Connecting To Inner Clarity

In this short practice, we allow ourselves the ease of connecting with the sincerity of heart. Keeping this practice simple, we take some time to connect with the waves of our heart, attuning our listening and cultivating kindness towards what arises. Closing with a piece of poetry, we remind ourselves of the sincerity and simplicity in allowing ourselves to live and lead through this inner space of clear feeling. You can connect to more practices like this at www.aljeffery.com

Transcript

Let's begin by finding a comfortable seat or posture however you feel.

You might be lying down,

You might be seated on a cushion or in a chair,

Or you might be standing.

Just finding a posture that suits you and allows you to feel relaxed and also alert.

And just however you are choosing to place your body for this practice,

Just starting to come to rest in your posture.

And for the next couple of moments just scanning your body and making any slight adjustments that might help you feel just that little more relaxed,

Just that little more maybe dignified in your posture like a king or queen or simply a dignified person sitting on a throne alert and at ease.

Kind of graciousness and sincerity.

And then when you're ready and if it's comfortable just closing down your eyes on your exhale.

And as you close down your eyes just notice the attention turning inwards.

And if you can see if whilst the attention in is turning inwards you can keep that kind of alertness as if you were looking out into the world.

We're not logging off,

We're not becoming any less aware or attuned.

We're just simply turning our attention inwards but still carrying a great curiosity.

So just seeing if you can maybe bring a little bit more curiosity and attention to your experience now that your eyes are closed.

And then just as a way of connecting to place,

Starting to become aware of any sounds you might hear in the environment that you're in.

And as if you're a kind of magnet for sound in your environment and it's being drawn to you you're collecting it,

Collecting your attention.

Just noticing the sounds without needing to name them or label them and allow the simple act of noticing them to help you feel a connection to place.

And our shared intention for this practice is going to be quite simple really to connect into that spacious inner space of clarity,

Compassion,

Good feeling.

And so within our shared intention just maybe setting an intention for yourself.

Is there something that you are experiencing at the moment that is having you feel the need to really drop into that clear space of compassion and wisdom and spaciousness,

Graciousness.

And just dedicating this practice to the cultivation of of those qualities for yourself.

Doing whatever feels comfortable to anchor that as your aspiration for this practice.

Then when you're ready just starting to notice where it is that you can most easily connect to the sensation of breathing.

The felt sense in your body of the body breathing.

It might be the tip of the nostrils,

The upper lip,

The base of the throat,

The chest,

The stomach or the whole body breathing.

And then just resting on one of these places.

And the invitation is to really sense you receiving the breath,

The body receiving the breath.

Not needing to do the breathing.

The body receiving the breath and you witnessing the receiving.

Just a couple more moments here.

So just softening even more into receiving the breath.

Maybe inhaling to elongate the spine and exhaling to just notice the sensations of softening,

Relaxing,

Letting go.

And we'll start to make our way to that place of easeful,

Clear,

Compassionate feeling within ourselves.

So staying connected to the breath.

Just also noticing and seeing if you can sense the shape of a smile across the front of the body.

The eyes,

The mouth,

Inside of the mouth,

The chest.

And of course not to cover over anything that might be here but just to create more space,

More receptivity.

And then with that receptivity,

That ability to really be with whatever is here and hold it with that sense of affection,

Loving-kindness.

Starting to make your way to your heart.

Just letting the practice be very easy.

Just going to sense.

Sense our heart from the inside out.

Just keeping that receptive,

Open field across the front of the body.

Sensing the heart from the inside out.

And just letting this be our anchor for the next few moments.

Just noticing when you might drift from the heart as our anchor.

Maybe taking a moment to turn towards the thought or mood or emotion that draws your attention.

And honoring it with a bow and then just coming back to the heart.

Letting it be very simple.

What would this feel like if it were simple?

And by now you may have noticed yourself drift.

If so that's totally okay.

Just bowing towards whatever it was that drew your attention away and coming back to the heart.

And just really tending to your heart as if it was another being,

Another entity,

And you're really noticing your relationship to your heart.

As if you're sitting across the table and you're really just aware of the space between you and your heart.

Curiously and tenderly choosing to be in relationship.

To hold yourself and your heart together.

And then just a couple more moments here.

You might find it useful also to place one hand on your heart and your other hand on your stomach or navel.

And just feel the sincerity,

The simplicity of connecting to this space within and in a sense also the space between your heart and yourself.

And then staying here I'm just going to read a piece of poetry from John O'Donoghue's book to bless the space between us that really speaks to this place within us.

That each of us as leaders and stewards of our life,

Of our relationships and our culture can access this space and allow our living in the world to be from this place.

May the gift of leadership awaken in you as a vocation.

Keep you mindful of the providence that caused you to serve.

As high over the mountains the eagle spreads its wings,

May our perspective be larger than the view from the foothills.

When the way is flat and dull in times of great endurance,

May your imagination continue to evoke horizons.

When the thirst burns in times of drought,

May you be blessed to find the wells.

May you have the wisdom to read time clearly and know when the seed of change will flourish.

In your heart may there be a sanctuary for the stillness where clarity is born.

May your work be infused with passion and creativity and have the wisdom to balance compassion and challenge.

May your soul find the graciousness to rise above the fester of small mediocrities.

May your power never become a shell wherein your heart would silently atrophy.

May you welcome your own vulnerability as the ground where healing and truth join.

May integrity of soul be your first ideal,

The source that will guide and bless your work.

Just taking a couple of deepening breaths,

Allowing that reading to be a kind of prayer and just noticing how it lands in your body after cultivating this sense of spaciousness and clarity of heart.

And just starting to broaden and invite more of yourself into your awareness,

Maybe more than just your chest,

Shoulders,

Your hands,

Your toes,

Maybe creating gentle movement.

Then as if you are both bowing to yourself,

Honoring yourself in this practice and also honoring those around you in the world in which our practice also serves.

Just closing your practice in whichever way feels honoring for you.

Reviews

Really special - namaste 🙏

Thank you🙏🏾

Lovely reconnection, loved the text at the end.. thanks for sharing

Beautiful. Loved every aspect of this. Best meditation I've done in a while. Thank you!

Just when I think Jeffrey has the best meditation out there, this one is incredible and very touching. Thank you for being the best teacher Jeffrey. Love you man

Gentle as always & reminds me that im powerful. Thx Al

Profound
Thank you

Another excellent guidance. Thank You so much for being here for us! 🙏

The induction was effective for me and I adore the reading at the end !

These exact practice I needed this morning coming from Greater Sydney's lockdown...with 4 weeks to go yet. Thank you so much. Sending love and light. 💕

Lovely to connect. Thank you!

Thank you for a great experience with myself.

Loved this!

Lovely way to begin the day! The poem is great for shifting mindset. One to return to!

Wow, that was perfect. I could feel your calming energy here..

Thank you very much. I felt the dignity, clarity, compassion from my inner sanctuary. I also felt that my heart has a hard shell made of fear, I stayed with it as with a friend.
It was very good. Thank you! 🙏🏽

Lovely. Thank you.

A really wonderful practice to honor how you feel and to heighten awareness of the present. Excellent narration.

an excellent meditation... just what needed this morning. thankyou 🙂