Let's begin with a bell.
Start from your eyes.
Whether you're standing,
Seated,
Or lying down,
Feel your eyes.
They don't have to be closed yet.
Just notice what your eyes are like,
What the socket of your eyes and the muscles of your eyelids and around your eyes feel like in your arriving state as you begin this meditation.
Taught or relaxed.
Excited,
Drawing forward.
Fearful,
Retreating.
Just ask a question.
You don't have to name it or label it.
Just notice.
That's how my eyes feel right now.
Itchy,
Maybe.
Soft,
Whatever experience is.
I'll give you some words for it,
But you don't have to use words.
Just awareness.
Then maybe when you're ready,
This meditation might be easier with eyes closed.
Do as you see fit.
Your nose across your cheekbones.
So expressive.
They're going in and out,
Congested,
Open,
Wide,
Flat,
Narrow,
Itchy,
Eager to smell something good.
Are your cheekbones lifted to smile or more sedate?
You might even extend that awareness out to your jaw muscles,
Your cheeks.
How are they feeling right now,
Today,
At this very moment?
What's the muscle tone in your cheeks?
Is there an ache in your jaw or a joy or an ease?
Whatever.
Just play with it.
You might even want to wiggle your jaw to see what happens.
Those muscles from your temple down to your chin.
What are they doing?
Your eyebrows,
The space between them,
Into your forehead.
The strength and breadth of your skull.
What's that skin like covering you?
Soft,
Relaxed,
Squinting,
Scrunched.
Do you notice it?
Maybe even by noticing it,
It becomes a little more easeful,
A little more relaxed.
You don't have to make decisions about your face.
We're just enjoying it as it is.
Such a powerful and expressive tool.
Wiggle your ears a little.
If you can do it physically,
That's a good trick.
If you can't,
Just imagine them moving by the force of thought and muscle.
What's in them?
Hot,
Cold,
Wet,
Dry,
Clear,
Congested.
What are you feeling to your ears and those extremities?
How great it is to have a face,
Nose,
And ears.
Mouth.
Make shapes with your lips.
You can do kissing noises.
Maybe you make it buzz.
Smile.
Frown.
Just play with those shapes around your mouth.
Does that expressiveness even extend into your mouth,
Tongue,
And teeth?
Do you feel anything when you express yourself with your mouth?
Does your tongue vibrate a little?
All the shapes are tongue-to-tongue.
Does your tongue vibrate a little?
All the shapes our tongue can make to make so many different phonemes and letters and sounds.
Scrunch your face.
Expand it.
Move it around as if in a circle.
Clockwise and counterclockwise.
Feel the muscle tone all over.
Even extending from your scalp,
Across,
Down,
Towards your neck and throat.
Just notice all these units of expression and capacity to show emotion and feeling.
And communicate so much,
Even without words.
And an amazing amount with words.
Let the skin of your face stretch out and then scrunch,
Stretch out,
Play with it.
Such an amazing organ our skin can be and all the other parts of our face.
Let's explore from a reserve what our face does in different situations.
In your mind's eye,
Put yourself in a public room with more than a few people,
Maybe a dozen,
Maybe a hundred.
You're not necessarily giving a speech.
You could be mingling,
Conversing,
Small talk,
Wandering.
Maybe it's noisy.
See if you can take a moment to think about what you're doing.
Maybe,
See if you can feel how you would hold your face in that kind of public gathering.
Is there a drawing in or maybe a forced smile,
A wariness,
A distant look,
A searching?
What do you notice in your face if you picture yourself in something like a convention hall or a church fellowship room or a party?
Lots of people around.
What does your face do?
What mask might you wear?
What muscles get activated when you're in public?
Try in your mind's eye,
Still imagining yourself in a public gathering,
But letting your face go a little more easy,
A little more natural.
A little more of the face you have in private.
Would that be comfortable?
A face that doesn't have to look courageous or overly happy.
Breathe a little,
Just noticing what it could be like.
In mind's eye,
Let's go to a different setting.
Something like a professional or work setting,
An office,
A home office,
Board meeting,
A committee,
Volunteer commitment,
A place where you have to bring your most professional self,
Maybe put on a tie or a dress,
Wrap yourself up in a suit,
Some other armor.
What happens to your face if you're in a cubicle or an office,
A boardroom,
Working as a cashier?
What new work does your face take on?
Maybe you keep your head down literally or figuratively.
As you imagine a professional setting in your mind's eye,
What happens to your face?
Maybe your face tries to project neutrality or seriousness or industry.
Just notice.
Be curious about that experience and think a little,
What would it be like if your face didn't do that much work at work?
Play with the possibility that your face could be more relaxed at work.
Would that work for you?
Maybe.
Just breathe into it.
In your mind's eye,
Go to a home situation,
Dinner table with family,
Games with friends,
Reading a newspaper,
If you can find one.
Is your face concerned,
Stern,
Joyful,
Open,
Pleasant?
What muscles do you notice in your face when you think about being home with family and friends?
Perhaps a little time to yourself.
What's that like?
If home life is difficult,
You probably have your guard up in your body and especially in your face,
Just hiding behind the skin.
In any case,
What would it be like to let your skin do less when you're at home?
Let your face be less active,
More relaxed.
Let your face be less active,
More relaxed,
More at ease.
Absorb that.
Breathe into it.
Play with it.
Just feel what it would feel like to feel less in your face,
To do less.
Finally,
In your mind's eye,
Go to a space of intimacy.
Could be intimacy with yourself,
A long walk in the woods.
Could be with a long-time friend over a deep conversation late into the night.
Could be romantic intimacy with a spouse or other partner.
Something special,
Not all that common.
What's your face doing?
Maybe it's even dark and no one can see your face,
But it's doing.
What would that be like?
What is it doing when maybe no one's even looking,
But you're having experience,
Experience of intimacy?
What happens to our face when no one's watching?
I don't know.
Enjoy that feeling,
Making it easier and easier.
Let your face be less active,
More relaxed,
More relaxed,
More relaxed,
More relaxed.
Enjoy your face and all of its masks and all of its efforts and all of its relaxations.
Taking these last moments to be grateful for this incredible capacity.
Some subconscious and some conscious.
What an amazing feat.
