And we will begin with the sound of the bell.
The sound of the bell.
The sound of the bell.
So wherever you are,
Whether you're seated or lying,
Just becoming aware of what's underneath you,
Feeling the cushion or the couch or chair or bed,
Just really feeling where your body is connected to that support.
And then letting your imagination move down underneath whatever you're sitting or lying on,
And feeling how that whole thing is being supported eventually by the enormous earth.
And that you're just resting there,
Small little spot on the earth.
And you can really let yourself rest into that support.
Our dear Mother Earth,
Always there supporting us.
And can really take advantage of that right now.
Just let yourself be held by that.
Feeling how much you belong to the earth.
And sensing the space around you,
And the safety that's in that space.
And if there's any unease,
You can open your eyes and just look around the space,
Just reminding yourself that it's safe.
And just feeling all the beings who are supporting you now,
Either in the same location as you,
Or not in the same location,
But supporting you nonetheless.
And then bringing your attention to your breath.
Breathing in,
I can feel I'm breathing in.
Breathing out,
I can feel I'm breathing out.
Hello,
My dear breath.
Thank you for being there for me.
Breathing in,
I can feel I'm breathing out.
Breathing out,
I can feel I'm breathing out.
And then just noticing the beginning of the inhale,
The middle of the inhale,
The end of the inhale.
And then noticing when it turns to the beginning of the exhale,
Middle of the exhale,
End of the exhale.
And then turning back again to the inhale,
Just feeling the whole length of each inhale and each exhale.
And when your mind wanders off,
You just notice it's normal.
And then gently bring your mind back to the beginning,
Middle and end of the inhale,
Beginning,
Middle and end of the exhale.
Really letting it just be a pleasant investigation of the breath.
Relaxed and easeful.
And then becoming aware of your whole body.
Your whole body and with your mindfulness,
This presence that you've just generated,
Embracing your whole body in whatever health or non health your body might be in in this moment.
Whatever aches and pains,
Whatever discomfort or ease that might be in your body,
Just letting the mindfulness you've generated embrace your whole body right now.
My dear body,
Appreciate you so much.
Thank you.
And then noticing in your body if there are any places that feel tense or tight.
Just saying hello.
Inviting those places to relax just a little bit.
You need to move to adjust in any way you could.
My dear body,
What might you need just in this moment to relax a little bit more?
Okay.
And then bringing into your awareness something that feels pleasant or joyful.
So it could be just something in this moment that is joyful.
Maybe there's,
You're really comfortable or this particular couch or bed is very comfortable and you're just at ease.
Maybe it's just that you're breathing and alive and that feels really joyful.
Or maybe there's something that you remember that's happening for someone you care about that makes you really happy.
Just generating for yourself some joy,
Some ease,
Some happiness.
Maybe a smile automatically forms on your lips when you have this awareness,
Whatever it is for you.
And notice how it feels in your body when you've generated this joy.
Maybe you can feel an expansion in your chest.
Maybe you feel some spaciousness in your belly or maybe your cheeks feel a little smiley.
Just noticing,
What do you notice in your body when you've generated some joy for yourself.
And if possible,
Let that expand even more in you,
That joy.
No reason to prevent it from overflowing the banks.
Just really let that joy fill you up and overflow and just maybe just seeing the faces of the other people in this class could be a joyful thing,
Whatever it is.
Let it fill you up.
With each breath getting more expansive.
And if that feels like where you want to stay today,
Just generating joy,
You can do that.
Or you can choose now from this expansive place to turn toward any suffering that might be in you in this moment.
Any sadness,
Any fear,
Any anxiety,
Upset.
And from that more spacious place,
Turning toward the challenges that are in you,
Whatever,
Maybe choosing one or just saying hello to it.
Hello,
My suffering.
I know you're there and I am here for you.
We're not trying to chase it away or anything like that,
But just turning toward it,
Just offering it our loving awareness.
And just breathing with it in this way.
And if you want to go back to generating joy and then come back to the suffering,
You can sort of play with that and just see what works well for you in this moment.
My joy is like spring,
So warm.
It makes flowers bloom all over.
The earth.
My pain is like a river of tears.
So vast it fills the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once.
So I can see that my joy and pain are one.
Please call me by my true names so that I can wake up and the door of my heart can be left open.
The door of compassion.
The door of compassion.
The door of compassion.
