IRest Within A River Of Thought

This practice invites you to observe more than just thoughts.
Have you ever noticed how thoughts move like a river? Sometimes, the river flows smoothly… thoughts flowing easily from one to the other. Sometimes the river is rushing and our thoughts are bumping over and splashing against our sense of self, or how we view the world around us. It can be difficult to remember that our thoughts are just thoughts, flowing between the banks of our field of attention. What else is present?

Transcript

Have you ever noticed how thoughts move like a river? Sometimes the river flows smoothly and thoughts are flowing easily from one to the other. And sometimes the river is rushing and our thoughts are bumping over and splashing against our sense of self or how we view the world around us. It can be difficult to remember that our thoughts are just thoughts flowing between the banks of our field of attention. And what else is present in the field of attention? Is there a glimpse of a sensation, A feeling? When the river of thought is flowing so swiftly, The churning and roiling can really make it difficult to remember that there is more to notice than just our thoughts. So this I-Rest practice might be particularly helpful for these times, Times when you feel entangled in the rushing river of thought. So we'll begin by attending to the body. How would you like to practice today? Does your body want to lie down or come to a sitting position? Or maybe your body is wanting to stay upright right now. If the river of thought is creating tension in your body, You know, You might notice those places of tension. You might even take a few minutes here to gently stretch or massage or shake out what feels tight. Take some time with this process. Take some care with your body. Attend to your body with compassion and curiosity. If you need a little more time to move and stretch, Feel free to pause the recording and come back on when you're ready. If your body is beginning to feel more settled, You might take a moment to again decide how does your body want to be positioned now? Does it want to come to a new resting place? Is there a support or something you might use, A blanket or a pillow, To find a little more ease in the shape that your body is in? As you're adjusting and settling, Take little moments to notice where and how your body is starting to feel calmer. Is there a sense of warmth or openness? Or is there something else present? At any point if attention becomes flooded with the flow of thoughts again, Then sensations might begin to drift back into the background. You might just imagine stepping back. There's no need to push the thoughts away. We'll let thoughts flow on. But open attention to what else is present. Perhaps anchoring your attention in a particular sensation, Maybe the feeling of your body where it meets the surfaces beneath you. You might welcome an image or a word that evokes a growing sense of calm or peace or okayness. How might this word or image point towards a feeling of stillness, Quietude, Or neutrality? It may be that a sense of calmness washes over the body, Or it might be more subtle, Like a little puddle of peacefulness or okayness that's glimpsed just for a moment. And you might want to explore with this feeling, And you can always return to this anytime in the practice. So note also if there's something in the heart, Something that lights up the heart. Is there a particular phrase or word that you might attune to that's like your heart's guiding star? You might even open to a picture in your mind of a time when you felt yourself living in its light. And if an image is present, What does it feel like to rest attention in this image? And if the image is not present, What might you imagine that to feel like, To be living through what lights up your heart? There might be a small piece of this guiding star, This light, That's present for this particular I-rest practice. And you might meet this, This smaller piece or this image, As an intention. What is it that you're seeking right now? A momentary rest, A bit of peace, Welcoming this where it's already true in this moment, And then set it aside. You might pause momentarily to check in. Is there a feeling of growing calmness or okayness that's accessible? And if so, Noting its location, The qualities of this sensation. And you might also let go of my words. You might want to come back and visit this feeling at any point in the practice. You can always rejoin the flow of this practice whenever it feels helpful. If you're ready to move on in this journey, We'll shift attention to the inside of the mouth, Sensing your way, The gums and the teeth, The inner walls of the cheeks, The roof, The floor of the mouth, The tongue. Let the river of thoughts flow on while attention pauses and rests in the sensations of the mouth, Jaw, Ears. Feel your way through the facial muscles, The coolness of the forehead, Noticing the eyes that are floating in their sockets, The flow of air moving through the nostrils. Follow the sensation of in-breath through the nostrils down through the inner walls of the throat, Coming to land in the torso. You might even pause at the top of the breath to feel the torso alive, Front and back, Side and side. Alive with the breath, And then noticing any softening of sensation with the exhale. Does attention come back to land in a quiet stillness? Following another breath into what comes alive as sensation, Vibrant, And follow the exhale back into a quiet pool of stillness. You might even touch in again to a feeling of calmness, Quietude. Thoughts taking a momentary rest in this sensation, The whole torso alighting with sensation. With the next inhale, Sense your way deep into the hips, And then attention may drift down legs, Sensing the feeling both at