I just invite you to find a comfortable posture,
Most I imagine.
I kind of sense a sitting down,
But not everybody.
You might be walking,
You might be lying down,
Whatever posture you're in,
Just be as comfortable as you can be.
If you're sitting,
Just let the back be straight,
Invite the shoulders to relax,
Let your hands rest comfortably in your lap or on your knees or on your thighs.
If you'd like to and you're comfortable doing it,
You can let your eyes close,
Just let your attention come inward.
Just sense into what's the kind of the weather system for you right now.
How is it,
You know,
Is there a lot of movement or agitation?
Is the mind very busy,
Are you feeling tired or restless or peaceful?
Just notice how you're doing,
How you're feeling as we begin the meditation.
Notice how your breathing is.
And you might find it helpful to take a few longer,
Deeper breaths just to help you arrive and settle.
So a nice,
Full,
Deep in-breath,
Filling the chest,
Filling the lungs,
And then releasing a long,
Slow out-breath.
Perhaps a little longer than the in-breath.
Breathing in,
Calming the body.
Breathing out,
Calming the mind.
And you might invite a smile or a half-smile to your face,
To the corners of your eyes,
The corners of your mouth,
Just inviting a smile.
If it's helpful,
You could think of someone who makes you happy,
Makes you feel joyful or happy.
Just invite the smile.
The smile sends a message to our brain and to our nervous system that we can be at ease,
We can be relaxed.
We don't have to be hyper-vigilant,
Watching out for what's next.
The smile can be the expression of how we wish to meet whatever's arising,
Meeting what's here with the attitude,
The expression of a smile.
Just settling into being here.
Just notice what's present for you,
Maybe beginning with the body.
Notice if there's any particular sensations in the body that are standing out for you right now.
And if there are,
Just let your awareness go to that area.
Allow yourself to feel what's present.
Letting the sensations and feelings come,
Letting them be.
And then when they're ready to go,
Letting them pass.
And maybe there's some tension around the eyes or the face,
The mouth.
And just be aware of that or whatever is noticeable.
Let the feelings come and go.
And just be known in awareness.
So there's nothing you need to do about what's here,
Except be aware of it.
Just with kindness be aware of whatever is here.
And you could similarly now tune into your mood and emotions.
You know,
What are you noticing right now?
Is there joy present?
Is there peace or calm?
Is there some worry or restlessness?
Whatever's here,
Just make space for it.
Just allow whatever's here to be here.
And let whatever feelings are here come,
Let them be.
And when they're ready,
Let them go.
You know,
As I come back to often the poem of the Sufi poet Rumi,
Speaking of welcoming the guests.
Even if there are a crowd of sorrows who sweep your house empty of its furniture,
Still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
So notice what your guests are this morning,
Or whatever time of day it is right now for you.
What's present for you?
And can you meet what's here with kindness,
With acceptance,
Without judgment?
Without pushing the things you don't like away,
Or pulling the things you do like towards you.
Just see if you can meet whatever's here with an even mind,
An equal mind,
Which is the meaning of equanimity.
You could think of this practice of awareness as like tuning in,
Tuning a radio.
You know,
Tuning in to a particular frequency,
A particular station.
You know,
It could be tuning in to the body.
It could be tuning in to the emotions.
Tuning in to the mind.
You know,
Is the mind really busy with thoughts,
Or is it more settled?
It could be tuning in to sounds.
Or it could be tuning in to something you're looking at.
Just as much as you can,
Letting what's here come and go in its own time.
If it's helpful,
You could use your breathing as a kind of a home base,
A place where you rest your attention.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And if there's something strong that calls for your attention,
You can move,
Tune in to that,
As long as it's calling for your attention.
And then just come back to the breath.
And any time you find you're caught up in some story or narrative in the mind,
You know,
Planning the future or thinking about something in the past,
Not to worry about that,
That the mind has gone off into thought,
But just kindly and gently let your attention come back to the body,
Come back to the breath.
So you're not fighting your experience,
But rather just allowing it to be as it is.
Really taking refuge in life,
In the truth,
In how things are.
They don't need to be any different,
Even if they're perhaps painful or uncomfortable.
We can just let them come and go.
As Rumi says,
The dark thought,
The shame,
The malice,
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
One of the great gifts of this practice is to know that we can begin again in any moment.
Whatever has happened before,
However long you might have been away,
You can just come back to this moment,
This breath,
This sound,
This feeling.
This moment,
Just as it is.
Coming and going.
Just take your time coming back,
Coming into the more external realm from where we were in the internal realm.
Just notice what's present.
