So,
Chitta meditation and I'll read a poem to ease us in called Change.
The cloud lifts and the mountain is suddenly white merging with grey black sky and light.
Everything changes.
Bare branches suddenly adorned with blossom.
Scarlet amaryllis outrageous in bloom and now the sky lilac and lavender and already the snow melting and fading.
Let go of clinging and join the dance.
Let soft body and subtle mind join the ongoing flow of life.
Each moment of glory or despair is just as it is as long as it is and it passes.
Be the flow,
The movement,
The flicker of light on the hillside.
Be in every now,
Not just this now.
Be the music and the dance.
So our intention for this practice to be present,
Grounded and stable.
And we're particularly paying attention to how our Chitta how our mind and heart shape themselves based on our Vedana.
And our attitudes particularly self-kindness,
Self-care,
Looking after ourselves,
Maybe feeling the support from the group,
From the space itself.
These conditions,
The landscape.
So the first foundation is body.
So feeling the points of contact between the body and the ground.
Allowing the body to yield,
To be held and supported by gravity as we rest here.
Allowing our awareness to drop deeply into the body,
Inside our breathing.
Sensing all the different movements and sensations of the breathing.
Allowing our awareness to drop deeply into the body.
Resting inside the rhythm of the natural breath.
Maybe settling a little bit more with each breath.
And going back to the namaste.
And coming back to this foundation at any point during the meditation.
Now from this stable foundation becoming curious about our mind,
Our mood,
The shape of the mind.
Without harsh judgments,
Just getting to know what's going on.
First of all,
Do we have a wanting mind?
And if so,
How does that feel?
Or maybe the absence of a wanting mind.
Just being curious.
Just getting to know the shape of our mind,
Our heart.
Or is aversion present in your mind,
In your heart?
Maybe a sense of contraction,
A resistance,
A turning away,
A feeling of not wanting.
Again,
Being careful not to judge ourselves.
At this point in the meditation,
We're simply getting to know.
What aversion feels like and what the absence of aversion feels like.
And what about ignorance,
Confusion,
Delusion?
Is this present in your awareness?
Or are you aware of the absence of confusion,
Delusion,
Ignorance?
Just noticing this is what confusion feels like.
This is what the absence of confusion feels like without judging ourselves harshly.
Just getting to know these emotional states,
These mental states.
Okay.
Is your mind contracted tight and narrow?
Or is it distracted a bit all over the place?
Being curious.
This is what the contracted tight mind feels like.
And this is what the distracted sloppy mind feels like.
Or maybe aware of the absence of these states.
Always breathing.
Always resting.
Going back to the body,
The foundation of mindfulness.
Just shining the light in on our mental states,
Our mental shape,
Our heart shape.
And these broad inclinations of the mind and the heart.
Of a wanting mind or the absence of aversion or the absence of aversion.
Of confusion,
Delusion or the absence of attraction,
Distraction or the absence thereof.
So what is it like to turn your awareness back in on our own minds,
Our own hearts?
With this curious receptive,
Interested quality of awareness.
And is your mind concentrated?
Or is it not concentrated or clear?
And what does that feel like?
Does your mind and heart feel expansive?
Or the absence?
Is your mind on autopilot,
A bit blind,
Moving along habitual grooves?
Or is it responsive and intelligent?
Maybe a bit of both.
Is your mind and heart predominantly skillful or unskillful?
Not judging,
Just getting to know.
This is what a skillful mind and heart feels like.
This is what an unskillful mind and heart feels like.
So a skillful mind is one moving towards release and openness.
A sense of expansive.
An unskillful mind contracted,
Resistant,
Grasping,
Pushing away.
Being careful to practice non-judging.
We're just getting to know.
With curiosity.
Acceptivity.
Vectors.
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