Welcome everyone.
Today we're going to do a meditation on time.
Time is an interesting thing.
It's essentially a man-made creation.
Useful,
Absolutely.
And we can't function as a society without this creation of time.
But it can be helpful to remember that it is something we mostly invented,
Especially clock time and its increasing delineations.
Because we might be paying too much service,
Too much of our attention,
To worrying about time and creating unnecessary noise in our mind,
In our body,
Unnecessary pressure and anxiety.
So being able to give yourself periods where you are not connected to man-made time,
But are able to go into a more infinite space,
Into nature's time,
Where you can fully let go of this pressure and realize that there is enough time available to you to do what's most important in your life.
Part of this realization is to inform the choices we make about what is important to do with our time.
What should we do each day that is truly the most vital and important way to spend our time?
Versus what do we feel pressured to do that takes up our time?
Where do we waste our time?
Where do we waste our attention?
By having these periods for ourselves where we can truly leave the concept of time and enter into this other more timeless space is very beneficial for our minds and our bodies.
So let's do a practice now.
Even though this is time-based guided meditation,
It's about 10 minutes,
We want to fully experience the space that we're in and the present moment,
Hence losing the counting of time.
So find a relaxed yet upright position where you can stay focused and at attention.
You can lie down or you can sit on a chair or sit on the floor.
You can keep your eyes open in a soft gaze or a downward gaze or you can close them,
Whatever is more comfortable.
Let's begin by focusing on our breath,
Taking a deep breath in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.
You might notice any sensations,
Any tingling in your nose or coolness on the in-breath and the warmth of the breath on your exhale.
Now breathing fully into your belly and breathing through your whole body,
Gently releasing any tension if you can.
Feel the expansion of the chest on the inhale and the gentle relaxation and contraction on the exhale.
Let's take some more deep breaths at your own pace.
While you're doing this,
Just settling in whatever is happening in your mind or in the space around you.
Just letting it all be,
Not really grabbing on to anything in particular.
Letting your thoughts come and go,
Feeling any emotions and letting them just be without giving them too much attention.
There's plenty of time later to focus on those things that really need your attention.
So much of what passes through our mind is not actually that important and doesn't really require our attention beyond just letting the thoughts and feelings float through.
Because the mind is kind of a thought machine,
It does this very well and we have this amazing power of thought.
But a lot of it is natural phenomena that we don't have to listen to,
That isn't always helpful.
One of the beautiful qualities of the freedom we can gain by practicing attention training is to realize just how much of our thought does not need to be addressed or is repetitive or just simply rumination or worry.
I'm continuing to focus on your breath,
Letting the sensations around you come and go,
Like clouds passing in the sky or waves rising and falling in the ocean.
If it's welcoming to you to focus on any sounds,
Like a bird song or any other sound in your environment to ground your attention,
Feel free to do that.
You may just want to remain focused on your breath or some other point of reference that is easeful for you.
Just enjoy the stillness of this moment,
This gift you've given yourself to inhabit this space that is truly infinite and goes way beyond the concerns of the day and the demands of time.
Each breath is a celebration of being alive in this moment.
Every thought that you let pass is a celebration of the freedom to choose where do you want to put your attention,
What do you want to act upon,
What do you want to follow through on.
We are in this beautiful river here of infinity,
Timelessness,
Complete space,
Absolute space and stillness within and without.
Every time that we practice a conscious breath,
We are tapping into this reservoir of space and stillness.
We give ourselves a gift and it becomes a gift of freedom and the gift of plenty of time for the things that matter most to us,
For the things we choose.
Your experience of life moment to moment is the most important thing,
Not all the things in your to-do list.
And as you practice focus and attention training,
You will see more of those things get done too and with greater ease.
So as you go through your day,
Your week,
Taking intentional breaks,
Consciously tapping into this oasis,
This reservoir of space,
Remembering the truth of what really matters to you,
What's truly most important and letting go of unnecessary noise,
Extra thoughts,
Extra demands,
Things that don't really matter to the key roles you've determined for yourself,
Whether in your job or your life.
Give yourself the gift of more freedom with your sense of time.
There's so much freedom in knowing what's truly important and having the strength to set boundaries because you have this deep inner conviction of what really matters to you.
So continuing to relax with the breath,
Breathing in through the nose,
Exhaling through the mouth,
Feeling this bountiful inhale and exhale,
This incredible gift of a body that breathes and a mind that signals it to do so without you even needing to be aware of it.
The breath that is working with the mind,
Heart and body brings you this gift of life from which you can make an impact on your friends,
On your loved ones,
With the work you do.
Coming from this deep source,
This deep power,
As we connect to the beautiful stillness within,
Which also connects us to the expansiveness and the infinite that is all around us.
At our depth,
We are timeless.
Thank you for your practice.
