G'day everyone.
There's a well-known Zen koan that says,
Before enlightenment,
Chop wood,
Carry water.
After enlightenment,
Chop wood,
Carry water.
Koans are paradoxical questions or phrases used in Zen Buddhism to challenge the intellect and point us towards insight.
While we might not be chasing enlightenment this morning,
There's something deeply practical we can take away from this.
A shift in mindset.
It's the idea that fulfilment doesn't come from the goal,
But from being with the process.
The repetitive,
Simple acts.
The discipline of showing up.
The presence we bring to the mundane.
It asks us to turn away from the outcomes,
Praise,
Shortcuts,
And instead meet each moment,
Each task,
With steadiness.
Stillness.
Even after growth,
Or change,
Or success,
We return to the work.
We chop wood,
We carry water.
The mundane equivalent?
Emails,
Laundry,
The gym,
Making breakfast.
Done not with resistance,
But instead with presence.
Today's practice is about cultivating that presence.
We'll be using a technique called noting,
Which helps us return to the moment,
No matter what kind of wood we're chopping,
Or water you are carrying.
Let's begin.
Go ahead and find your meditation posture.
If you're seated,
Allow your spine to be upright,
But not stiff.
Shoulders relaxed,
Hands can rest gently on your knees or your lap.
If you're lying down,
Get comfortable,
Take up space,
And soften into the ground.
We'll begin with eyes open,
Holding a soft,
Unfocused gaze.
Simply becoming aware of the space around you.
Noticing the light in the room,
The colours.
Take a deep breath in through the nose.
Exhale gently out through the mouth.
Once more,
Big breath in.
And exhale,
Softening.
Now gently close the eyes.
Let the breath return to its natural rhythm,
In and out through the nose.
Feel gravity doing the work,
The body sinking a little more with each exhale.
The soles of your feet,
Your hands resting,
The shape of your body supported by the ground.
Start to tune into sound.
No need to label or analyse,
Just noticing what's here.
Letting sound arrive and pass on its own.
Then shift that attention back to the body.
What sensations are present right now?
Maybe a sense of warmth or coolness?
We're not here to change anything,
Just to notice.
Begin gently scanning through the body,
Starting at the crown of the head.
Noticing any areas of tension or ease.
Your stomach.
Again,
The mind might wander,
That's okay.
Just acknowledge it,
Bring it back to the body.
Now start to notice the breath.
Where do you feel it most?
Maybe it's in the chest,
The belly,
Or the tip of the nose.
Just rest your awareness here.
Let's now move into noting.
Each time you breathe in,
Mentally count.
One.
Breathing out,
Two.
All the way to ten,
Then begin back again at one.
If the mind does wander,
And it will,
No need to judge it,
Just notice it and gently return to the count.
If at any point you become distracted,
Just note what pulled your attention.
Oh,
Thinking.
Oh,
I'm planning.
That moment of recognition,
That's the practice.
You name it gently and return back to the breath.
It only gives us space between stimulus and response.
It creates a little distance,
A pause.
From that pause,
Clarity arises.
We're no longer chasing every thought,
We're simply observing,
Choosing,
Returning.
Let's finish together now.
Take a deep breath in through the nose.
Start to bring awareness back into the room,
The sounds,
The light behind your eyelids,
The sensation of the body,
Seated or lying down.
When you're ready,
No rush,
Gently opening your eyes.
As you move through the rest of your day,
Remember,
You don't need to chase the extraordinary.
There is stillness in the repetition.
There is presence in the process.
And over time,
Something quiet and powerful begins to shift inside you.
Mindfulness doesn't change what you're looking at,
It changes who is doing the looking.
Before enlightenment,
Chop wood,
Carry water.
After enlightenment,
Chop wood,
Carry water.
Thank you for flowing with me.
I'll see you again next week.
