Let's settle the body in its natural state,
Imbued with the three qualities of relaxation,
Stillness,
And vigilance.
And you may,
If you wish,
Round off this process by taking three slow,
Deep breaths.
And settle your respiration in its natural rhythm,
Mindfully attentive of the sensations correlated with the breath throughout the body,
But utterly disengaging your will from the breath,
Breathing as if you were deep asleep,
Letting the body breathe.
And gradually let your mind settle in its natural state,
Imbued with a quality of ease and inner stillness,
Its natural luminosity.
And now reflect upon your own presence here,
In the simplicity of simply sitting quietly,
Observing the breath.
And note that there is an undercurrent,
An undercurrent of caring,
That as if at any time during this session you should feel discomfort or pain,
You'll naturally want to be free of it,
And perhaps take steps to alleviate that discomfort or pain.
There's an undercurrent of caring manifesting in the wish to find greater happiness.
It's always there.
Embrace this sense of caring that is innate and for which the roots are very deep.
It is worthy,
Based in reality.
And arouse,
If you will,
Make manifest this yearning for your own well-being,
Here and now.
May I be free of all obstacles to my happiness,
To my well-being.
With each out-breath,
With each out-breath arouse a yearning,
May I find happiness,
The fulfillment that I seek,
And cultivate the causes that lead to such fulfillment.
May I be well and happy,
Free of pain,
Free of anxiety,
Flourishing in the simplicity of the present moment.
And now bring yourself to mind on another occasion.
Or from your memory.
Occasion when your mind was in turmoil,
The mind strongly afflicted,
Whether by anger or hatred,
By attachment,
When your mind was toxic.
It may be it spilled out into your behavior,
Into your words,
Your physical behavior,
Regrettable,
Reprehensible behavior.
One of your worst days.
Where almost anyone looking at you would find,
Here's an unpleasing person,
I don't want to be around this kind of person.
So disagreeable,
Unpleasant,
So harsh.
But now looking with the eyes of wisdom,
Of discerning wisdom,
Distinguish yourself from the mental affliction,
Yourself from the reprehensible behavior.
Yourself as a sentient being,
A human being,
Constantly wishing for happiness,
But sometimes going about it in a profoundly misguided fashion.
Destroying the causes of your happiness even as you seek the fruit of happiness.
Looking back upon yourself in this context,
This situation,
Look through the veneer of the reprehensible behavior,
The toxic mental state,
Both of which come and go.
And attend to the person who is constantly wishing for happiness and wishing to be free of suffering,
And who is worthy to find genuine happiness.
Find an I-You relationship with yourself,
Subject to subject,
Present subject to past subject.
With each out-breath arouse this yearning,
May you be free of these mental states,
These toxins of the mind and behavior that undermine your own happiness and spreads unhappiness to those around you.
May you be free.
And may you,
Like myself in the present moment,
May you too find the happiness that you seek,
Based on an inner sense of well-being,
Of serenity,
Of balance,
Of clarity.
And now think of another time,
Another occasion in your life,
Another flashback,
This time in which you manifest the best in you,
Spontaneous kindness,
Perhaps intuitive wisdom,
A gentleness,
A patience,
Embodying acts of kindness.
This person is so easily lovable.
Everybody is drawn to virtue.
Wish this person too well.
With each out-breath arouse a yearning,
May you find happiness.
May you continue to cultivate the causes of happiness.
Breathe out the breath of loving kindness to yourself,
Subject to subject.
May you be well and happy.
May I be well and happy.
Then release your imagination and release desires.
With every out-breath release any thought.
All involuntary thoughts that arise,
Allow them to dissolve back into the space of your mind as you relax more and more deeply,
Resting in the simplicity of the present moment.
