Thank you for being here.
Let's begin with the bell.
Just slowing down.
All the chatter in your mind.
All the agitation in your body is normal and standard and signs of good function and health.
You don't need to fight it or resent it.
Some level you can even enjoy it.
Thank you body for working.
Thank you mind for being alive.
But you don't need to accelerate the process either.
Meditation is just slowing down.
Listening to internal and external.
A reorienting of self from the cognitive to the sensory.
Taking some time for self even to be bored.
Such a spiritual revolution to be bored in this frenetic world.
Let yourself fall into the quiet and the listening to all the micro and mini and mixed sounds around you.
Birds,
Mechanical sounds,
Breezes,
Even your own breath.
Making a symphony.
Drawing in breath deeply and exhaling slowly as a way of inviting your body to relax and to open.
To droop,
To fall into gravity.
To get squishy and mushy and soft.
Maybe feel the breath.
Maybe feel a little tired.
That's a good noticing while you meditate.
When I slow down,
What do I feel?
Physically and emotionally.
Breathing.
Noticing all those sensations that come up when you stop running and doing enacting your to-do lists.
Take a moment to thank yourself for coming to meditate.
That's something you can be proud of.
Not everyone gets to do it.
You can be grateful.
Start extending your breath.
Deeper in,
Imagining it fill up your whole body down to your toes and fingers.
Slower out like a molasses.
More and more still,
Deeper and deeper into quiet.
Think about the sensation of grasping for,
Being hungry for,
Desire.
So much we want,
So much we lust after.
So much we might grab and bring in.
All the things we want.
Feel that hunger.
Let yourself wander a little,
Even fantasize about things you desire.
Suck it up.
Suck it all in,
Breathe into it.
It's good to have ambition.
It's okay to be lusting after objects and things.
Some things look really neat.
Seem really exciting.
A fancy big meal.
It's normal to feel like you're going to have a big meal.
It's normal,
It's healthy,
It's evolved into our psyche.
Let yourself expand towards it with grasping hands and needy heart.
It's okay.
But then at the boundary there,
Pause.
What do you want and what do you need?
Truly need.
To exist,
To be healthy and safe.
What is required and what goes beyond,
What is extra?
As you breathe,
Become aware of that difference.
You may desire a fancy car,
But you may just need a bicycle.
A glorious meal at a fancy restaurant might be desirable,
But your body might just need an apple.
Try to identify that gap.
Create that space with your breath.
The difference and distance between want and need.
Between desire and necessity.
Maybe you can expand the gap,
Make it more noticeable with your breath.
With your generous attention.
What do I really need?
As you try to discern the difference between need and want,
Could you imagine taking less of something?
More closely aligned to what you need than what you want.
Could you let go of some things?
Maybe,
Maybe not yet.
Maybe not ever.
It's no judgment,
Just an awareness.
Cultivating the distance between desire and necessity.
Fascinating,
That possibility.
When you get distracted during this meditation or any meditation,
Just return to my voice or your breath.
Or the sensations of your body,
Perhaps feeling your clothing.
Whatever returns you to the moment.
Being actively aware of the space between need and want.
Breathing in,
Deeply,
Out,
Slowly,
Settling.
Enjoying the quiet and the peacefulness.
Serenity.
Last,
What might you give away?
Let go of,
Make a gift of to someone in need.
A shirt that goes beyond your own need,
That might be extremely necessary for another person.
Food that you won't eat,
That could serve someone else.
Even your time.
Just be open to that possibility.
Not certain,
Not demanding.
Just possible.
Let your body feel the potential of giving away.
Of making a gift to others and to the world.
Even when you're afraid of not having enough.
A natural fear.
Shedding your skin.
Letting go of what you want,
But don't need.
Perhaps,
No pressure.
Just potential.
What would it feel like?
To want less and to give more.
Letting go.
Surrendering,
Departing,
Drifting.
Getting out of yourself.
Giving away.
Sharing.
Sharing most of all.
