Let's settle in and get comfortable.
However comfortable you're able to be,
You may experience a temptation to find perfect comfort.
I'm not sure this even exists.
So just find whatever comfort you're able to.
And let's take a nice deep breath together.
Let's then consider why we're here.
What was your motivation for seeking out this meditation and for pressing play?
Some of us at some times meditate to calm down.
Perhaps we've been out in the world,
Where circumstances take centre stage.
And so we come to meditate,
To find calm,
To find peace.
Some of us meditate because we've always meditated,
Or at least we've been at it for a long time,
And there's a certain momentum in our practice.
We know that practice is good for us on many levels.
And so we show up.
Perhaps we're here because we're seeking a fundamental okayness,
A satisfaction independent of circumstances,
Otherwise known as nirvana,
The out breath,
The relief,
The cooling off from being hot under the collar,
Just being satisfied with things as they are,
Being okay.
And realising that okayness,
Not by arranging circumstances to be a certain way,
But by sitting down,
Shutting up and surrendering,
Letting go of our demands that things be a certain way in order for us to be okay.
What we find as we let go of those demands is that it's the demands themselves that create our dissatisfaction.
These demands are mental processes.
And there is no rule nor any ruler that states that these mental processes must be done.
These mental processes can be difficult to see and difficult to surrender because they are conditioned.
As such,
Over time,
These mental processes can end up seeming so normal to us that they are simply part of our condition.
They are part of the way reality is,
Or so we think.
Then,
Perhaps,
If we are fortunate enough,
We take up a spiritual practice and we get quiet enough that we can start to see and start to let go.
We may,
To begin with,
Only find a glimpse of the freedom that exists in the absence of these mental processes of wanting things to be a certain way.
That glimpse is a great victory,
Not only for yourself,
But for all humankind.
Because having had that glimpse,
You know things are not as they seem.
And you know that there is another way of being contrary to what you've been told,
Which is,
Of course,
To arrange your circumstances such that happiness will occur,
Or to acquire things that will make you happy.
The vast majority of us have tried this and seen that it fails every time.
This can lead to great despair.
The world told me that this was how to be happy,
And I've done everything they said.
But still I am not happy.
This is a wonderful place from which to begin a spiritual practice.
And once we have that glimpse,
The contentment is possible.
Just sat down quietly,
Doing nothing.
That's a game changer.
Now the game is,
Can I get another glimpse,
And another,
And another?
Can I practice in such a way that these glimpses become more frequent?
Can I sit down and shut up,
And let go often enough that I start to become familiar with this freedom,
This okayness that is independent of circumstances?
And as you do this,
You will see,
It does not just benefit you yourself.
It benefits everyone around you.
At least because you're no longer making demands of them.
You no longer need those around you to be a certain way,
In order to be satisfied.
Thus you bring them the gift of freedom,
Without them even needing to sit once in their lives.
Now your meditation,
Your practice,
Is a very real gift to others.
And may we all realize the fundamental okayness that remains,
When we let go of our desires.
May we all bring the gift of freedom from demands to those around us.
May we all be happy and at peace.
