Mediation From Impermanence, Multiple Truths & Door-Knocking

When I think about impermanence 
I think of it as an immutable quality of life.
When I think about democracy, though,
I want to believe in its permanence.

 That belief, or illusion,
is what gets me knocking on doors,
making calls, and mailing my ballot. 

Maybe both are true..

Transcript

Finding a comfortable posture,

Whatever posture would best support your practice right now,

One that's also upper height,

Easeful,

Attentive.

And just sensing into the body,

How's the body feeling today,

This morning,

This afternoon,

This evening,

Wherever you are.

How are you feeling?

What's going on?

Seeing if it's possible to attend to however you're feeling right in this moment without wishing that it were any different than it is.

And maybe today we'll just do a body scan and starting at the top of the head,

Just tap into the sensation of the top of the head,

Bringing the attention to the forehead,

Into the eyebrows,

Eyes,

Letting the eyes drop back into their sockets,

No straining.

And in general,

If there is straining or tension,

What is it possible to let go of?

In the cheeks,

In the jaws,

The nose,

The nostrils,

Mouth,

Tongue,

Letting the tongue rest.

In the mouth,

Ears,

Throat,

Back of the neck.

How are the shoulders doing?

Letting them drop,

Tops of the arms,

Forearms,

Wrists,

Hands,

Fingers,

Front of the chest,

The heart space.

What is it possible to let go of?

What can we make space for?

Can we make space for multiple truths in this moment?

In the heart,

In the belly,

In the back,

Strong back,

Soft front as Roshi Joan teaches us,

Roshi Joan Halifax.

Can we keep our backs strong and let our front be soft?

Scanning the body,

How is the pelvis,

The hips,

The sit bones,

The internal organs?

Can we let everything go just for a couple of moments?

Tops of the legs,

Knees,

Calves and shins,

Attention to the ankles and the heels,

The arches of the feet,

Tops of the feet,

Balls of the feet,

Toes.

And just attending to the whole body,

Sitting,

Standing,

Walking,

Lying down,

Driving,

Whatever your posture,

Just the whole body.

How is it feeling now?

Just knowing that this practice is available to us at any time,

Just taking 10 minutes or even half that amount of time to check in,

How am I doing?

Multiple truths could be more than one thing,

And that's okay.