Hello my friends.
I'd like to take a minute to disconnect with our hearts.
So you can close your eyes wherever you are,
Have a soft gaze at something still out in front of you.
Take some big breaths into the heart.
Notice that as you inhale,
The heart or the area in the center of the chest,
It rises.
And as you exhale,
It sinks.
And if it's helpful for you to have a more visceral experience,
You can place both hands over the heart.
And just breathe into this area.
Maybe you can feel the bead of your own blood pumping from this area in the center of the chest.
So we have this physical heart which we can feel beneath our hands or in our breath.
We also have the energetic heart,
The element of air,
Anahata.
But we also have this spiritual heart,
The cave of the heart,
The Hridayam.
And this spiritual heart,
This sacred center,
Is a space that many of the ancient traditions and religions and spiritual paths are pointing us back towards.
All in their own way,
Through their own colorful language and rituals and traditions,
And yet it's all pointing here.
So much of our day is spent looking for answers and fulfillment externally.
And I want to invite you just to take a moment right here,
Right now,
With this breath,
With this heart,
With this space.
Knowing that this place is eternally okay,
Ever at ease,
Forever content,
Disarmed yet unharmed.
No matter what happens in the world,
In the mind,
In our external experiences,
This space is always waiting for us to return back to it,
Calling us home.
We may find that the mind is chaotic.
We may find a sense of dis-ease in the body.
Whatever appears within our awareness,
Whatever our attention goes to and labels as bad or wrong or not wanting it,
Take that thing,
That thought,
That experience,
That sensation in the body and offer it to the heart.
Offer it at your own internal altar.
When we dive deep enough into the heart,
We find that it's not this small physical thing contained within this vast infinite universe,
But rather it is what holds as well as makes up everything in this vast infinite universe.
This physical space in the center of the chest,
When we focus our attention here,
It acts as a portal into our divine and infinite being,
Beyond the I am.
Here there is just what is,
Without any need to label or categorize what's happening around us.
Each breath pulling us deeper into this temple within.
Our mind,
It's always grasping,
Grasping to the next thought,
The next moment,
The next experience,
What's next,
What's next,
What's next.
I want to invite you to take all of these what's next and just place them in the heart and allow this space to be the only place that your attention rests.
Yes,
The mind will drift.
Yes,
Thoughts will come.
Yes,
Something will pull us and tell us that there is something more important outside of this moment right here and this space in our chest,
But I'm here to tell you that there is nothing,
Nothing more important than right here.
And that when we take time to center ourselves here and to know ourselves as this,
Everything else falls into place.
We're no longer disturbed by the winds of the mind.
Now we can rest in the infiniteness of our being,
This place you've known all of your life.
You just forgot for a moment.
Just a few more breaths here with me.
Sinking into the heart,
The cave of the heart,
Allowing each breath to connect you with this space.
Nothing matters more than this.
This is the source of your deepest and truest desire.
This is what will finally quench all thirsts.
And if your hands aren't already over your heart,
I invite you to place them there now and to just slightly bow the chin in reverence to this holy space,
This sacred site,
The pilgrimage that takes no steps.
And know that as we bring this formal practice to a close and you open your eyes and you move about your day,
That this space is always here waiting for you to come back,
Ever at peace,
Far removed from the worries of the world,
Your own personal retreat.
Hari Om.
