Find a comfortable seat.
Have your shoulders stacked over your hips,
The crown of your head straight up from your tailbone.
Try to have your hips tilt forward slightly and sit up nice and tall,
Whether you're in a chair,
On the floor,
Or your favorite cushion.
Now wherever you are in your breath cycle,
Let everything out.
A slow deep inhale through your nose,
An even slower exhale,
Another deep breath in,
And a slow breath out.
You can continue your deep breathing,
Or you can start to let your breath become more subtle.
Let your breath be natural,
Letting go of any control of the length or depth of each inhale and each exhale.
And just notice the little things.
The subtle lift and fall of your chest or your belly,
The slight cooling sensation on your upper lip or your nostrils when you're breath in,
The slightly warmer sensation on your breath out.
And take a moment to simply be here in observation,
Observing the natural rhythm of your breath without any need to fix or adjust,
Profoundly okay with exactly how it is,
Whether it's shallow or deep,
Just observe.
In today's meditation,
We're going to go through the process of peeling back the layers,
Of neti neti,
Peeling back the layers of what we're not to get to the truth,
What lies at the core,
What lies behind I am,
Behind any labels,
Behind any material or attachment,
Or true nature.
You can have your palms on your thighs,
Your fingertips lightly touching in front of you,
Or of your palms face up,
A gesture of acceptance and release,
Releasing the things that we're not and accepting of our true nature.
We'll begin with a series of I am not statements.
These do not have to be read aloud or repeated.
You can let them sit in your mind to resonate internally.
We'll start with more external relationships,
With more external attachments,
And work our way in.
From birth,
We begin to learn by the actions of others,
By what society tells us to do,
What conditioning tells us to be.
In a way,
We become that,
We embody that.
Our jobs,
Our clothing,
Our material wealth,
And identity in relation to things.
You'll repeat after me,
Whether internal or aloud.
I am not my car.
I am not my house.
I am not my job.
I am not my title or titles.
I am not my account balance.
I am not my certificates.
I am not my achievements.
I am not my failures.
I am not my knowledge.
I am not my relationship.
I am not my label as a spouse,
A friend.
I am not my appearance.
I am not my status.
I am not my clothing.
I am not a brand.
I am not my material wealth.
I am not what others think of me.
I am not what my boss thinks of me.
I am not what anyone thinks of me.
I am not the way I think of myself.
I am not my actions.
I am not my word.
I am not my name or any label.
I am not my thoughts.
I am not my physical appearance.
I am not my sensations.
I am not my pain.
I am not my joy.
I am not my sorrow.
I am not my vitality.
I am not my body.
I am not my mind.
I am something divine.
I am not my body.
I am not my mind.
I am something divine.
What is that?
I am not my body.
I am not my mind.
I am something divine.
What is that?
Something divine.
Behind the layers.
If I am not this body,
I am not this mind,
What am I?
I am American.
I am energy.
I am connected.
Behind all of the labels.
Behind all of the words.
The patterns of vibrations and movements.
That we recognize as our reality and label them good or bad.
Behind the good or bad label.
Behind each happening.
Behind each pattern.
Our arrangement of particles and energy of vibration.
There is just pure experience itself.
The union of all things.
The universe,
God,
Source.
However you look at it.
Simply experiencing itself.
As this pattern interacts with that pattern.
As we as humans interact with the world.
Simply a pure source.
Pure consciousness.
Light.
However you want to view it.
Simply interacting with itself.
Experiencing this divine connection.
Behind all materiality.
Behind labels.
Experiencing it within yourself.
Simply be present in that feeling.
Be present with what you really are.
And I am.
Seated in this little cavern of your heart.
One point of connection.
Extending outward from that point in your heart.
To the barrier of your skin.
And breaking down that barrier.
To extend fully out to everything around you.
To extend fully out to the rest of the world.
As there is no gap.
Just as a magnet polarizes itself as north and south.
But it's all one.
We can break down the polarization of self and other.
To feel fully at home.
And fully connected.
Feel slowly start to deepen your breath.
Bring some life back to your fingers.
Maybe rock your head side to side.
Bring your hands to your heart center.
Seeing that extension from the cavern of your heart.
From there take a deep breath in.
And a slow breath out.
Let your hands rest on your thighs with your palms up.
Just sharing this energy.
Sharing this experience with the world around you.
This gesture of acceptance and release.
To be okay with the way things are.
With reality exactly as it is.
And whenever you're ready.
And gently open your eyes.
