So we can take a moment to feel the preciousness of our time.
If you like the preciousness of this life.
And also taking a moment to notice how we've chosen to spend this particular time to come together with other people who choose to celebrate or notice life in this way.
And there might be a feeling that arises from that.
Ah,
Look,
I've taken this time to meditate.
There might be something that arises through that acknowledgement really.
This is how I've chosen to spend this Wednesday morning.
And there might be something that feels pleased with ourselves or happy about that or relieved or proud even.
So just noticing.
What is that?
So this is the internal.
Noticing what's going on on the internal level.
Tuning in to the internal weather climate.
And we might notice if we take a moment longer that there can be a settling of that internal weather.
Something that releases or arrives.
And we might make an extra bit of space for that arriving.
You might feel it in the belly or in the legs or the heart might sigh.
The shoulders might drop.
So already when we start to notice the effects on the body of tuning into that internal weather,
We're starting to move into that outside weather world.
And so shifting the attention slightly,
We can tune in then to the surroundings to where we are.
And of course we then hear the sea,
The birds.
Maybe noticing the firmness of the ground underneath us.
The warmth of the sun on skin.
So we have the internal climate,
The external climate.
And if we tune into a third object to the breath,
We can notice how the breath moves us between the internal and the external.
If we follow the breath all the way in,
And then all the way out,
It will bring the mind all the way into the body through the lungs into the very core of the being really.
The breath will take us all the way in.
And then if we again ride the mind on the breath,
It will take us all the way out into the world.
Breath mingling with the air.
So let's spend a few moments in silence with the breath moving between the internal and the external and notice how this is.
Breath mingling with the air.
Breath mingling with the air.
And at some point we might notice that the mind has moved from that object,
From the breath,
And has travelled to something else,
Or some other place,
To the past or to the future.
We are remembering or we are planning.
And as soon as we notice that the mind has travelled,
We could say that we are back,
We are present again.
And then we can return the mind to the breath.
And we could add one more noticinger,
Tuning into the quality of the breath.
The mind likes things to do,
So we give it some more things to do.
How is the breath?
Is this in-breath easier for me?
Does it feel more comfortable?
Or do I favour the out-breath?
Is the out-breath more comfortable?
Let's ask this question for a moment or two.
And we could extend that questioning to our.
So,
Do I prefer to be watching my internal life or the external life?
When I am enjoying the movement of the mind,
Is it pondering the internal life and how I feel about something more?
What's going on for me?
How the internal weather is?
Or am I mostly moving to the external world,
Watching things around me,
Watching the waves crash,
Looking at the sky or the waves?
And this is only for today,
So noticing where the mind prefers to be today.
And trying not to go into story about that,
About the why of it,
Just staying with the,
Ah,
Which,
Ah,
Yeah,
This is more comfortable.
This is where I prefer to be today.
And in a way these noticings,
These meditations,
These laying of the mind on different objects,
This is enough to keep one occupied for the whole day.
We could do this all day,
Watch the breath,
Watch the internal weather,
Watch the external surroundings,
The weather of the external,
Notice our response to it.
This is in itself a meditation or mindfulness,
Mindfulness of the breath,
Mindfulness of the internal,
Mindfulness of the external.
This is in itself a practice that we could continue.
And the question that sits on top of that is the how is it.
How is this?
And the discipline is in stopping that questioning from going into story.
So where the mind might need to be held back from judgment,
From,
From adding to that how it is.
Because when we go into story we tend to stay on a superficial level.
Whereas when we stay with the how of it,
How is this,
It tends to take us deeper.
That simple noticing and the questioning of the how is this will take us deeper.
So maybe we could take a few more moments to feel that depth,
Feel the invitation of depth and where that takes us.
Yes,
That's it.
Go there.
And we may feel a space open for that.
The body might respond in a way that invites more space to that,
To that depth.
And there might be with it some quality of stillness.
And how is that,
That quality of stillness?
Yes.
And so if you have touched this quality of stillness,
You might like to make an X or a space for that to drop even deeper.
And that invitation may come from the softening of the body.
The release of belly or shoulders or something of the mind that lets go,
Drops deeper,
Relaxes.
And it may be that we can just enjoy this for a moment or two.
This quality of stillness,
Simply enjoying.
Yes.
Yes.
And we might also make one final inquiry.
How does this quality of stillness affect the breath,
The body,
The inner world,
The outer world?
How is it if I bring this quality of stillness to those other things?
How is that?
Yes.
