Draw into stillness.
Notice the quiet.
Settle down.
Find your roots.
The ways in which gravity draws on your body and attaches you to the ground and the earth.
You may feel that most strongly in your feet,
Or your seat,
Your shoulders,
Or your head.
Let go.
Release into it.
Let your body answer this question.
Where are you tight or stuck?
Where do you feel it most?
Do a quick scan.
As you acknowledge that,
You could breathe into it or just generate your attention there to release and invite softening.
How's your belly and digestion?
Full,
Empty,
Restless,
Settled?
Take it in as a point of data and noticing.
Your breath,
Strong or weak?
Happy or sad?
Let your lungs fill up a little more and slow down a little further.
Here's a challenge.
Can you find and isolate your pulse without touching yourself?
Can you notice the thrum and rhythm maybe in your chest or throat,
Wrist or ankle?
See if you can find its pattern.
And then with all of that awareness,
Maybe you want to expand and extend,
Letting your head drift farther away from your toes,
Literally or just metaphorically.
Consider your day and your environment.
Somewhere in your experience,
There's probably an aspect of dread,
Discomfort,
Or worry.
That's good.
Your body is alert to change and danger as we are evolved to do,
But it's not necessarily fun.
So go a little bit deeper.
Inquire of yourself gently.
Oh,
So softly.
Why?
Get a little bit closer to the root of the discomfort in your external experience.
You don't need to make yourself uncomfortable.
Just observe it as if you were observing a painting in a museum or gallery.
It's not in fact real.
Ask yourself,
What is this discomfort there to teach,
To prod me to do?
It's gonna get a little dicey,
A little uncomfortable.
Just take deep breaths.
Long in,
Slow out to soothe yourself.
Listen to my voice.
Just experience gravity.
None of this is present.
We're just gently exploring it with our awareness.
And maybe you begin to see what might be the blessing of this particular discomfort.
How can it make you better and improve your life?
Come back to your body.
Soothe yourself with an awareness of your body and gravity,
Your breath and digestion.
Three deep breaths.
Let come to mind a person around whom you have discomfort.
I wouldn't say enmity,
Just unease,
Anxiety.
They make you nervous.
They're hard to connect with,
Hard to understand.
People are like that.
They're mysterious.
Let a person like that come into your mind.
Not too close.
I don't wanna get scared.
Just observe them again like a sculpture in a museum,
An unreality.
You don't have to confront their totality right now.
We're just gonna explore.
What about them makes you uncomfortable?
Inquire.
You may not be able to put your finger on it or name it,
But narrow it down a little.
Breathe into that.
Look a little closer.
Why does it make you uncomfortable?
How do they make you uncomfortable?
See if you can focus in again a little more.
What is it about them?
How do you experience it?
It's gonna make you tense.
Just breathe.
Slow in,
Long out.
Ask the next question.
What could I learn from this discomfort with another person?
What blessing are they bringing to me?
You probably haven't thought about that very much.
Let the thought percolate and germinate and breathe into it.
Take it in deep.
Let it out slow,
But it doesn't need to linger in you.
Find the blessing.
Let's take three more deep breaths.
Let's go the furthest inside.
There's some piece,
Part or aspect of you that causes you tension,
Maybe even dread,
Maybe depression or anxiety.
See if you can feel it.
What part of you is causing you anxiety right now,
Making you feel stuck,
Uneasy?
Be interested in yourself.
Why does this part of you cause anxiety or even resentment?
What is its message?
What's it doing there?
We were made complete,
So it's there for a reason.
Ask it.
What lesson are you here to teach?
What blessing are you bringing?
Whatever comes up,
You don't need to judge it.
You just need to notice.
What are you hearing?
Everything is pregnant with meaning.
You just need to listen.
Sometimes it's not fun.
Find blessing even in this dysregulated part of yourself.
Breathe into it.
Be there.
Not clenching,
Just present,
Aware,
Witnessing.
Take about five more breaths and then we'll close with a chime.
