Hello friends and welcome to the Gateways to Presence.
What sounds relatively simple can be quite challenging,
Especially if what is present in us is challenging or maybe it's something we don't really like or feel we need to change or improve or perhaps it's something that we don't want to acknowledge.
But pushing away only gives it more power.
Carl Jung said,
What we resist not only persists but grows.
At the very core of meditation is coming home to ourselves,
To our body,
Our heart,
Our mind,
And accepting what we find,
No matter what that is,
Accepting without judgement or perhaps noticing what judgements we do have there,
Accepting without trying to change or improve or push away what we find.
Can we just allow it to be there and as we do this we learn to become the observer of our experience.
Perhaps noticing how an emotion feels in your body,
The heat,
The cool,
The vibration,
The heaviness,
The ache,
The lightness.
Recognising these but not getting caught up in the stories around these sensations that we might believe to be true.
Simply recognising what's going on for us right now.
Naming this can be really helpful,
Like,
Hmm,
That's sadness or that's frustration.
Perhaps that feels,
Oh,
It's happiness.
A chance to recognise and explore how it lives in your body.
So take a moment now and get yourself completely comfortable.
You can be seated or lying down and be in a space where you won't be interrupted for a little while.
And as you begin to settle into your body and noticing your breath,
Just take a moment to scan through your body and just be the observer of your experience.
Noticing what's going on for you right now.
Just try to keep your focus light and just begin to notice what might be drawing your attention.
It can be helpful to scan through your throat and your chest and your belly areas.
These are often places where we can store stuff.
Or if there's no one particular area drawing your attention,
Then just settle into feeling your body as a whole.
But if you do settle on a place in your body that's drawing your attention,
I invite you to begin to explore with some gentleness and kindness what's going on in that part of you.
What sensations do you notice?
I invite you to try to name what you feel there.
Is there a heat or a coolness?
A vibration?
Perhaps an ache?
You might like to gently place your hand over the area as a way to show yourself some compassion.
And just keep breathing without force and allowing your body to reveal its secrets to you.
Perhaps there's a tightness in your throat,
A heaviness in your stomach,
An ache in the pelvis.
Whatever it might be,
Is there a feeling that lies underneath this?
I invite you to gently inquire around what this part most needs from you.
Breathing into this part and allowing this to be revealed to you.
And if something arises for you,
I invite you to see if you can give that to yourself,
What this part of you most needs.
To nourish or nurture this part of you.
If you find this difficult,
Perhaps imagine someone that's close to you,
Someone very compassionate and wise.
It might be someone you know,
A friend,
A partner,
A grandparent,
Or maybe just some wise compassionate being that you know.
Imagine them right here in front of you,
Giving you what you most need.
You're breathing naturally,
Just allowing your breath to sink deep into your belly.
And now just notice what the nature of your mind is like right now.
What do you notice?
Is your mind racing?
Is it telling you to run out from the room?
Or are you getting thoughts of a difficult phone call or what to make for dinner?
Just become aware of the activity.
Whatever's going on,
Just try to maintain that witness perspective.
And now taking your focus to your heart.
You might like to place your hand gently over your chest,
Over your heart area to offer some compassion to yourself.
Just breathing into the area.
Allow your heart to reveal itself to you.
What do you notice?
Does it feel calm or a bit racy?
Maybe your heart is just enjoying your gentle attention.
Is your heart needing anything from you?
Stay gentle and light in your focus.
You might like to breathe into the area to help in providing a sense of spaciousness and openness.
Making some room for your heart and its feelings to be there.
And again just noticing without judgement.
Naming the feeling.
And not getting too caught up in the story around it and believing that that's true.
And once you feel ready you can let go of any scanning and just notice how you feel now compared to before in your body.
And in your heart.
And also your mind.
The Tibetan Buddhist Yonge Rinpoche says,
Awareness is the essence of our existence.
It is our greatest treasure.
And we already have it.
We just don't know it.
This is the profound truth of our being and meditation can lead us home to ourselves.
Even just a few minutes a day to check in with ourselves in this way is very beneficial.
As we draw to a close,
Show yourself some gratitude for the benefits you receive today.
The benefits you receive in your future selves and how this will benefit others in your community.
Thank you.
Thank you.
