Equanimity.
Start by taking a moment to settle and relax before you begin.
Find a comfortable sitting position and listen to what the body needs,
Shifting position to be comfortable and balanced if necessary.
Begin by bringing attention to the body in relation to the space it's in,
Sensing the room and any objects around.
And now shift the attention to the entire body as it sits here.
Now move the attention to the breathing process in the whole body,
Breathing naturally and leaving the breath to find its own rhythm.
And now come back to the sensation of the entire body.
And bring to mind your reasons for doing this exploration on equanimity.
What is motivating and inspiring you to engage with this process of inner development?
And finally wish yourself success in this process.
This exploration is designed to help you develop a felt sense of equanimity.
The notion that all people want happiness and all living beings without exception seek to avoid pain,
Dissatisfaction and suffering and seek satisfaction and long-term well-being and that fundamentally we are all the same in that.
It will also encourage you to question your life and to open up to possibilities of change and fulfilment,
Helping you build a picture of what your potential might be,
What may be helping you develop your potential and what may be limiting you at the moment.
All living beings,
Including ourselves,
Are fundamentally vulnerable and we suffer when our needs are not met.
All living beings seek satisfaction and seek to avoid pain,
Dissatisfaction and suffering.
All people seek happiness,
Satisfaction and long-term well-being and aspire to a happy and meaningful life deep down.
Equanimity,
As one of the four universal attitudes,
Means developing a deeply felt sense that if this is your nature then it is the same for all other living beings.
Developing equanimity is about understanding this and bringing it to heart,
Feeling it deeply,
Emotionally and physically and extending this felt understanding out in all directions to all living beings without bias.
So take a moment to think of someone you think of as a positive role model.
Now ask yourself how they might be vulnerable in one way similar to you and yet experience this differently from you.
Now ask yourself this question.
Is it true that this person wants to be happy just as I want to be happy and not suffer just as I do not wish to suffer?
And remember this is not about what this person understands happiness to be or how they go about finding happiness,
But rather do you both share the fundamental desire for happiness?
Now think of someone you feel neutral towards or someone you do not know.
Now ask yourself how they might be vulnerable in one way similar to you and yet experience this differently from you.
Now again ask yourself the question.
Is it true that this person wants to be happy just as I want to be happy and not suffer just as I do not wish to suffer?
And finally think of someone you feel challenged by choosing someone who is safe to work with now.
Now think of someone you feel challenged by choosing someone who is safe to work with now.
And once again ask yourself how they might be vulnerable in one way similar to you and yet experience this differently from you.
And once again ask yourself the same question.
Is it true that this person wants to be happy just as I want to be happy and not suffer just as I do not wish to suffer?
Now take a moment to notice how you feel in your body having thought about you and these people,
Sharing the fundamental wish to be happy and not suffer.
So where can you feel that in your body even slightly?
Once you have identified it however small relax into the feeling deepening into it.
And now try to expand this felt sense even from a small base and broaden it out in all directions gradually.
In front,
Behind,
To the sides,
Above and below.
You might like to use a metaphor to help you do this.
It might be like turning up the volume like music.
Or like the ripples after a stone is thrown into water.
Or having a light inside that emanates out expanding in all directions like the warmth and light of a candle.
And as you rest in that expanded feeling,
Imagine different groups in those directions and include them in this felt sense of equanimity towards all living beings.
Politicians,
Nurses,
Animals,
Prisoners and so on.
And finally letting go of this on an out breath.
So how was that exploration for you?
Did you manage to get a sense that all these people are the same as you in wanting to be happy and not wanting to suffer?
Did you notice any bias,
Possibly based on past conditioning?
Did you manage to generate a felt sense of this equanimity?
Did you manage to allow the felt sense of equanimity to spread?
Do you think you might be able to generate this feeling in everyday life?
And if so,
How?
And how do you think this might help you in daily life?
And how might it help others?
And remember we're using the image of the spiral to show how certain personal qualities build on and reinforce each other in an upward spiral towards positive potential.
A positive reinforcement spiral.
Likewise,
Certain personal qualities also build on and reinforce each other in a downward spiral.
A negative reinforcement spiral.
So,
Using your learning from the previous exploration on equanimity,
Simply note whether this may be helping you develop towards the top of the spiral or if it may be limiting you towards the bottom.
And finally,
Taking a moment to reconnect with your posture.
Rebalancing,
Relaxing and gently releasing any tension if necessary.
And becoming aware of the body breathing.
And taking a moment to recall your motivation for doing this exploration.
And bring to mind what you have experienced and learnt in this exploration.
Have you discovered anything about yourself?
Have you begun to cultivate any helpful qualities or overcome or let go of any unhelpful qualities?
And how might this process be beneficial and meaningful and contribute to the welfare and wellbeing of yourself and others?
Your family,
Friends and those close to you.
Those who inspire and nurture your positive development.
And all living beings and the environment they rely on.
And as this exploration ends,
Try to carry this with you wherever you go by recollecting it occasionally.
