I'm going to take us through a guided practice now,
But to begin with,
I want you to start with thinking about breathing.
So we're going to intentionally begin conceptually in our minds by thinking about the breath and what a gift it is that we are breathing fresh life-giving oxygen into our lungs with each in-breath and expelling and releasing with each out-breath.
Think about our God-given life-breath that knows how to sustain us all by itself without our need for planning or problem-solving.
What a marvel this is.
But as you think about your breathing,
Notice where your sense of self is located.
You'll probably find that your sense of self is situated somewhere behind your eyes,
Inside the upper part of your head.
And now we're going to try and shift that location of our sense of self.
So gently let go of thinking about the breath and shift your attention to the actual felt sensations of your breath.
Feel the cool sensation in your nose as you breathe in fresh air.
Feel the tingle at the back of your throat on the in-breath and then feel the whoosh as you let go on the out-breath.
Do this for a few breaths,
But really try and get in touch with the sensations of the breath.
Now move your attention a little bit lower into your chest area as you breathe.
Feel the slight shift in your chest against your shirt as your lungs expand and contract.
Now follow your breath all the way down on the in-breath and all the way up on the out-breath.
Do this for a few breaths,
Following the breath in and down,
All the way down,
And up and out,
All the way out.
Keep doing this for a few breaths,
Really feeling that sensation.
And with your awareness feeling the sensations of your breathing,
Notice that your sense of self may have dropped a little bit from the upper part of your head to more in the region of your chest or heart.
But as I say that,
You might pop right back up into your head thinking about the concept of the self.
So just lightly notice this and return to awareness of the sensations of your breath,
Dropping your awareness back down into your breathing.
You might even find it helpful to have a sense of breathing into your heart or breathing through your heart.
And notice the silence that the breathing arises in,
The silent space all around the breath.
Allow yourself to rest in the silence,
In this deeper,
More quiet sense of self.
Allow yourself to simply be in God's being,
Held in the tender embrace of the I am ever present one.
And now I invite you to take some time to get in touch with what is happening inside of you.
Feel its texture in your body,
The felt sensations of whatever it is.
If there's any dis-ease,
Feel this and open to this dis-ease,
Welcome it.
If there is any sorrow,
Very gently and tenderly open to this sorrow,
Even placing your hand where you might feel it and welcome it.
As you experience whatever you are feeling right now in your body,
Remember that this is part of the texture of your human journey and that your whole life in every moment is held in God.
Nothing has ever separated you from God's love and nothing can ever separate you from God's love.
So as you open to this moment,
Whatever its texture,
Allow yourself to open to God's tender holding presence,
The Good Shepherd who's already found you and is carrying you tenderly.
No blame,
Just delight and joy in this moment of foundness.
Amen.
