So I thought I'd start the meditation in the usual way by coming in contact with our body or in a world and then gradually possibly lead you or invite you to pick up the breath if the breath seems to want to be picked up by you.
And as usual these guidances are just invitations they're not instructions they're not rules that you have to follow.
So if something else is unfolding or something else needs attention and wants to be in the centre of your mind then please go with that because meditation should be responsive and intuitive to whatever's arising in here and now.
The most important thing is just that we establish a wise relationship to our minds and if you're doing that then the content of your mind is not so important at all.
That's the part we can't control.
Just settling into your body into the space and gently closing your eyes.
Maybe there's still some impressions of being in this group.
The people's faces that you've just been seeing on the computer screen.
And hopefully some sense of connection support shared intentions to come into this present with kindness,
Care and a sense of allowing things just to be.
In peace,
Not war with our body and our mind.
And just feeling how much relief is already available when you've put everything else down.
For most of us it's already the evening,
It's grown dark.
Some of us this might just be a pause in the middle of the day.
So just noticing the absence of busyness,
The absence of sights,
Quietening of sounds.
And appreciating that emptiness.
Floor of the hall to jazz band.
I'd also like to invite you if you wish to reflect on a beautiful quality.
Perhaps that you can already recognize in your own heart,
But that you'd like to develop,
To cultivate,
Bring forth and align your actions of body and speech more and more closely too,
As this new year unfolds.
See if you can get a felt sense of that beautiful quality,
Whether it's kindness,
Remembering how it feels to be kind or receive the kindness of others,
Perhaps contentment,
Maybe patience or trust.
Just see if you can connect to a felt sense of that quality,
Maybe even repeating the word very gently inside your mind and just sensing in to where that word inclines the mind.
Does it bring a sense of uplift,
Maybe courage or strength?
Yes.
Come with this perception in mind.
See if you can bring your awareness now to your body.
Today let's start at the tips of the toes,
Part that's furthest away from the thinking brain.
And as your awareness meets your toes,
Infusing this beautiful sense of kindness and warmth,
Maybe that quality that you chose,
Perhaps a sense of contentment,
Gratitude,
Even trust,
Opening fully to the experience,
Any sensation or just a general sense of your toes.
And allowing that awareness infused by friendliness,
Warmth,
To start spreading up through the feet,
Into the ankles,
The shins,
The calves.
Nothing to do in this moment,
But to be aware and to care,
Allowing the sensations to open up and to invite you more fully into the experience of this present moment.
Exploring the knees,
Receiving any sensations in the knees,
The same open hearted curiosity and care and up through the thighs,
Exploring the entire area of the thighs.
So shiny light in every little part,
Falls behind the knees,
The entire skin area,
Maybe you'll experience sensations deep inside.
Moving up into the buttocks,
Maybe a bit more going on there.
Perhaps sensations related to heaviness or lightness,
The field of temperature,
Maybe tingling or throbbing,
Aching.
See if you can welcome all of those experiences with equal attention,
Equal care.
Releasing any unnecessary holding,
Giving your buttocks permission to fully relax and exploring the hip area,
The lower back.
Part by part,
Spreading this kind of awareness,
The entire back.
Suffusing your awareness with whatever beautiful qualities you wish.
Qualities that help you open up with appreciation for this present moment so that the present moment becomes a beautiful place to be.
Moving outwards to the sides of the body,
Coming down to the front of the trunk,
The abdomen area.
Perhaps noticing your belly rise and fall,
Softening into the sensations.
Continuing to explore the diaphragm and the whole chest.
Sending kind awareness inside to the organs.
You don't have to name or officialize any organs inside,
But just a general sense of caring,
Sensing in to what's going on inside.
You may choose to linger over any areas of intense sensation.
You may wish to examine them a little more closely.
If anything feels overwhelming,
Perhaps give them more space.
Always aligning your intentions the way that you aware,
Kindness,
Gentleness,
Letting things be.
Giving your shoulders some attention and care.
Releasing any holding inviting them to relax.
Gently moving down your arms.
Just hang freely,
Noticing the elbows,
The lower arms,
All the way to the hands,
The palms,
Fingers and the fingertips.
The What's the opening to any pleasant sensation?
Any tingling,
Warmth vibrating in the hands and fingers.
Just allowing it to be.
Without breaking the connection,
Continuity with the arms,
Moving back up again to the shoulder area.
Checking if anything there has changed.
Moving up through the neck,
The back of the neck and the throat,
Into the jaw.
Noticing any tightness that you don't really need in the jaw.
Maybe relaxing it just a little.
Relaxing your tongue,
Your lips.
Receiving any sensations in the mouth area.
Suffusing those sensations with kindness and care.
Exhaling to explore the entire face,
The cheeks,
The temples,
The eyes.
The brow and the forehead.
Giving it permission to relax.
As though all that tension and tightness were just draining down towards the ground.
The eyeballs settling more deeply into their sockets.
And even the brain.
And all this activity,
The connections,
The circuits in the brain,
Just temporarily going quiet.
So you've allowed the brain to have a little sleep.
And you continue to spread your awareness across the whole top of the head,
The back of the head,
The ears,
The whole skull.
Sensing any sensations that you experience over there.
And from here you may wish to just allow your awareness to once again expand this time down from the head to encompass the whole body.
The general sense of the body sitting.
Maybe you can feel the shape,
The energetic field,
The body occupying this space.
And then feeling the body floating so light that all remaining tensions,
Patterns of holding can just be released into the atmosphere around you.
See how relaxed it's possible for your body to be.
Notice the pleasure,
The delight in the relaxed body.
The broad and spacious mind.
And in this spaciousness,
This presence,
The mind might be subtle enough to notice the breath.
So see if you can gently go along with the breath without holding it,
Just floating along the breath with a gentle wave.
You could relax your whole body on.
Keeping the mind soft and receptive,
Not struggling in any way to retain the breath.
And just see if that breath helps you become more present and at peace.
Seeing that whatever arises is welcome.
Every experience is an opportunity to be kind.
Whether thoughts or emotions arise,
Just holding them all in this field of kind awareness.
Breathing more deeply into now.
Yes,
Lots ofkieos.
Thank you.
And if any pleasure arises in the mind as a result of making peace,
However subtle it may be,
Maybe just a quiet joy or a sense of simplicity or contentment,
Allow the mind to notice that,
To pick it up and deepen your appreciation of this moment.
See you then.
Not needing to get anywhere.
Just satisfied with this moment,
With this part of this breath.
Not needing to get anywhere.
Just satisfied with this moment,
With this part of this breath.
So we're coming close to the end of this meditation.
Staying embodied.
Just invite you to once again bring to mind that quality,
That virtue that you thought about,
Connected with in the beginning of this meditation.
Bringing it to mind once again and imagine it growing in your heart.
So your entire chest area will lit up with this beautiful quality that's already inside of you.
Imagining that radiating outwards.
Supporting those you come in contact with.
Keeping yourself aligned with your deepest values.
Knowing it's there to return to at any time.
Just kindly thanking yourself for this moment of peace that you offered.
Not just to yourself but to all of us.
Smiling within.
And as you gently open your eyes smiling without.
So we can all see each other's contented happy faces.
As we open our eyes.
Don't force it up.
Even a small smile can affect the mind.
Very nice.
