So let's begin with some meditation practice.
Find a way to sit in which your body is comfortable and yet also alert.
If you're in a chair,
Let your feet be flat on the floor.
Some sense of dignity sitting upright,
But also gracious,
Like the king or queen on the throne.
Present,
Easy,
On the cushions,
However you sit.
Let your body be at ease.
You don't have to get in any kind of weird posture.
You're weird enough as you are without adding to it from your spiritual practice.
When you've taken your seat halfway between heaven and earth in this mysterious human form,
This human incarnation,
You're ready.
Let your eyes close gently.
And just come into the present.
Simple mindfulness or loving awareness of what is present here and now.
As you tune into your body,
If there's any areas of obvious tightness or tension that you can easily release,
Do so.
Let the eyes and face be soft.
Loosen the jaw.
You can roll your head in the circle if you like to release your neck and let it find a simple upright.
Relax the shoulders and let the arms and hands rest easily.
Feel the weight of your body and how gravity pulls you and the contact with the chair,
The floor,
The cushion,
And how the earth can completely support you.
You can relax and let go in this seat on the earth.
Let your belly be soft and breath natural.
Let the heart be soft as well to receive whatever arises with a spirit of kindness,
Compassion.
Now with this embodied presence,
Begin to pay attention to the play of experience.
What's present in body,
Heart,
And mind as you sit quietly,
Bringing attention to the aliveness of the moment,
All that comes and goes.
You And after just a minute or two,
You begin to notice how easily the attention drifts off to commentary and planning and remembering and other places.
So to deepen the sense of presence underneath the waves of thoughts and plans and remembering and sounds and ideas,
Become aware of the wave of the breath,
How under all these things,
The body is breathing itself.
And feel it wherever you can most easily as coolness in the nostrils,
Swirling,
Tingling in the back of the throat.
Or the rise and fall of chest or belly.
And if it's helpful,
It's hard to feel the breath,
Just put your hand on your belly and feel the rise and fall in the palm of your hand for this sitting time.
And as you rest with each breath coming in and out,
Let the sensations of breathing invite a quieting and calming of attention.
Just hear this breath,
Breath by breath.
And again,
After just a minute or two,
You notice how the waves of thoughts and sounds,
Sensations pull the attention away from the breath.
Quite natural.
When you can be with the breath and let these waves rise and fall like waves of the ocean around the breath.
But when one of the waves becomes quite strong and pulls you,
Then let go of attention to breath and as if to greet it with the same loving awareness as if with a bow.
You can acknowledge it.
The feelings,
Sadness or excitement,
Longing,
Joy.
Or the thoughts,
Oh planning,
Remembering,
Or the sounds.
And as you name it gently,
Feel the energy of this wave move through the body and mind.
And then when it subsides,
You're at ease with it.
Return back to feel a few more breaths.
Rest just here with each breath or with the strong waves met with a kind attention.
Rest in the reality of the present.
And remember to keep the heart tender to touch all that arises with the spirit of compassion.
This breath,
Breathing itself,
Or this moment's experience arising like a wave,
Sensations,
Feelings,
Thoughts.
And then passing away.
And you rest in stillness in the midst of it all.
