As you start to settle in,
Getting a comfortable seat,
Call for deeper breathing.
Relaxing your middle brow,
Behind your ears,
Your shoulders,
And your belly.
And as you breathe,
Feel the expansion of your ribs,
Your side body.
And as you exhale,
Feel the closeness,
The inwardness of your internal body.
Creating the field for today's practice.
Letting go of anything that is holding onto you at this moment.
And just breathe.
Loosening our grips.
Loosening expectations.
Begin to feel the space around you.
Having your eyes closed down.
Using your intuition.
Feel the space between you and the walls around you.
Listening for that subtle quiet,
That crispness and that clearness.
That stillness.
Expanding our awareness from us.
Taking this moment to pull ourselves out.
Expand your awareness.
Feel that space between you and the walls.
Slowly start to bring your expansiveness back to you.
Bringing that awareness into your internal body.
Starting to set a rhythm for our breathing as we inhale.
We'll inhale this idea of suffering.
And when I say suffering,
I'd like for you to define what that means for you.
Think about the attributes and different characteristics of suffering.
As you exhale,
Think of relief.
What does relief feel for you?
What are the different faces of relief?
Inhaling suffering and exhaling relief.
It's just simply imagining this and feeling it in your body.
Not needing to do anything with it,
But simply observe what you feel when you feel suffering.
What do you feel when you feel relief?
It may be helpful to imagine suffering as heavy and hot and murky.
Relief as light,
Weightless,
And bright.
And if it is difficult for you or challenging for you to do this part right now,
Let go of your struggle and just breathe.
Bringing our awareness into our physical body.
Notice if you feel any sensation,
Discomfort,
Or soreness anywhere in your physical body.
Maybe your lower back or your upper shoulder.
In your neck.
And just simply observe that spot on your body without having to do anything for it or to it.
Breathing in that sensation,
That discomfort,
And breathing out that relief.
Imagining that relief being something physical like a warm compress or a massage to that area.
Emotionally,
If you're in discomfort,
What would be the relief for you?
What would be the answer for you?
Inhaling that discomfort and exhaling that relief.
Expanding the practice to someone close to you who may have some similar discomfort as you currently have.
Perhaps they too may have a sensation in their body.
Or emotionally,
They may be in the same mental space as you.
Imagining,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Suffering and relief for them.
You giving them the answer to their suffering.
Knowing and recognizing their suffering.
Saying,
I too,
I too,
I feel you.
And knowing with sincerity how much relief you'd like to bring them in their discomfort.
Continuing to expand our practice.
Consider now others who you may or may not know who could be in a similar place as you.
What would bring them relief and recognize their suffering through your breathing?
What would bring them relief?
Knowing our practice to your area of where you live.
Thinking about those who you see and recognize their suffering.
Delivering to them their relief.
And moving into the state that you are in.
Eventually the region.
And eventually the country that you reside in.
Delivering that answer now to a part of the hemisphere.
And eventually to the whole world,
Breathing in the world's suffering and exhaling the world's relief.
Saying,
I too,
I too,
I see you,
I recognize you.
Delivering the answer to the world.
Bringing your breathing back to you.
Simply feel what you feel.
And allow yourself to be held in your own relief.
Allowing yourself to be partnered in your suffering.
And allowing yourself to hold compassion.
And allowing yourself to be held in your own relief.
