Hi,
This is Chris.
I will now guide you through a 20-minute turning towards difficult meditation.
This is a sitting meditation,
So let's begin by finding a comfortable sitting position for you.
You can choose to either sit on a chair or a meditation cushion.
In case you're going to sit on a chair,
Maybe practice having a straight back,
Sitting away from the back of the chair so that your back is self-supporting and the feet flat on the ground.
If you are sitting on a cushion,
On a cushion,
Maybe you put your legs in a cross-legged position,
The head balanced on top of the spine,
The hands can be placed on the laps or the knees,
Palms facing up or down.
When you are ready,
Gently closing the eyes or if you prefer,
Letting the gaze fall unfocused on the floor a short distance in front of you.
The intention of this meditation is to soften into allowing and accepting the moment-to-moment experience,
Especially if unpleasant.
We bring the attention first into the breath and the body,
Then into unpleasant aspects of our experience,
Then into pleasant and neutral aspects,
And finally into open awareness.
And if you can,
We bring an attitude of calm,
Openness,
Acceptance and kindness towards whatever is there for us in each moment.
So now,
Let's start with the meditation.
Bringing now your attention to what is actually happening in this present moment.
So perhaps just asking yourself,
What is my experience right now?
And when it feels right,
Maybe gently noticing the movement of the breath,
Actually feeling the sensations as the breath rolls in and rolls out.
No need to control the breath,
Simply allowing it to flow in its natural rhythm.
Moving awareness now to physical sensations in the body.
So maybe becoming aware of the sensations of touch and pressure in the body,
Where it makes contact with whatever we are sitting on,
Simply exploring.
And when the attention has wandered,
Which is what minds do,
Simply noticing and practicing making a choice to come back with care and kindness to the awareness of the body and the present moment experience.
And now,
As best you can,
Gently turn towards unpleasant aspects of your experience.
Maybe there are unpleasant thoughts,
Maybe there are unpleasant thoughts,
Emotions or sensations here.
And if so,
Simply acknowledging them and being with them for this moment.
So maybe saying to ourselves,
It's okay,
Let me feel it,
It's okay.
And to the best to your ability,
See if you can simply allow the unpleasant to be here with you.
And if there are no unpleasant aspects present,
See if you can simply be fully present to the moment to moment experience.
If there are unpleasant aspects,
Maybe saying to yourself,
Pain is here,
Unpleasant,
Worry is here,
Unpleasant,
Sadness is here,
Unpleasant,
Or judgment is here,
Unpleasant.
And maybe just saying to yourself,
Soften,
Soften,
Or allow,
Allow.
Maybe breathing into the unpleasant sensations and breathing out of it,
Breathing into the unpleasant sensations and breathing out of it,
Just being with what is.
And in case there is any resistance,
Can you soften into it,
Just letting go.
Moving onwards now and exploring any pleasant experiences.
So allowing the unpleasant to fall into the background of your awareness and allowing in the pleasant.
You don't have to invent anything,
It's already here.
Perhaps saying to yourself,
Quietness in the room,
Pleasant,
Warm hands,
Pleasant,
Sensations of air against the skin,
Pleasant,
Or a feeling of calm,
Pleasant.
So just gently practicing allowing in the pleasant,
Absorbing it.
And if there are no pleasant sensations for you right now,
That is okay.
That is just how things are.
Simply staying with the breath,
The body,
And the present moment experience and practicing allowing things to be as they are.
And when the mind has wandered off,
Simply bringing in the mind has wandered off,
Simply bringing it back to the breath and the body.
Practicing bringing your attention back to the pleasant aspects of your experience,
No matter how small or insignificant they might seem.
And when you are ready,
Moving on now and noticing the neutral aspects of your experience,
Maybe aspects that you haven't noticed before.
There's no need to invent anything,
Simply bringing a calm and broad awareness of the unfolding of this moment.
And if you are caught up in thoughts or emotions,
That's all right,
That's completely normal.
Just simply with kindness coming back to the neutral aspects of your experience right now.
And now you can move on and practice opening up to the whole of your experience.
So becoming aware of the unpleasant,
The pleasant,
And neutral aspects of your moment-to-moment experience.
So practicing being with the totality of your experience with a calm attention,
Whatever whatever is happening right now.
Feelings,
Sensations,
And thoughts,
Simply allowing them,
Observing them in a broad and open awareness.
Is it possible to allow your experience just to be?
No need to change or fix,
Just practicing holding it all in a gentle and allowing awareness.
Maybe noticing how unpleasant and pleasant experiences,
Thoughts,
And emotions arise,
Stay a while,
And then dissolve.
Noticing the ever-changing nature of experience itself.
Simply observing in a kind and patient awareness.
And if your mind has taken you into the past or the future,
Then that's okay.
Just coming back to the whole of your experience right now.
And as we draw this practice to a close,
Perhaps now allowing your breath and the body to move to the foreground of your awareness.
Just being fully present with the aliveness of the body,
Being awake.
And now expanding your awareness further to include the body sitting here.
Becoming aware of your physical position in the room,
Your posture,
Your facial expression.
And now broadening your awareness further into sounds.
Sounds inside the room,
Sounds far away.
And now maybe starting to gently wiggle the hands and toes,
Moving the head from side to side.
Stretch and move in whatever way feels good to you right now.
And slowly opening the eyes.
The turning towards a difficult meditation is now complete.
