Let's begin with a bell.
You could probably do this meditation in any position,
But do it in a low-energy way.
You don't have to strive.
You don't have to be energetic.
As with any meditation,
You can just come in as yourself.
The sages say that the holiday of Sukkot is unique because you can enter it with muddy boots.
So in this meditation for Sukkot,
Come in as you are.
No requirements,
Really,
Ever to be good at meditation.
It's not something you can be good at.
It's just something you can do again and again until you're more comfortable.
And meditation doesn't have to be esoteric or weird.
It can just be a giving in to the moment,
An allowing of boredom,
Being instead of doing,
Sensory instead of cognitive.
You can meditate as simply as putting your phone away sometimes.
Just giving yourself time.
That's what you're doing right now.
You may want to take a moment just to thank yourself,
To be proud of yourself for giving yourself this time.
And when you're ready,
You might close your eyes and take a little spiritual adventure inward.
So you're breathing as you are,
And then maybe you want to extend your breath,
Breathe in more deeply,
Exhale more slowly.
You don't have to,
But it might cue you to relax.
You will get distracted.
We all get distracted.
Thank goodness we do,
Because it means our neurons are firing.
And when we're distracted,
We can come back to this moment.
Maybe you think about my words or your breath,
Just the feelings of your body,
Whatever it takes to cue you to be here now.
To get out of any fantasy or anxiety or regret,
But just to be in this moment,
And then this moment,
And then another moment.
Not holding on to anything particularly tightly,
And letting your body sink into gravity.
You don't have any work to do right now.
It's so great that you're doing this for yourself.
We're going to go through four elements of life,
And I can't tell you what the element will be for you,
But I'll describe it.
We're going to think about places that we don't do much and haven't learned much.
Experiences where we've learned,
But maybe don't do,
Or don't do yet.
Things that we do,
But could learn more about.
And our last phase will be things we do and know about.
I'm just going to acknowledge what comes up in each phase.
This isn't a place for any sort of harsh judgment,
Self-criticism,
Or perfectionism.
It's just a time to notice.
So we'll start with an experience,
And you'll have to name it yourself,
Of a type that you don't know much about,
And don't do much with.
Maybe it's something that's always interested you,
Maybe not.
Could be hiking,
Or playing an instrument,
Or learning about a type of artwork.
You don't do much of it,
And you don't know much about it.
It's an opportunity,
Perhaps.
Maybe you've seen images or videos of people doing or learning this thing.
Maybe you just know the words,
Or have an idea.
Go into that experience.
What feelings,
Sensations,
Ideas come up for you when you think of an experience you don't know?
Never done,
Or rarely done,
Don't know much about it.
Maybe you feel scared or curious,
Uninterested,
Excited.
Where is that in your body?
How might it affect your breath,
Your nervous system?
Just be interested with a generous awareness,
A limited experience,
And perhaps a vast possibility.
What's that about?
What's that like?
How is that for you?
Take a few more deep breaths into that possibility,
That experience,
That concept,
And then we'll move on to a new idea.
Settle and come back,
And we'll think about something that you know or understand or have learned about,
But don't do much with,
Or perhaps haven't yet.
Maybe you know how a trumpet works,
But have never played it.
Maybe you understand computers,
But have never programmed them.
Perhaps even you've read about meditation,
But don't do it much yet.
What's that like?
Without judgment,
Just note what comes up for you when you think about things of which you have understanding,
But not practical experience.
You feel jealous of people who have done more than you,
Or regret that you haven't participated yet,
Or indifference.
It might not even interest you.
Maybe you've learned about it enough to know that you don't want to do it.
Those are all good options.
Just sense that.
Breathe into that possibility of understanding something,
But not doing much of it.
Maybe it's a feeling you like.
Take a few deep breaths to let that settle.
Let's go to an experience that you do,
But don't really comprehend.
An obvious one might be driving a car.
You might be comfortable driving a car and have no idea what's under the hood.
Using plumbing.
Playing a sport,
But not really understanding the biomechanics of it,
Or having any concrete knowledge of its history.
Anything like that,
That you do,
But don't know.
How's that feeling?
Does it work for you?
What comes up when you think about that experience of action without wisdom?
Is that okay?
Not okay?
Do you feel inspired to learn more?
Apathetic?
There's no right answer.
We're just noticing how that makes us feel,
Each of us.
Breathing into that.
Take a few deep breaths into this place of action without knowledge.
Let it settle within you before we move on.
Our last part is things we know and things we do.
If you are very good at breathing and you understand how your lungs are working,
That could be an example.
Something about which you have practical and theoretical expertise.
Maybe you can play jazz music and you know its entire story,
Or a lot of it.
Things like that.
What's an experience that comes up for you?
Do you feel pride or gratitude?
Desire even to do more and know more?
You can evaluate another time.
We're just feeling that feeling.
In a domain which we have expertise both in action and thought.
How is that for you?
Pleasant?
Curious?
Sincere?
What comes up?
We'll close out by just breathing into all of these domains,
All of these experiences,
All of these concepts.
Letting yourself know that there are always places to learn and always places to do more.
It's not a judgment on you.
It's a judgment and a fact about the human condition.
Breathe into that.
