It's coming in.
Joining Meditation.
That is in some ways an easy experience to have,
It just means stopping.
It just means sitting or standing in one place,
Lying down.
Perhaps closing your eyes.
And letting go of what was.
Have very low expectations for meditation.
Your brain isn't going to turn off.
You're not going to go blank.
That is actually death.
Or being comatose perhaps.
You don't want that.
You just want to relax and give yourself time.
Maybe be a little bored.
That's all this has to be.
And thoughts will come,
And then you let thoughts go.
And you get hooked on a thought,
You just come back maybe to my voice.
To your own body.
To listen to the world inside and out.
Or just attend to your breathing.
Being kind to yourself.
With a generous awareness.
And no critique.
When you're breathing,
You might notice it's shallow or deep already,
And then we'll just extend it a little bit more,
Three,
Five,
10% more.
Deeper in,
Slower out,
Maybe you yawn to help that process,
Maybe you stretch to open up your chest.
Maybe you can hear your digestion or your pulse.
Little burblings inside you,
Sounds outside you.
This can be fun.
And playful.
Doesn't have to be serious.
Or perfect.
There's no real perfection in the world.
That's not attainable.
It's not even a real work.
Stretch,
Yawn,
Exhale with the ancient word selah.
Salah.
Do what's right for you.
Follow me when you want,
And go your own way when you wish.
Slowing down.
Becoming more still,
Entering into quiet.
Letting brain drift in reverie,
Loosey-goosey open.
Generous.
Notice your temples above your jaw,
And if you pull in there a little,
The rest of your face can relax.
Corners of your mouth into your cheeks.
Maybe you allow a smile.
Lifting the outsides of your face.
Gently,
Gently.
Having fun.
Enjoying your breath,
Enjoying your body.
You have stuff to do later.
You have things to worry about from the past,
But right now.
.
.
Set those aside.
And enjoy this time with yourself.
Say something kind to yourself.
Could be simple.
You treat your pets well.
You make a perfect egg.
A good egg,
Not perfect.
You take care of your own health.
The kind thing you say to yourself could be,
You give yourself time to meditate.
That's enough.
You are enough.
You've got what you need.
Just continuing to breathe when you get distracted,
Not if.
Just return to breath.
Deeply in,
Slowly out,
As a way of self-soothing.
Very pleasantly.
Sigh.
This meditation is about chastisement and rebuke,
And also balance.
We learn to correct self and others through life,
Learning to do it politely and kindly.
And also to sit in balance,
Seeing both sides of the issue.
Not easy.
So we'll meditate on it.
See if we can improve that skill set internally.
This may get hard,
So ignore it for a few moments if it gets stressful and just breathe,
Just sit.
But stay with me when you can.
Understanding how to correct others requires us to correct self.
And learning to correct self requires a gentle touch.
Not a cruelty or a shaming.
Not a bullying.
Start with something small.
An error you made yesterday.
Maybe you cut someone off.
Ate too much at lunch.
Weren't polite.
Something small.
You want to notice without drilling yourself over it.
Something as simple as,
I wasn't paying attention to a loved one when they spoke.
Something that's an oops.
Acknowledge,
And do it with love.
I don't always listen carefully.
And I can work on that.
And the balance might be,
And I am nonetheless a good person who is trying to be fundamentally decent.
Or something shorter.
Let's see both sides of the story.
Even as you seek to correct.
Have compassion for self,
That our errors come with a lot of effort.
We're not trying to be bad.
We just make mistakes because we are flesh and blood.
Find that balance.
Affectionate correction.
Breathe into it,
Especially if it's hard or confusing.
You might get distracted,
You might get worried.
Just breathe deeper to slow it down.
Exhale slowly.
Coming back in.
Falling into the moment.
Embracing and being embraced by self.
Few deep breaths.
Noticing.
Hearing and listening.
If we practice cell for autocorrection.
.
.
We might learn to correct others to support them kindly for their growth.
Call to mind someone you love.
They make errors,
They might have bad habits.
Because we love them as we love ourselves.
Maybe they need correction.
Maybe they need to be challenged.
Hey,
I think you drink too much.
Hey,
You're sitting still too long at work.
Overworking.
Hey,
That color doesn't look good on you.
You might want to reconsider it.
Something.
Gentle yet profound,
Caring yet direct.
You can consider it.
You might not be ready,
But it's practice as we breathe.
And it has to be done in balance with love and kindness.
A.
You seem to have this difficult habit or make this mistake.
And I know you don't want to,
Because you're a fundamentally good person.
And you're getting in your own way.
And I'm here to help.
If you need it.
Something like that,
Maybe simpler or in your own words as you breathe.
Just practice.
If this gets difficult,
Just.
.
.
Just come back.
You don't have to do it.
You may not be ready.
It may not be good for you yet.
Maybe one day.
And the world has its own flaws and disruptions and irregularities,
And we are required to participate in those.
To challenge them,
To heal them,
To repair.
But it's scary.
To look out and challenge the world as it is.
So we will do it with balance,
Harmony,
And caring.
Just breathe into that possibility.
Continuing to breathe,
Taking care of yourself,
Settling down,
Slowing down,
Breathing in deeply,
Exhaling slowly.
Just absorbing the lessons.
Blessings.
