Okay,
So settle in and make yourself comfortable.
You are always welcome to sit or lay down for this practice.
If you're seated,
Make sure you're in a position where you can lift up through your spine so you can sit nice and tall.
And if you're laying down,
I recommend you add support underneath your knees.
If you're seated,
Rest your hands to your lap,
However it feels comfortable right now.
Palms down,
Palms up,
Hands together,
It's all good.
And then gently close down your eyes or simply drop your gaze down the tip of your nose and allow your gaze to blur a little.
And then take a deep breath in through your nose.
Through your mouth,
Let it go.
Twice more like that,
Settling and big breath in.
Through your mouth,
Exhale.
One more like that,
Deep inhale.
Sigh it out if you like.
And then seal your lips and allow your breath to just move on its own.
And for a few moments now,
Bring your awareness to your ears,
To your sense of hearing.
Allow your sense of hearing to open up wide,
Welcoming in any and all sounds that you can discover right now.
Taking the time to acknowledge and accept that this soundscape will be with you throughout the practice.
And having acknowledged all of those sounds,
Gather them up and allow them to drift off into the background.
And now bring your focused awareness to your breathing,
Either at your nostrils or at your belly.
Finding this real one-pointed focus on breath.
The sensation of air moving at your nostrils,
Or the sensation of your belly expanding and contracting.
You might like to think of this one-pointed focus on breath early in the practice as your warm-up.
Your opportunity to.
Cultivate this fiery motivation to find concentration right now.
Making an easeful effort for everything else to fall away.
This is your opportunity to focus.
And now from that one pointed focus on breath,
Expand your awareness to take in your whole body.
Sense your whole body in space.
You might like to notice the parts of your body that touch the ground.
Or the texture of your clothing or blankets.
Or simply have just a sense of your body in space.
And as you check in with your whole body,
If you notice any areas of extraneous tension.
Take a moment to consciously soften and let go any amount.
And now still with an awareness of your body.
Begin to call to mind the idea of equanimity.
The idea of a sense of inner balance.
No matter what is happening in the external world.
And you might find that different thoughts and ideas come up,
Or you might find that there's a particular sensation in your body that comes up as you begin to explore this idea.
I encourage you to be curious.
About what appears as you.
Dive into this sense of equanimity.
And now with that idea of balance.
Idea of equanimity.
Call to mind a situation or a moment in your life where you feel like equanimity has been present and easy to cultivate.
It might be a particular situation like a conversation with a loved one where you felt like you could be very balanced and listen.
Without.
Jumping onto any kind of roller coaster.
Around what was happening in the conversation.
It might be more like something.
Like a moment,
Perhaps walking down a busy city street with the bustling of the city around you,
While you could feel a sense of inner peace and balance in amongst it all.
And perhaps there's something else that comes to mind.
Just start to call to mind this moment or situation where you feel like equanimity has been present.
And if it's difficult to think of something,
You can continue to work with the idea of equanimity.
That's perfectly fine.
So holding this situation in your awareness.
I'll offer some phrases that help enhance this sense of equanimity.
You can repeat the phrases yourself in your head.
You can alter them a little so they work really well for you.
Or you can also just sit with the sense of the phrase after I've spoken it.
Things are as they are.
May I be with things just as they are.
In my life,
I will experience wins and losses,
Successes and failures.
May I remain balanced and steady throughout.
There are many events in life.
That I have no control over.
May I remain focused.
On the ability to control my response to these events.
May I have the strength and capacity to remain steady among the ever-changing events of life.
And if other situations or moments come to mind,
Welcome them in as you continue to cultivate this sense of equanimity within yourself.
And now call to mind a more challenging situation or moment from your life.
A moment where you feel like it was more challenging to.
.
.
Act with a sense of equanimity and to feel a sense of equanimity.
And I recommend choosing something that's mid-range challenge,
Maybe 3 or 4 out of 10.
And holding this situation in your awareness.
Things are as they are.
May I be with things just as they are.
In my life,
I will experience wins and losses,
Successes and failures.
May I remain balanced,
Peaceful,
And steady throughout.
There are countless events that will affect me that I have no control over.
May I remain focused on my locus of control,
My ability to remain balanced,
Discerning,
And peaceful.
May I have the strength and capacity to be with what is.
And now take a few more moments to feel this sense of equanimity.
And now,
Welcome.
Into your awareness,
A loved one.
Someone who you care about easily and deeply.
And we'll take the time to share this wish of equanimity with this loved one.
So holding this being in your awareness.
Things are as they are.
May you be with things just as they are.
In your life,
You will experience wins and losses,
Successes and failures.
May you remain balanced,
Peaceful,
And steady throughout.
There are countless events that you will have no control over.
May you remain focused on your locus of control.
Your ability to remain steady amongst the ever-changing events of life.
May you have the strength and capacity to be with things just as they are.
And now if other loved ones come to mind,
Welcome them in.
Sharing this wish of equanimity,
This genuine desire.
For these loved ones to feel a sense of balance.
To feel a sense of equanimity.
And now call to mind a neutral person in your life.
Probably someone who you don't know very well.
You don't necessarily have any feelings towards either way.
Might be someone who serves you coffee or someone you pass in the street or a neighbor.
And holding this neutral being in your awareness.
We'll share the wishes of equanimity with this being as well.
In the recognition that all beings share the same desire to be free from suffering and to feel peaceful.
So holding this neutral being in your awareness.
Things are as they are.
May you be with things just as they are.
In your life,
You will experience wins and losses,
Successes and failures.
May you find the strength to remain balanced and steady throughout.
May you have the strength and capacity.
To remain steady amongst the ever-changing events of life.
And now,
Call to mind.
A group of beings beginning to share this sense of equanimity.
With more people,
More beings.
This could be any group of humans or non-humans.
Perhaps a group that you feel particular solidarity with.
And holding this group of beings in your awareness.
Things are as they are.
May we be with things just as they are.
In each of our lives,
We will experience wins and losses,
Successes and failures.
May we find the strength to remain balanced and steady throughout.
There are countless events that will be out of all of our control.
May we remain focused on what we can control,
Including our ability to remain balanced,
Discerning,
And focused.
May we each have the strength and capacity to be with things just as they are.
And if other groups of beings come to mind,
Welcome them in.
Allowing this sense of equanimity that you've cultivated to be shared and multiplied.
And now gently letting all of that go.
Come back to sensing your body and just reflecting on.
This idea of equanimity.
In your physical form.
Perhaps noticing how it feels in your body to cultivate more equanimity.
Or perhaps reflecting on some insight around what equanimity might mean for you.
And now gently letting all of that go.
Let's take a deep breath in through the nose.
And out through the mouth.
Twice more like that breathing.
Let it go.
One more time,
Deep inhale.
And exhale.
You can take your time bringing your awareness back to this space.
And when you feel fully present,
You can gently blink open your eyes and move around however you need.
