Meditation From Seeing Clearly In Difficult Times

That’s why right now, I’m understanding a little bit better
the wisdom of all the great teachers, 
who counsel us to befriend these difficult states of mind.
I’m noticing that befriending anger helps me to 
occasionally, see the pain underneath;
that making friends with impatience helps me to
sometimes, remember to take a breath;
and that letting fear be a beloved companion points to one day,
possibly, with plenty of practice, letting it go.

Transcript

So finding a comfortable posture,

One that is upright and is bringing dignity to this moment for you,

Is supporting you in this moment,

Letting your body,

Yeah,

Be that support,

Closing the eyes or lowering the gaze to the heart,

And since this is formal practice,

Just looking in and taking a moment to see,

Okay,

How am I doing right in this moment,

And then bringing the attention to the breath,

And with whatever focus and stability is available to you right now,

Just beginning to rest the attention on the breath as it flows in and out,

And when the mind wanders or there's restlessness in the body,

Or when anything at all is happening,

Just notice what's happening in the body or in the mind,

And then gently and lovingly bring the attention back to the breath,

And again,

If the mind wanders,

Just coming back to this present moment,

This breath,

Whatever the experience is right in this moment,

Seeing what's here and also seeing if it's possible to befriend whatever is here,

Might be helpful for the last minute or so of our sit to recheck your posture,

And maybe include in that posture check,

Just turning the corners of the mouth up ever so slightly,

And letting the eyes drop back in the socket,

So they're not straining forward to see anything,

And then,

Yeah,

Just taking with you into your day with some intention,

Any thread of ease and well-being that you're feeling right now.