Hello friends,
Both Noah and I hope you're keeping well.
And even though we don't have the chance to see you,
We are still very much keeping you in heart and mind.
And we wanted to offer you a practice,
Something that we had been exploring before we parted ways.
And as you recall,
This practice is based on the skill of being able to recognize and observe the mind.
And more specifically,
Being able to observe what comes to mind,
While allowing what comes to mind to simply come and go,
And resting in the stillness of awareness.
And as we discussed in smaller groups and as a larger group,
There can be many benefits in observing what comes to mind,
Letting it naturally arise and pass,
Especially when we discover that the mind is always changing.
And sometimes what comes to mind can be very stressful.
It can be very difficult to relate to.
And it's in these situations that if we have this ability to rest quietly in the stillness of our awareness,
That whatever comes to mind has space to naturally come and go,
Much like a storm passing through the sky.
And then eventually,
The sky is clear,
And everything is restored back to a peaceful state.
So in this way,
We invite you if you're interested to engage in this practice,
It will be a short practice,
And hopefully,
It will continue to spark your interest in working with your own mind.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable position.
And as we've done before,
Let your awareness settle evenly throughout the body.
And quietly notice what sensations and feelings arise and pass throughout this space of the body.
And if you discover any part of the body that feels tight,
Bring attention there.
And creating space,
Breathing out relaxing.
And after relaxing in one area,
Freely shift attention to another.
As before,
Breathing in,
Creating space,
Breathing out relaxing.
Allow this relaxation to deepen with the stillness of having nothing else to do and nowhere else to go.
And in the body,
Continue to remain wide awake.
And along with settling the body,
Settle your speech.
As you breathe out,
Release the inner voice so that at the very end of each exhale,
You can expose a brief moment of silence.
And as you breathe in and out,
Can you trust in this silence,
Allowing it to grow?
And then relax into the mind,
Giving yourself a break from having to think every thought and whatever comes to mind,
Letting it come and go.
And let's continue to rest in this immaterial space of the mind.
Resting in awareness and noting when a thought arises,
Emotion,
Desire,
Memory,
Simply noting it and letting it come and go.
And on occasion,
Checking into the body and if there's any tightening,
Resistance again,
Breathe out and relax,
Resting in the stillness of awareness,
Allowing thoughts,
Memories,
Desires,
Emotions to naturally arise and pass.
Giving yourself a break from being caught up in the busyness of the mind.
Resting in the peaceful stillness of awareness,
Of knowing.
And before bringing this practice to a close,
See if you can bring this skill of watching the mind to the rest of the day and especially notice when we're getting caught up by our thoughts or emotions and see can you come back to resting in the stillness of awareness,
Giving yourself a well-deserved break.
Let's bring our practice to a close.
