Let's get comfortable and we can close our eyes if we wish.
Whatever's comfortable for you,
If you have an existing mindfulness practice,
You may be aware of a configuration of the body that works.
If you're someone who is new to this,
Feel free to experiment.
We don't have to lock ourselves in place for the duration of our practice.
In fact,
I recommend that we don't.
We want to relax here.
That's the point of the practice.
To relax both body and mind.
Locking up is quite the opposite of that.
Let's take a few deep breaths together.
Let's take a few deep breaths together.
See if you can breathe so deeply that you feel your shoulders move.
Really fill up the lungs.
These deep breaths will oxygenate the brain.
And by paying conscious attention to them,
We light up the prefrontal cortex,
The human part of the brain.
And of course,
Being that the breath is always happening right now,
Whenever we put our attention on it,
We stop imagining past and future and instead put our attention on what's happening right now.
There's a lot going on in the immediate past,
In the immediate future that we might imagine.
Perhaps a lot that we don't like.
Mindfulness practice can enable us to work directly with liking and wanting.
And not liking and not wanting.
Anytime we're in a condition of wanting something we don't have,
Or attempting to be rid of something that we do have,
We're dissatisfied.
And so we could make efforts to change our circumstances,
And this is what our society largely trains us to do.
We're trained to first of all make very severe and numerous judgments about what we like and don't like,
What we want and don't want in our circumstances.
And then we're told that we can,
If we try really hard,
Make the changes that we want to make to these circumstances.
There's nothing inherently wrong with taking action to change circumstances,
But what we can say is that when we want something that we don't have,
Or when we attempt to push away something that is going on in our circumstances,
Then we experience dissatisfaction.
And so whilst changing those circumstances is one strategy,
And sometimes it's the wise strategy,
There is another strategy,
Which is to learn to be at peace with whatever's going on right now.
And aren't we lucky that there's been this practice for two and a half thousand years,
Very well road tested,
For doing precisely this,
Coming out of dissatisfaction and into satisfaction,
Without having to change anything.
We can confirm that this is possible,
Perhaps even regular,
By remembering any time in which our circumstances haven't changed,
But our mood has.
Any time that our circumstances have remained the same,
And yet our mood has improved,
Is proof that the circumstances don't have to change in order for us to become satisfied.
Now granted,
If you find yourself in a gunfight,
It's a good idea to take action to change your circumstances.
But we're not dealing with a gunfight.
You may think to yourself,
Well,
We're dealing with a pandemic.
That's true.
But if you're listening to this recording,
Then even if you're on the front lines of your health service,
I assume you're not on duty right now.
And if you're not on duty right now,
Then I recommend that you take this opportunity to put down the burden of past and future,
And come into the present where neither your job,
Nor the current pandemic,
Actually exists in your direct experience.
This doesn't mean that you don't go and do what must be done when the time comes.
In fact,
You will be better able to do what must be done,
Having rested fully,
Having put down the mental burdens that come with such a demanding and heroic job.
For the rest of us who don't wear capes,
We can find it even easier to forget the worries that exist in the imaginary past and future.
Just be here right now,
Where it's almost always better,
Easier,
More satisfactory than what's going on in our imaginary past and future.
The practice is simple.
Enjoy the pleasant sensations of the breath.
And when you catch the mind wandering,
Celebrate.
This is successful mindfulness practice.
And then choose to enjoy the breath once again.
There's no standard to uphold here.
There is no way to be good at mindfulness practice.
Beyond,
In whatever moment you remember,
See the mind wandering and congratulate yourself for practicing successfully.
This is only ever done once,
Right now.
If you find that you've been tumbling down some rabbit hole of thought,
Seconds or minutes,
Never mind,
Start again.
And if you find that you're telling yourself off for getting lost in thought,
Never mind,
Start again.
When we use this attitude,
Never mind,
Start again.
When we choose to congratulate ourselves,
For each moment of successful practice,
We put ourselves in the position of the winner,
No longer the loser.
In that moment,
Which,
If we're not thinking about the past and the future,
Is all there is,
Then we are indeed a winner,
A champion,
A champion of the mind,
One who chooses what they think,
Right now.
We can talk about skill development and,
Yes,
These are skills that we develop.
And that's wonderful.
It's wonderful that this gets easier the more we do it.
But ultimately,
It always comes down to one moment of practice.
And that practice can be made pleasant,
Enjoyable,
By choosing to celebrate our successes,
No matter how many or how few,
Because there's only ever one,
One moment of successful mindfulness practice,
Choosing what we think and celebrating our success.
