Settle into a posture,
A posture that allows you to relax.
Feel the ground holding you up and rest upon it.
Just relax.
There's nothing to do.
There's nowhere to go.
There's no one to be.
Just come to rest.
Bring attention to this body resting here.
Bring attention to this mind.
Just rest attention on this body mind and relax.
Feel this whole body.
Feel this whole mind.
Get a sense of the overall mood of this body mind.
Get a sense of the overall feeling,
Whether it be relaxed or tense,
Whether it be heavy or light.
Perhaps it feels buoyant or dull.
Maybe it sparkles with energy or maybe it just hurts.
However it is,
Just feel this body mind.
Get a sense of the whole thing.
Relax into this body mind a little more.
Just allow it to rest.
Maybe there's a particular part of the body.
Maybe one area feels more strongly than the rest.
If so,
Bring attention to that area.
Just hold attention there and feel what it's like.
Feel that area within the context of this whole body mind as one part of the picture.
Just rest in that feeling.
There's no need to change it.
Right now it's just like this.
How does it feel,
This whole body mind,
As it just rests here?
Get a sense of that.
Hold as much of it as you can in awareness.
However it is,
It's okay and there's no need to change anything.
We're just interested in how it is.
How does it feel,
This whole body mind,
As it just rests here,
With nothing to do,
With nowhere to go and with no one to be?
How does it feel?
Just feel it.
Now get ready to bring something into this body mind.
A word.
Simply bring into the mind the word sadness.
Just silently repeat the word sadness in the mind and feel what happens.
What happens to this body and this mind when sadness enters?
Sadness.
Just the word.
What does it do?
How does it feel?
What changes?
Notice where you feel a change when the word sadness comes into the body mind.
Perhaps you feel something in the heart centre or in the belly.
Perhaps you feel something in your face or your neck.
Perhaps your arms or your hands.
What do you feel when the word sadness enters the scene?
Perhaps there are strong feelings or very subtle feelings or you may feel nothing at all.
Just notice what happens when you bring in the word sadness.
Now bring in a different word.
Happiness.
How does that feel?
Silently repeat the word happiness and feel what happens.
Taste it.
Touch it.
How does it taste?
The word happiness.
How does it taste in the body?
How does it taste in the mind?
Where do you feel it?
What happens when the word happiness enters the scene?
Maybe it feels good.
Maybe it feels bad.
Or maybe you feel nothing at all.
Just notice what you feel when the word happiness echoes around this body and this mind.
Or any part of this body that presents itself when the word happiness comes in.
Feel what happens there.
What has changed?
How is it different?
What is going on?
Stay with this word happiness.
Now bring in the word numbness.
Numbness.
How does that feel?
What happens in this body and this mind when numbness comes in?
Gently hold the word numbness and feel what happens in this body mind.
Maybe it feels tight or tense.
Maybe we relax or melt.
Maybe we go cold or feel nothing at all.
Just notice what happens when numbness comes in.
Now bring in the word freedom.
Freedom.
How does it feel when the word freedom comes into this body mind?
Just notice what happens.
Maybe there's a sense of expansion.
A sense of relief or release.
Maybe there's a sense of detachment or of anchoring.
Maybe there's a sense of physical enjoyment,
Pleasure or discomfort or perhaps nothing at all.
Whatever it is,
Just notice.
Notice what happens when the word freedom comes in.
Feel it.
Hold the whole body mind and feel what is happening.
You can try this with any word you like,
With words like joy or peace,
Anger,
Resentment or hatred,
Love or kindness.
Each word may have a different flavor in the body,
A different taste in the mind.
We can explore this sensitive body mind and how it reacts to something as simple as a word.
We can feel how sensitive we are to everything that comes into this body mind.
Everything that happens has an effect and leaves a residue,
Sometimes pleasant,
Sometimes painful,
Sometimes neither.
Sometimes the effects are loud and sometimes quiet,
But they are all there to be felt.
If something as simple as a word,
A concept,
Can make such changes in our body and our mind,
How much more so the events that impinge upon us,
The things that happen to us in our lives,
In our relationships,
In what we do and what we experience.
Trying to feel these effects equips us well to navigate them and helps us to see clearly what is happening.
So now bring your attention back to this body,
Back to this mind,
As it just rests here,
Doing nothing,
Going nowhere,
Being no one.
Just relax and feel what is happening right now.
There's no need to hold anything in particular in the mind.
Just rest and know that as things do happen,
We always have access to feeling how we respond.
So resting here,
Relaxed.
When you are ready,
Open your eyes and take a breath.
Feel how it is now that we're about to get up and go about our day.
And as the events of that day unfold,
Know that you can feel all of it and that all of it is okay.
It's all just the way it is.
