Three meditation instructions.
The first theme is to Tushuva,
Turning.
10 minutes.
Let us take our seat.
Let us feel the seat beneath us and notice any sensations in the body,
Sensations of contact with the floor,
Or the chair,
Or cushion,
Or our own body.
Bring your attention in this moment to the sensation of breath.
See if you can feel the belly rising with the in-breath and falling with the out-breath.
Or see if you can notice the sensation of air passing through your nostrils.
You can follow the coming and going of the breath anywhere in the body,
Wherever it is most apparent.
We formulate the intention of resting our attention upon this in-breath and this out-breath.
We are setting an intention to remain alert and calm and be present to just this in-breath and just this out-breath.
Invariably,
Our attention will wander.
When it does and we notice that it has,
We can make a gentle note,
Thinking sound and then thinking,
Sensation and then thinking,
Planning,
Worrying,
Fantasy.
We can allow ourselves to notice when our attention is no longer present to the breath.
And without judging or condemning ourselves,
Our abilities,
Or anything else about our performance,
We can gently bring our attention to the breath.
We can gently bring our attention back to just this breath.
This process is the simplest way of doing teshuva.
It is how we cultivate attention and how we fulfill our intentions.
Teshuva,
Turning,
Depends on the possibility of returning again and again,
Remembering again and again.
Teshuva recognizes that repetition is what ultimately creates the transformation.
Become aware of the attitude you bring to yourself,
To your own mind and heart,
When you notice that your attention is off the breath.
Can you bring a non-judging mind and heart to the forgetting,
The distractedness,
The falling away from intention?
Can you maintain your spirits enough to return again and again,
Even 1,
000,
1,
000 times?
Can you bring a complete acceptance of the process occurring,
Letting go of the need to get this right?
Can you bring softness into your effort?
Can you be both alert and at ease?
Let's sit and practice teshuva,
The possibility that this mind and heart can change directions,
Can develop enough inner strength and discipline to resist the temptations that surround us and fill us.
Sit with ease and stillness and with dignity and presence.
Allow your attention to simply receive the sensation of breath.
Allow each breath to simply be what it is and how it is.
Let each breath pass on into the open sky.
Let each moment of forgetting burst into the open sky.
Birth another moment of tshuva.
May we remember the possibility of return as a divine gift that is ever available to us.
May we find our home whenever we are lost again and again.
