Welcome,
Welcome.
It's great to be here with you today to remember.
So I was thinking recently about something that's been such a theme in my life as a mother.
Having two boys,
Now young adults,
Has given me plenty of opportunities to watch the school of life in action.
And over the years,
There's this one phrase that I found myself saying again and again to my kids.
And it started when they were little,
When one of them would touch the hot stove after I've already warned them not to.
And then they'd cry,
You know,
Saying that they got burned.
And I'd say,
You touch the hot stove and you will always get burned if you touch the hot stove.
There's nothing that teaches more than touching a hot stove than to actually learn that you're going to get burned.
It's the hard lessons of life.
And sometimes that's much more powerful than mere words.
And honestly,
That phrase never really stopped at their childhood.
Even now as they're adults,
I'll still catch myself sometimes saying,
Just in different ways,
You know,
Maybe one of them goes back to hanging out with someone they know isn't good for them,
Or they make a choice that they've made before expecting it to turn out differently this time,
And then it doesn't.
And I just find myself saying,
Honey,
You'll always get burned when you touch the hot stove.
And it's been applicable as I walk this path as well.
Just the other day,
I caught myself replaying an old story,
Just on loop in my mind,
Something that upset me.
And before I knew it,
I was entangled in it.
Irritated and her defensive,
Playing out the conversations,
All the things.
And suddenly I realized,
There I go again,
Touching the hot stove again.
I reached into the same familiar story,
The same personal identity,
And I got burned.
When I get caught in the me,
In the labels,
The rules,
The identities,
The stories,
It is going to hurt.
And my emotions are my barometer.
They're how I know that I've drifted from what's real.
When I feel off or upset or tense,
I've fallen asleep to the truth of who I am.
I've started believing I'm the character again,
Instead of the awareness watching the whole play.
So today we're going to look through that lens.
And that's true healing.
Healing isn't done by fixing or avoiding the burn,
But by just noticing when we've touched the hot stove and then gently letting go.
So we'll rest back as what we've always been,
Untouched,
Unburnt,
Unchanging.
So we'll start there.
Just get comfortable.
You can keep your eyes opened or closed,
Whatever feels good.
Notice awareness is already here.
Before the breath,
Before a thought,
There's this simple knowing of being.
Let the breath be easy,
Allowing the sensations and sounds and thoughts to appear in this vast,
Wide open field.
If a story is running,
That's okay.
We're not correcting it.
Just recognize the space that it moves in.
A gentle question to return home.
Am I aware right now?
Am I aware right now?
Without letting the mind answer,
Sense the answer.
True healing isn't about fixing the experience or the body,
The conditions of life,
The beliefs.
It's no longer putting your hand on the hot stove of me and all of the concepts that go along with that me.
When intention fuses with the personal story,
It hurts.
So just let your attention rest as awareness.
The pure presence that you truly are.
You may notice emotions or thoughts.
Nothing has gone wrong.
They're just compassionate indicators that attention wandered into the story.
So you can just let them be exactly as they are.
And then letting attention rest is the background that never changes.
You may find that the mind may be making exceptions and feels very strongly.
About its reality.
But what about just smile gently and don't touch it.
Without the story around what's arising,
What remains right now there's nothing you need to do to become or do differently.
To rest is what you already are.
The mind may continue to chatter,
But that has nothing to do with the formlessness,
The peace and love that you are.
So you're just resting.
Resting is what you already are.
If your attention is wandering,
That's okay.
Just gently return to the background.
The silence before movement.
Before thoughts.
The changelessness.
The formlessness that is you.
Just sensing the simplicity of being.
The presence that's here before every word,
Every sensation,
Every emotion.
As we begin to gently close this session,
Begin to notice the room again while remaining as this open presence.
See how awareness was here all along.
Not touching the stove.
Not fusing with the me that suffers.
From here,
Life reorganizes by itself or it doesn't,
But either way is okay.
And perhaps when you feel upset today,
Just let it kindly remind you ah,
I'm near the burner and then rest as I am.
Thank you for joining me today.
Namaste.
