Hello and welcome.
I'm so glad that you are here.
So often in life we are constantly doing and trying and even in meditation there can be a sense of trying to get somewhere or trying to make something happen.
We are trying to awaken and so there's a beautiful backdoor way of approaching this,
Which is to actually do the very opposite.
To let go of trying or striving to do anything at all.
So that's the posture we're going to take in today's meditation.
We are going to simply make no effort whatsoever.
And I'll guide you gently in this process as we go along.
But for now I invite you to close your eyes and take your posture for meditation.
So this may feel like a little string is pulling your head gently upright so that you are both awake and alert.
And inviting you to cup your hands gently in your lap with the tips of your thumbs touching lightly.
And close your eyes.
And then begin by taking a few long slow breaths into the belly to center yourself and bring yourself back into the body.
And for now just feel the sensations arising in your body.
The feeling of your body sitting in the chair.
Any sensations of emotion or thought movements that are arising.
Just being present with them.
Not needing to change or alter them in any way.
Let's do what's called setting the retinue in Buddhism,
Which is to invite in all of our guides,
Angels,
Benevolent ancestors and beings that work with us.
And imagine that they're surrounding you.
Doing this practice with you and cheering you on.
Feel their support and their well wishes.
Their wishes for you to awaken.
Knowing that as you awaken,
As you return to remembering who you are,
You do this actually for all beings because we're all connected.
Feel the gentle breath moving in and out of your nose or your belly.
Relaxing and softening the body.
Allowing yourself to settle deeper into the posture.
Maybe even on the out-breath,
Releasing anything you brought into the meditation.
Any stress,
Any struggles.
Simply releasing what's here in the body and settling deeper into this presence,
This beingness that you are.
Unharmed and unstained from anything that's ever happened to you.
And then with that,
Inviting you to simply make no effort to do or guide anything in the practice.
How much can you allow yourself to simply settle into what's here?
So if a thought arises,
Following it is giving it energy,
Is fueling it.
So the invitation is simply make no effort to carry on with the thought.
Making no effort means giving up on believing your meditation needs to be any specific way.
Making no effort is to be so utterly present to what's here that nothing that's here needs to change.
It's the simplest posture a person can take.
Not needing to do anything or figure anything out.
You might notice as you make no effort that it takes you into subtler energetic levels of the body,
Places you're subtly efforting or holding.
Begin to release at the micro movement level.
Making no effort is a kind of releasing expectation on what's going to happen next,
Because expectation is a movement of the mind and efforting.
Making no effort also is a kind of release of the ruminating of past events,
Because ruminating is an effort of the mind.
You're not moving towards anything or away from anything,
Because that requires effort.
Even with the breath,
Allow it to move on its own.
To stop it would be to be making effort.
Unless your body is pumping blood and breathing and all the things that are keeping you alive are happening through the body's own intelligence and wisdom,
You are not making the breath happen.
Feel this shift in orientation that life is still occurring.
Sounds are moving through,
Sensations,
Feelings,
But you're not making them happen.
Like a river,
They're just flowing through you when you stop efforting.
You can feel this pulse of life that moves through all things.
I'm inviting you now to gently release the practice.
Maybe take a few deeper breaths back into the body.
Maybe wiggle your fingers and toes.
And when you're ready,
Very,
Very gently and softly opening your eyes and taking a moment to notice with eyes open how this feels in your body and what the gift of the practice was for you.
You might journal or make some notes.
And I invite you too to use this practice of making no effort in little moments throughout your day.
Even for one minute,
Stop and see what it's like to make no effort.
I thank you so much.
Namaste.
