One season giving way.
Welcoming the next season.
Endings,
Beginnings.
The impermanence of life.
All that was permanent is this moment.
Let's enjoy that quietly together.
You you Just so often,
Just notice if we need to reach up to the sky.
Forehead and the chin.
Beginning of our anchor and settling into the earth within.
The end part.
Anchor,
Whether it be the breath or sound.
Reaching out.
And grounding down the balance of life.
The seasons,
The balance of our body.
The balance of the moon.
As it finishes up a cycle of being full.
Moving towards another cycle of being you.
You being flexible and flowing with what is.
Let's keep going.
You Peace.
You you you get to the last couple minutes of this.
Medication to get nervous.
Reaffirm our posture,
The balance between reaching up shade of grounding down.
The flexibility.
Being in the flow.
I am flexible and flowing.
Bye!
Let's listen to the sound of the bell too.
Feel and practice.
And when you're ready,
Only when you're ready.
If your eyes have been closed,
Open them up.
Gently Your gaze has been neutral.
Or to the ground,
You can open your eyes up a little bit more and look around your space where you've been sitting.
I invite you to choose an object or an item that you haven't noticed in a while.
Really look at it.
As if you had not seen it before.
It's really important.
What colors do you see?
What shape do you see?
There.
Notions that conjured up by this object or item.
This reintegrates the brain into.
The body again at the end of meditation.
So I thank you for joining me for this autumn equinox change of season meditation,
Also honoring the harvest moon,
Harvest full moon at this time.
And I wish you a wonderful rest of your day.
All beings you come in contact with,
Feel.
Bye!
Flexibility.
Flowing nature that you have.
