Welcome.
You might take a few moments as we begin to check in with your environment.
Are the things that are in your control as you want them to be?
The light,
The temperature,
Your clothing,
Blankets,
Pillows.
Sometimes we settle for good enough when we can easily make things better.
Good enough might be good enough right now,
But if you can make things better without too much disturbance or distraction,
Then make a change.
You are worthy of comfort and the care you are taking of yourself in this moment is important.
You might survey your energetic and emotional state in this moment.
You might be tired from your day,
Your energy ebbing.
You might be happy with how your day went.
There might be some things you wish now you had done differently.
Maybe it was a hard day.
Maybe it was an easy day,
But what is most important to know is that now is the time you can put down what you have been carrying.
You can let go of your day.
You can shift from the rigors of your day towards the restfulness of sleep.
It's all right to free yourself for a time from the expectations of others and your own expectations.
It's all right to free yourself from judgment.
You might begin taking what you don't need to carry right now and putting it into a suitcase that you can place beside your door.
Pack it all up and set it aside.
You can pick it up again tomorrow.
I invite you to think a bit about different qualities of life,
Different aspects of life energy.
Peace,
Joy,
Strength,
Vulnerability.
What are some qualities of life energy you would like to be filled with in this moment?
You might remember the kinds of energy that flowed through you when you were filled with joy.
Perhaps when you felt completely at peace,
You might find that memories of particular events come to you.
What emotions did you feel then?
What did it feel like in your body?
Let your mind roam for a bit.
Remember the kinds of energy that flowed through you when you were full of joy,
When you felt filled to the brim with love,
When you were so at peace that it seemed that time had stopped.
The word bhavana in Sanskrit can mean to infuse,
Like pouring hot water over tea leaves.
It comes from a root word meaning to cultivate.
We might think a bhavana is cultivating a state of mind by infusion,
By immersion.
We begin a bhavana meditation by inquiring of ourselves.
What particular quality of life energy would I like to be infused with right now?
What quality would I like to melt into?
What do I want to cultivate right now?
What do I want to make more accessible to me?
Perhaps now you would like an infusion of peace,
Of calmness.
You would like to be steeped in peace and feel it infusing every part of your body.
Peace,
Calmness,
Tranquility are all still energetic states,
But in them you have a different sort of energy,
Different from what you might find during your day.
It is a subtle energy,
Not an energy of motion,
But one of reassurance,
A placid and harmonious energy,
An energy that holds you gently in its grip,
That spreads throughout your body.
You might imagine for a few moments a tea bag and a transparent cup of hot water.
Watch as the subtle currents in the water,
Currents of energy,
Slowly take on color.
Notice the gradations in the color,
The variation between the water that has become tea and the water that is still just water.
Imagine how the color slowly spreads,
Moving through the water as currents of peaceful energy move through the cup.
For a few moments,
Imagine the process of infusion.
What quality of energy do you most want to be infused with right now?
Say the words that describe what you wish to yourself.
Perhaps say them out loud.
Peace,
Calmness,
Tranquility,
Harmony,
Equanimity,
Relaxation,
Stillness.
We each have an instinct to seek out what we crave,
To seek out what we need,
To merge with it.
What do you need in this moment?
Allow your attention to rest on your yearning for this energetic state.
Allow it to rest in your instinctive wisdom,
Knowing this is a quality that you need.
What do you want to be permeated with,
To float with,
To absorb,
To be absorbed by,
To be filled with?
You might imagine that you are the cup of hot water,
That your body is perfectly warm and receptive.
You're ready to be infused.
You might imagine that the quality you need,
However you've expressed it,
Exists at the center of your chest.
In this hushed moment,
Can you feel your quality begin to spread?
Can you feel yourself slowly becoming colored by your quality?
Your heart is carrying this wonderful quality throughout your body.
You are attending to the wisdom of your inner guidance system,
Your own wisdom.
Can you feel it spread?
Can you feel it disperse from your heart,
Flowing down across your stomach,
Broadening across your pelvis and thighs,
Traveling slowly down your legs and leaving a trail of relaxation as it goes,
Warming each of your toes,
Gliding gliding to your shoulders and then down your arms and then one at a time to the tip of each of your fingers,
Gently infusing as you breathe,
Saturating every part of your body,
Traveling up through your neck as your jaw relaxes,
As the tiny muscles around your eyes release,
As your entire head and your entire body glow with an infusion of peaceful warmth.
Take rest.
