Thank you for being here with me today.
If you're new here,
I'm Jodi Agard.
So this weekend,
Both of my adult children,
Who are 27 and 20,
Were home.
And as you can imagine,
As a mother,
That just fills my heart right up.
There's just something about having them under one roof again,
You know,
Just their presence for this character,
This personality named Jodi,
Who is their mother,
Just loves that.
But as the weekend continued to unfold,
I found myself watching the mind in a deeper way and how it was just a playground for labels.
You know,
There was Jodi the mom,
The one who loves and adores her children,
The one who wants to make everything just right,
Who helps,
Who nurtures,
Who seems to even delight in being needed.
And yet,
Is that really who I am?
So even in just positive roles,
The mind attaches itself as if my very being depended on that identity,
That role,
And as if without it,
There would be nothing left.
So I watched,
And I saw how even the good labels,
The loving ones,
Subtly veil the deeper truth.
And so amidst the busyness and the messes and the full sink of dishes,
The constant full sink of dishes,
I rested in that which is untouched.
So while washing the dishes,
While flipping the eggs and making French toast,
While cleaning up one mess after another,
And just to make another mess,
I could just sense the quiet,
The steady stillness,
The background of being that never moves.
And I was reminded yet again that awakening isn't about the disappearance of roles.
It's not about no longer being a parent or a partner or a friend or a doer in this world.
It's just about seeing that none of those roles really define us.
For me,
It's a practice of relinquishment,
Of disidentifying,
Of seeing through the illusion of identity and just resting as what remains.
And a part of me used to feel that doing that,
It would somehow take away from the moment or make me lose the connection with the people that I love and who were around me,
Almost like it would create distance or a kind of like disassociation from life.
But I've discovered that the opposite is true,
Because in remembering who I truly am,
I'm also remembering who the one before me is,
Whether that's one of my kids or a relative or a friend or even just a store clerk.
And in that seeing,
There's only love,
No judgment,
No separation,
Just love,
Pure presence.
So let's rest here together.
We can just begin by letting the body find a comfortable position.
Maybe close your eyes.
Take a deep,
Easy breath in through your nose.
And just letting it gently exhale through the mouth.
Just letting the body unwind.
Let the breath find its own rhythm.
And just feel the quiet presence that's already here before any effort,
Before any label.
Just notice the simplicity of being.
There's the sound of the breath,
The hum of life around you.
But notice that you are the space in which it all appears.
You are not doing presence.
Presence is what you are.
Just notice how the mind might be creating labels.
I am the meditator.
I am a parent.
I am tired.
I'm unwell.
I'm doing good in the world.
They're just clouds.
Dancing across the sky.
And can you see that none of them actually touch what you are?
Just like clouds don't actually touch the sky they move through.
Notice and feel into that vastness.
The silent awareness in which every label arises.
It doesn't matter whether the label feels good or bad.
Each one just dissolves the moment that it's seen for what it is.
It's just a thought passing through awareness.
Pure presence.
You might be noticing the play of sensations in the body or thoughts in your mind.
Perhaps you might keep coming back to the movement of the breath or the quiet hum of the energy in your body.
But who is aware of all of this?
What is aware of the breath?
What is aware of the thoughts?
What's aware of the idea of me?
Just letting yourself rest in this space of no definition.
Letting go of the roles and the titles.
The striving.
Even the one who's meditating to try to access their true nature.
Noticing what remains when you let go of all the noise.
Just this stillness.
Spaciousness.
You are that.
As we bring this session to a close,
Let's just slowly bring gentle awareness back to the room.
Letting go of all the noise.
Wiggling your fingers and toes.
And noticing how this presence,
This pure awareness,
Has never left.
The mind may come back online with its stories.
I have things to do.
I have people to care for.
Roles to play.
And that's okay.
Just let them all dance.
And remember that none of them touch what you truly,
Truly are.
The one working.
The one doing laundry or washing the dishes or making a meal.
All appear and disappear in you.
You,
Pure presence.
Untouched.
So as you move through your day,
Just let the world of labels continue its beautiful play.
But stay anchored in what's real.
In that still,
Luminous awareness that doesn't have a name and yet contains everything.
Thank you for being here and for remembering with me.
Namaste.
