To begin this practice,
We find a comfortable stationary position,
Whether upright or supine,
Or in another position that works uniquely for our body.
We allow our breath to move naturally,
Without any control from our side,
Without any attempts to hold the breath,
To make it more forceful or more shallow.
And in this process of natural breathing,
We start releasing all types of deliberate activity.
Physical,
Verbal,
And mental.
Primarily releasing with each natural exhalation.
Releasing deliberate physical movement,
So that we can access stillness.
Releasing not just our outer speech,
Which is naturally silent already,
But also the inner speech of the mind.
The stories,
The verbal thoughts,
The narration.
Therefore accessing the quality of silence.
And releasing the need to identify ourselves with different expressions of mental energy,
Therefore perpetuating them.
So thoughts,
Images,
Memories,
Desires,
Emotions might still be arising in the space of the mind.
But our awareness can be resting naturally without getting entangled in those.
More and more spacious.
With this unity of stillness,
Silence,
And spaciousness,
We can briefly recall our highest psychological or spiritual aspirations.
The overall goal of our contemplative practice.
The main aspiration for our contemplative life.
And with that,
To find more inspiration for any sort of meaningful activity that we might undertake,
Including ekodharma and associated practices,
We can take a moment to think of the three lineages that we might find inspiration in.
And that begins by thinking about our land,
The land that we currently occupy,
The land that we currently on.
Thinking about the people and other types of beings that lived in harmony with this land,
Perhaps for many generations,
Many hundreds of years,
Many thousands of years.
And finding inspiration in their ability to connect to nature,
Honor nature,
Protect nature.
Their ability to see themselves as an expression of the natural world.
Allowing that inspiration to flow into our heart and mind.
Reminding us of the qualities of harmony,
Balance,
Resilience,
Openness,
Respect,
Nourishment,
And so forth.
And then turning to our spiritual lineage or lineages.
Any spiritual,
Philosophical,
Or religious traditions that we might be inspired by or connected to,
In terms of our practice and our ethical thinking.
For some of us,
We would have one primary lineage or tradition we rely on.
Some people would have more.
But we can think about the values and the qualities represented by the masters and the practitioners of this tradition or these traditions.
What did they practice?
What did they teach in terms of values?
And so as we bring these values and qualities to mind,
We invite the inspiration,
The nourishment.
And the ability to integrate these qualities,
Teachings,
And practices,
These values,
Into the way we're showing up for ourselves and for the natural environment.
For the overall interdependence of things.
It's almost as if we're saying,
May I be inspired,
And then opening up to receive that nourishing inspiration.
And then equally turning to our familial lineage,
The lineage of our family,
Our actual blood and bone ancestors.
Knowing that for us to exist right now,
They had to possess and practice and exercise a great degree of resilience,
An ability to cooperate,
And so forth.
And so if we know our family history,
At least to a certain degree,
We can think of specific positive qualities that come to mind with regards to that history.
And even if we don't know about any specifics,
We can still think in general.
The ability to survive,
To work hard,
To take care of our loved ones,
And so forth.
All of that had to be there for this lineage to continue existing.
And so inviting the inspiring aspects of that,
Not the problematic history,
Not the trauma,
But the positive qualities that were there.
To inspire and sustain us and the Ecu-Dharma work that we do,
And in our life in general.
And then with these three sources of inspiration sustaining us at the same time,
We briefly turn our attention to ourselves,
To this very person practicing right now.
Recognizing that we also possess some positive qualities,
Some skills,
Some types of courage that we can rely on.
And of course these qualities can be cultivated or uncovered to a greater degree,
But we already have some inner resources.
Allow us to not give up.
So generating a certain level of resolve,
Courage,
Certain commitment to be doing what's right in terms of our wisdom and compassion.
Then releasing those thoughts,
Images,
Ideas,
Aspirations to briefly come back to our body.
Noticing how it feels right now,
Noticing the tactile sensations.
Dedicating the energy of this practice,
Of this meditation to the fulfillment of our highest aspirations.
And then introducing some movement to our body as we move our fingers,
As we move our toes,
As we rock back and forth and so on.
And then slowly concluding this meditation.
