So as you're sitting in an upright,
Open and yet relaxed posture,
Just being aware of what your current experience is,
Being aware of the world around you,
Being aware of what's arising within you,
In the world of the body,
In the world of feelings,
In the world of thoughts and mental activity,
Just being open to all of this experience arising,
Grounding the mind in an awareness of now.
And I'm going to ask you to call to mind someone or something,
Perhaps some situation that causes you some kind of difficulty right now.
It might be a person who does things that you find difficult or annoying or hurtful or that makes you anxious.
It could be some situation like a big bill you're worried about paying,
Something that's coming up that you're not looking forward to.
So just calling this person or this situation vividly to mind and noticing how you feel,
Particularly noticing what arises in the heart and in the solar plexus.
But being aware of any uncomfortable feelings anywhere in the body.
And first of all,
Just dropping any stories that arise.
The mind tends to take difficult feelings and react to them by creating thoughts,
Perhaps blaming the other person or blaming ourselves.
Or perhaps we tell a story about self-pity.
So we just let go of these thoughts when they arise,
Dropping the story.
And instead we drop down into our feelings.
What's arising in the body.
Just noticing our feelings as physical sensations.
We may think of feelings as being of the mind,
But mostly they consist of physical sensations arising in the body.
And we label different patterns of physical sensations as,
For example,
Hurt,
Anxiety,
Disappointment,
Frustration.
But right now,
Letting go of any labels and just noticing feelings as sensations.
Where is this feeling located?
What size is it?
What shape does it have?
What is its texture?
Just allowing that feeling to be there,
Surrounding it with acceptance and with curiosity.
And accepting the feeling means accepting that it's okay to experience discomfort.
It's normal.
It's not a sign of failure.
It's just how your mind and body respond when you perceive a threat to your well-being.
So we can be kind to this painful feeling.
Perhaps you can regard this difficult feeling in the same way as you would look kindly at a small frightened child or frightened animal.
The living being that needs kindness and reassurance.
This is a living part of you that's suffering.
And we can talk to the part of us that's in pain or discomfort.
We can say things like,
I'm here for you.
I know it's difficult.
I know this is hard.
But I care about you.
I want you to be free from pain.
I want you to be happy and at ease.
Having empathized with ourself,
Our own suffering,
And having responded to our own suffering with compassion.
Once again,
Just allowing into your awareness this person or situation that's a source of discomfort.
And allowing your heart to be open.
So once again,
Calling this person or this situation to mind.
See how you respond to them now.
Sometimes we'll feel a sense of compassion.
Maybe a clearer sense of how to deal with this situation in a way that's skillful.
In a way that helps you to avoid creating further pain.
And so just to outline what we've been doing.
First of all,
We dropped the story,
Letting go of thoughts.
Second,
Dropping down to our feelings and accepting them.
Third,
Regarding those uncomfortable feelings with kindness and compassion.
And fourth and finally,
In the sacred pause of mindfulness that we've created.
Allowing skillful responses like compassion to arise.
And this four stage practice is something we can do in just a few seconds.
Perhaps some situation causes you hurt or anxiety,
Disappointment or frustration.
Perhaps notice the story springing into action.
Where we catch ourselves,
Drop the story,
Drop down,
Notice the pain,
Give it compassionate attention.
And then allow ourselves to respond creatively.
So I hope you'll continue to work with this four stage practice.
And find ways to bring it into your daily life.
So right now as you're sitting here.
Becoming more aware of the world around you.
Letting your awareness come back into the sensory reality of this present moment.
And allowing your eyes to open.
