Hello and welcome.
My name is Kimberly Johnson and I will be leading this practice.
I've been recognizing more and more that these practices come out of my own desire and sometimes feeling like a deep want or need to learn the things that I'm teaching.
So we are in this together,
Walking side by side,
Hand in hand,
And all of these practices.
Today's meditation is called practicing staying.
And we're going to begin the practice with just the gentle intention of being here,
Right here,
Feeling the seat beneath you.
Maybe it's a cushion on a chair or a couch or a cushion on the floor.
Maybe it's a harder surface like wood floors or ceramic tile.
Maybe it's a wooden chair.
Just feeling wherever your bum is meeting a surface and giving yourself permission to fully be here with this sensation in this present moment,
Fully arriving in your body in this seat.
And as your attention is directed into the body and into this seated posture,
Intentionally begin to let the body relax,
Relaxing the face,
Relaxing the shoulders and upper back,
Letting the arms get heavy,
Letting the hands open in relaxation,
Letting the belly fall open,
Letting the hips get a little bit heavier on the cushion or the floor,
And letting the legs get heavier and really trust that you're being held right here.
And feel the support and the heldness.
And as we practice staying,
We can really begin to investigate that this is a practice of learning to stay with whatever is here.
And maybe it's more challenging to stay with the tougher emotions or body sensations or feelings.
And that every time we practice staying with whatever's in this moment,
That we learn to stay in the harder moments too.
So right here,
Just maybe let the eyes shut down if they haven't already.
And really allow your attention and your awareness to stay right here in the body.
You can keep it at the sensation,
At the sit bone,
Where the bum meets the chair,
Or you can begin to pay attention to your breath,
Whatever feels most accessible today.
And if you're with the sit bone,
Just notice what it feels like.
Notice the subtleties of the sensation,
Of the temperature,
Of the pressure.
And if you're following the breath,
Continuously notice the inhale,
The exhale,
Knowing when you're inhaling and knowing when you're exhaling.
And the mind will wander and when it does,
Knowing that this is normal and okay,
And that we can just acknowledge that the mind has wandered.
And then we can gently bring the attention back to the sit bones or the breath and practice staying with it,
Staying with this breath,
Staying with this sensation.
Every time we come back and we stay,
We're practicing the art of staying.
Okay,
That's good.
As we practice returning the attention to where we want the attention,
We recognize that part of life is leaving and having the awareness that we've left and then intentionally bringing the awareness back to our point of concentration and practicing staying with that point,
Knowing and trusting that we're going to leave.
And the quicker we can recognize that we have left,
The quicker that we can choose with intention to return and practice staying maybe even a second longer.
Let's see here.
.
As you continue to stay with the breath or stay with the sit bones,
Notice if there's any judgment here.
That you're doing it wrong or you're not good at it.
Or you don't feel anything or you don't know how to keep your attention there.
Just notice if there's any flavor of judgment.
Just recognize that this is okay too.
And maybe let go a little bit of any attachment to that judgment.
And just let it be here with us almost like imagining there's a big dinner table and judgment is just sitting in one of the seats next to you.
That all is welcome.
That staying includes staying with everything,
Not just the pleasant,
But also learning to stay with the unpleasant.
And as we learn to stay,
We also recognize that the thing that we're staying with will eventually shift and change.
And the less that we're attached to what's here and the more that we are just aware of what's here,
The more that the thing that's here has the freedom to shift and change as it naturally will.
Continuously bringing the attention back to the breath or back to the sit bones.
Observing the breath as it moves into the body and out of the body,
Changing with every inhale and exhale.
Or the sensations in the sit bones changing moment by moment.
Letting the changes come and go as you observe whatever's here.
Now gently let go of your point of contact,
The anchor that you were focused on.
And I want you to begin thinking about something in your life that causes you discomfort.
Or causes you challenging experiences,
Sensations.
And really just give yourself permission to bring this thing into your mind.
And just notice what emotions you're experiencing.
And just label them and see if you can just practice acknowledging and being with whatever emotion is right here right now.
And maybe really feel in the body what this emotion feels like.
Notice where you feel it most.
Maybe your jaw gets tight or you feel pressure in your chest or some swirling in the belly.
And just give yourself permission to stay with the sensation,
Keeping the body relaxed,
And just keeping your awareness on what it feels like clenched,
Clenched,
Tight,
Warm.
Whatever it feels like just practicing staying with it.
Practicing not judging it.
Maybe not even labeling it,
Letting go of the name of the emotion.
And just feeling the sensations right here that are occurring in the body.
Keeping the body relaxed as you stay.
Notice if the sensations change,
Even if they're subtle changes.
Is it changing as you're paying attention to it?
Maybe an intensity or location or sensation altogether.
Just keep paying attention and staying with what's actually here in this moment in the body.
For some of us,
The sensation might go away.
When we just let it be there.
And that's normal.
If that occurs,
Just locate the breath again and stay with the breath,
Practicing staying.
And for others of us,
These sensations might be a lot.
And if that's the case,
Maybe place the hands over the part of the body where you feel it most.
And you can whisper something to yourself like,
You are safe.
You are safe.
You are capable of being with this.
You are safe.
I am here with you.
Wherever you might be in this moment,
Just notice how you feel right now.
Not judging how you feel,
Just notice how you feel.
And just take a deep breath,
Acknowledging your courage as you practice staying,
Staying with present moment life through the breath or the sensations at the sit bones.
And practicing staying with discomfort.
The practice of staying is simply the practice of being present.
Giving ourselves permission to keep returning to this moment,
No matter what is right here,
Having the ability to stay.
So just taking some deep breaths acknowledging your courage to practice your courage to show up to this moment,
To this day,
To what's here right now.
And sometimes it's nice to wrap your own arms around yourself,
Or to place your hands over your heart or your belly.
Maybe bowing the chin slightly just acknowledging and honoring yourself.
The beautiful mystery of life.
Whispering something kind,
Something loving.
Right in toward your heart and your belly.
Whispering these kind words,
Maybe two more times.
Taking some deep breaths as I ring the bell three times.
The bell is ringing.
Taking your time to come back into the outer world,
Noticing any sounds,
Moving your body,
Feeling your body in space and time.
Opening your eyes and looking around,
Seeing the colors,
The textures.
Knowing that anytime you want to practice staying that you can return back to this meditation.
