Good morning.
Welcome to this Monday's Meditation on the Lawn offered by the University of Virginia.
I am Ian Solomon,
Dean of the University of Virginia's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.
I am honored to join with you virtually for the first session of Meditation on the Lawn as we begin our spring semester 2022.
Thank you for being a part of this moment of shared purpose and intention.
I suspect some of you already have regular meditation practices.
I suspect others may be new to the practice of meditation.
All are very welcome.
We are all students.
We are all one.
I am grateful that you are here and that we can be together in this way.
Last week,
The world said goodbye to one of our great meditation teachers,
The venerable Thich Nhat Hanh,
A Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist from Vietnam.
Thich Nhat Hanh had a wonderful way of demystifying the practice of meditation.
Just be,
He said,
Just be.
Just be in the moment in this place is the deepest practice of meditation.
Thich Nhat Hanh urged us when we practice meditation not to make any effort.
Allow yourself to be like that pebble at rest,
He said.
The pebble is resting at the bottom of the river and the pebble does not have to do anything.
Thich Nhat Hanh's meditation guidance was very simple.
Breathing in,
I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I know I am breathing out.
That's all there is to it.
Be aware of your experience.
Pay attention.
Be fully conscious of the moment.
Be present.
Breathing in,
I notice my breath has become deeper.
Breathing out,
I notice that my breath has become slower.
It's so simple.
And yet,
If you're like me,
It can be quite challenging to tame this wild Mustang mind that like an untamed horse wants to run away and buck and eat its grass whenever and wherever it chooses.
And that's where our practice can help.
Each time we practice returning to the here and now,
Returning our attention to the here and now,
It's like doing another repetition of an exercise.
The more our mind gallops away,
The more practice we get returning it to here.
That is all that is required in our practice.
And over time,
The wild horse becomes more tame,
More cooperative,
More of a friend,
More of an ally.
Because it kicks up less dust,
We can see with greater clarity.
Because it runs away less often,
We become familiar with its needs,
Its habits,
And patterns.
And when our Mustang mind does run off wildly,
As it will again and again,
We can be gentle with it.
We can treat it with love and kindness.
We can help it feel safe enough to settle down in the present moment.
Please join with me for a few minutes of meditation.
I invite you to relax your eyes,
To find a place of stability,
Or relax the posture of dignity.
Take a deep breath in.
Hold it for a moment.
And release.
Consciously relax the muscles of your face and your jaw.
And take another deep breath in.
Hold.
And release.
Now just allow your breath to breathe for you.
In and out.
Just as it wants to do on its own,
With no effort from you.
Allow the breath.
Surrender to it.
Maybe it's deep.
Maybe it's shallow.
Maybe it's smooth.
Maybe it's irregular.
Keep your attention on the sensations of the breath,
However those sensations may appear.
Maybe you notice a rising belly and a falling belly.
Maybe you notice the air at your nostrils coming in and going out.
Maybe you feel the breath through your whole body energizing and releasing.
Simply pay attention,
Keeping your concentration on the sensations of your breathing.
If you find that your attention has wandered somewhere away,
Return your attention to the breathing itself.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing out.
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
See if you can follow your breath through an entire cycle of in and out and in and out.
And see if you can note where one breath ends and another breath begins.
Observe how they connect and flow together.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
Your breath is your miraculous connection to life and to the world through this precious,
Wonderful gift of breathing.
For just a few minutes,
Honor this gift with your full,
Undivided attention.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing out.
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
And the next time you notice that your mind is somewhere else,
You may take note of where it is.
Is it a physical sensation that has distracted it?
Is it some mental dialogue or mental chatter?
Perhaps a visual image in your mind?
Take note gently and return to the breathing.
Breathing out,
I am breathing in.
Where is your mind now?
Take note gently and return to the breathing.
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
We practice meditation and we tame our mind.
We tame our mind and see more clearly.
We see more clearly and we have more peace.
We have more peace and our hearts relax.
Our hearts relax and we allow love.
We allow love and we are free.
We are free.
When you feel ready,
Bring your attention to the physical sensations of your body and the sounds in your room,
The feel of your body against your chair or your cushion.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Allow your eyes to reopen or to refocus or both.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be free from suffering,
Free from compulsion,
Free from delusion.
May you take the sunshine of this moment into your heart and may you share it with others throughout the day.
Thank you for joining the session.
I hope to see you again.
Have a wonderful week.
