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We begin this practice by settling our body,
Speech,
And mind in their natural state.
Taking a moment to bring our attention to the body,
And then doing an abbreviated body scan,
Where we relax our feet and toes.
Release physical tension from our hands and fingers.
Relax and drop our shoulders.
Bring some awareness to the face,
Releasing all tension from facial muscles.
And then finally,
Expand our awareness,
Observing the entire body and breathing naturally,
Allowing our breath to settle in its natural rhythm,
Without any control,
Any conscious control from our side.
And then with this foundation of a relaxed body,
With a foundation of natural breathing,
Taking a few moments to generate a positive motivation for this practice,
Thinking about our highest spiritual and psychological aspirations,
Which can include lofty goals like awakening for the benefit of all sentient beings,
Or relatively simple aspirations such as becoming more mindful and finding greater stability in our daily life.
And in pursuing this goal of greater stability,
We now bring our awareness to our posture,
Simply noticing the position of our body,
Recognizing whether at this moment we are sitting,
Standing,
Walking,
Or lying down,
Simply becoming aware whether we are in any of these four positions,
Seeing which position we're currently using,
And allowing our mindfulness,
Our recollection,
To stay with that.
So,
Breathing naturally,
Being still unless we're walking,
And being aware,
Being aware of our posture,
Recognizing that we're sitting,
Standing,
Walking,
Or lying down,
And maintaining that recognition as an uninterrupted flow,
Attending to this recognition,
And peripherally also being aware of the sensations in the body.
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On the basis of this recognition,
We also become aware of our current activity,
Of what we are doing in this posture,
In this position.
So,
If we're sitting,
What are we engaged in while being in this position?
Of course,
The same if we're standing,
Walking,
Or lying down.
Quite literally,
Our awareness goes to the question of,
What am I doing right now?
And we keep our awareness on the answer,
Like an uninterrupted flow,
Holding the awareness of our current activity.
And then,
On the third stage of this simple practice,
We also ask ourselves,
Why?
Or,
What for?
Why am I doing what I'm doing right now?
What's my goal?
What's the ultimate purpose of this specific activity,
And therefore,
Of being in this position?
So there's an immediate,
Clear recognition of our goals and aspirations for this type of activity,
And also a recognition of whether it does serve any purpose,
Whether it is meaningful in any way whatsoever.
So,
Simply resting in this awareness,
This recognition,
This understanding,
Bringing the light of awareness and wisdom to our current activity,
And the physical position that we're using to accomplish that activity.
And then,
With this increased understanding,
Releasing all ideas,
All questions,
All types of analysis,
All conceptual thoughts,
And simply noticing the sensations in our body to ground ourselves,
To ground our attention.
And then dedicating the energy of this practice to our highest goals and aspirations,
While also reminding ourselves that it would be truly wonderful to return to these questions and to this exploration throughout the day,
Simply noticing our posture,
Noticing the activity that we're engaged in,
And then seeing whether that activity serves any purpose and has any meaning,
Noticing if we're engaged in something meaningful,
Or are simply going through the motions under the influence of our habitual patterns.
With that,
We slowly bring our attention to the space around us,
Gently conclude this meditation,
And invite the bell.
