Begin by briefly examining your motivation.
What is it that you truly want your heart's desire?
Do you believe there is a path to that which you yearn for?
How deeply do you want this?
How much of your being are you willing to put into this willingness to look at the truth of the moment?
Begin then please by invoking that which you love,
That which you trust,
Your own true nature,
Living spirit,
The beloved.
Buddha Dharma Sangha,
Admitting your heart's yearning.
Start by thinking so that you receive this quality of trust,
And whether the mind is agitated or calm or dull,
Whether the body is restless or tired or balanced,
Whether the emotions are pleasing or difficult.
There is some underlying trust in some sense that who you are is larger than these impermanent passing experiences,
And that you can begin to pay more attention to your relationship to experience rather than the content.
Thoughts come and go,
Sensations come and go.
The heart,
The heart-mind trusts that just being present initiates a movement toward freedom,
Toward wholeness,
Toward healing.
And to bring this sense of trust also into the physical body,
First taking a few grounding breaths as you breathe in,
Either visualize or feel your energy going down through the base of your torso,
Almost as if you were laying an egg,
Pushing down into the earth.
And as you breathe out,
Relaxing,
Opening,
Being willing to receive this energy of groundedness that is at one time both bringing a feeling of strength and a feeling of softness,
Being supported,
Being nourished.
Lower part of your body,
Feeling stable,
Grounded.
And in a similar way,
Centering the belly center,
Hara,
Three or four inches below your navel,
A few inches inside of the front of your body.
As you breathe out,
As you let go of air,
Let go down into your belly,
Surrender,
Die into the belly center,
Center of gravity of your physical and energetic bodies.
Let the in-breath be easy and natural,
The out-breath be full.
At first,
Paying attention to this energetic place in your body,
But as the surrender deepens,
Can you let your identity drop from your head down into your belly,
Becoming centered,
And paying attention from the belly rather than to it,
Hearing these words from your belly.
A sense of stability,
Strong like a mountain,
Grounded and centered.
Not being bothered by thoughts or images that may arise,
Nothing to push away,
Nothing to change with each out-breath,
Deepening this quality of being centered,
Surrendering into the belly.
And let this then be a brief foundation for opening your heart of compassion,
Breathing into the center of your chest,
Loving-kindness,
Compassion,
Breathing out spaciousness,
Spacious heart.
Centered in your belly,
Strong like a mountain,
Heart open,
Vast like the sky.
The quality of centeredness allows the heart to remain open,
And the open heart makes workable whatever may arise from the depths of your center.
A very simple moment when you notice you've been lost in your mind.
Can you come back to being present with compassion,
With a merciful heart,
With absolutely no need for judgment,
No yanking yourself back,
Even in a subtle way?
Letting this being lost in separation being the inspiration to open your heart even more deeply.
And for that place of becoming lost.
Compassion not only for yourself but for all beings.
Wish that all beings be free from suffering.
Breathing into your heart and breathing out,
Letting go infinitely in all directions.
Breathing into the heart and either visualizing or feeling,
Depending on your preference,
Out infinitely in all directions.
And letting go with each out-breath.
And letting go of your heart and breathing out,
Letting go infinitely in all directions.
And letting go of your heart and breathing out,
Letting go infinitely in all directions.
And letting go of your heart and breathing out,
Letting go infinitely in all directions.
And letting go of your heart and breathing out,
Letting go infinitely in all directions.