the surface of the skin and deep inside, Deep inside, All the way down the legs, Down to the feet, The toes. Notice the spaces between the toes, The spaces beyond the soles of the feet, Welcoming a sense of aliveness there, And effervescence. And then feeling your way moment to moment, Back up the body, The leg bones resting heavily, The leg muscles soft and warm around the bones, The hip bones right and left, Solid and heavy, And deep abdominal organs warm and fluid, The torso flowing gently with breath, Front and back, Sensations streaming as the breath comes and goes, The shoulder structure heavy and solid as attention drifts into joints and bones. The next inhale, Filling shoulder sensation and following the exhale down the arm bones, Resting, Arms streaming with sensation into the palms of the hands, Warm, And the fingers alive and vibrant as finger sensation interweaves with the spaces between and around the fingers, Noticing above the hands, Below, Hand sensation, Vibrant with life, And also warm, Heavy, Opening attention as the streams of attention and fingers and hands flow back into the arms, Torso, And the whole body opening as sensation, The many flows converging, Mingling, Swirling, As attention opens into a more spacious field like quality of perception, All of the moving sensations of this body, Yet one spacious feeling, And the field of body sensation might point to the animation of breath, Stream of vitality, And if this is true, Notice how and where the still pool of the body points to the stream of breath, Opening and flowing with breath, And then notice where the stream of breath points back into the quiet calmness of body, Even amidst all the moving sensations, Does breath flow into a home ground, A still water, Take your time floating along with this next breath, A fresh new exploration, Breath opens to sensation, Follows twists and turns, And then returns back to the quiet pool, Each breath carrying you on a new journey, The river of thought, Maybe flowing along with the journey, But there's no need to attend to it, More and more subtle sensations of breath and body flowing and seeping through every pore, Breath to breath, Moment to moment, Soaking in the stream of breath and the quiet pools between breaths, And as breath continues to stream through the body with sensation, You might catch a glimpse of emotion, Feeling that's flowing along with you, What wants to be noticed, And as this companion joins you on your journey, Perhaps there's a noticing of a new sensation or sensations that are also coming along, At any point, If it's helpful, You might steer back into a momentary pool of calm quietude, Welcoming a sense of peacefulness and letting this pool of stillness hold you until you're ready to join the companion again, Floating along with what's present, Heart feelings, Images, And sensations, Moment to moment, Staying with each companion until it floats away, Always knowing that the pool of calm quietude is available whenever you need it, And there may come a feeling of contentment, Or even a quiet joy in this journey of welcoming, If it feels right to rest with that or turn attention to the feeling of joy, Sensations of warmth or openness, A radiance of wonder, Delight, Resting in this quiet joy, There may also be a letting go of the doing of this journey, And observance from a quiet stillness, Observing ebb and flow of breath, Sensation, The bubbling murmuring of thought and feeling, Content that comes and goes, Floating along, Drifting away, All of these movements that change may even point to a vast spaciousness, Empty of thought, Void of sensation, Timeless and borderless, Resting here without edges, When it feels right, Begin to welcome the movement of attention as thoughts, Sensations, Begin to flow into the foreground, The background of awareness is always there, Holding space for all of the changing movements and aliveness to stream into and through the banks of your river, The journey of your life, Moving through, Take time to notice and welcome what begins to join you, Images or words that may hold hold significance may float along with you, A feeling, A sensation that wants to be noticed, There may be a recognition or a knowing of meaning and purpose, Or perhaps even a new intention that wants to be noticed, Wants to be recognized, Begin to welcome your surroundings, The temperature of the air around you, The security of support that's holding the body, The sounds that are in the body, Near in the room, And far off in the distance, Notice how attention begins to awaken back to the spaces around you, The feeling of the room, Sounds of the room, Perhaps even eyes eyes softly open to take in the space above you to one side, And the other welcoming sensation of the body as the body begins to reawaken to the space where you are. Fingers and toes may begin to move within this space, Allowing movements to grow and change at their own pace as hands and feet reawaken into movement, Perhaps even arms and legs, A momentary stretch, Awakening the breath even, Perhaps deepening as you join back to being the breather, Taking a full breath, Welcoming its vibrancy and aliveness as sensation, And letting the breath go, Perhaps shifting or drifting back into the quiet pool of sensation, Calm waters, Still present, Even as attention rejoins the river of thought, And the body fully reemerges into its wakeful state, Touching back, Moment, Just for a moment, The quietness that's present amidst the changes and movements. As you return back to your fully wakeful state, You may wish to reflect on this practice. Take your time. Before you rejoin your daily life, You might pause and nourish feelings of calm, Sensations of quietude. Until next time, May you know contentment. May you feel healthy and strong. May you live with peace and ease.