Hey this is Ish,
And today I'll be going over a Taoist-inspired meditation on being like water.
Water is referenced quite a bit in Taoism,
And various Taoist sages have studied water
and understood that there are some lessons that it can teach us.
So when we observe water,
We notice that water flows downstream to a low point,
Thereby teaching us a lesson in humility and flowing downstream.
Another lesson we can learn is that water nourishes all beings without ever taking credit
for it.
So this is something we can learn to take on in our own life.
So there are many different examples of this,
And three qualities of water that will be touched upon in this meditation are its emptiness,
Its clarity,
And its depth.
And this is inspired by a quote by He Xiong Gong,
Who was a Taoist philosopher who was said to have lived over 2,
000 years ago.
The quote goes as
follows,
The best people are like water,
Empty,
Clear,
And deep.
Water can take any shape,
And it is never out of touch.
As we contemplate these qualities,
Please find a comfortable seat now.
Take a moment,
Bring your attention inwards.
Notice the overall state of your body
and your mind
in this moment.
Relax any tensions if they're found in the body and mind.
This may be observed as a tightness in the muscles or a straining quality in the mind.
Begin to observe your mind.
If you find that your mind is busy,
Full of activity and thoughts,
Simply just allow it to rest and settle on its own.
As Sage Lao Tzu once pointed out,
Muddy water,
When let be,
Will eventually become clear if we let it be.
If we let it be,
This muddy water can represent a clouded mind.
And if you simply do nothing and let it be,
This mud will eventually just start to settle down.
So observe this stillness and this gradual settling down.
Also observe that as you bring your attention from your head area down to the breath
experienced at the abdomen,
Your mind will also settle on its own.
Relax and notice this settling process.
Begin to observe this sense of clearness that emerges more
when the habitual forces of the mind begin to settle on its own.
The mind comes back in to pull you off center.
Simply just observe your mind once again and allow your thoughts to simply just be.
Settle into the moment.
I'll bring your attention to the abdomen and allow the thoughts to settle on its own.
Notice the spacious and peaceful quality and just rest into this.
Notice how deep this presence of stillness can go.
This is not something to be thought of,
But rather felt or sensed into.
If the mind starts to become active once again,
Just allow it to be and settle in to this stillness.
And relax into the natural spacious quality
within you that is untainted by thoughts and afflictive emotions.
Can you rest into this even deeper?
Even deeper.
As we approach the end of this meditation,
Observe this state of calm,
Of non-resistance.
Reflect upon how this quality of water,
Of this state of non-resistance,
Can be imbued practically throughout our day.
So offer a cushion anytime our attention gets pulled by thoughts or strong emotions.
So offer a cushion anytime our attention gets pulled by thoughts or strong emotions
that cloud our natural luminosity.
We can simply just allow room for it to settle,
Similar to mud that settles and sinks in a body of water on its own.
So there isn't a conscious effort on our part.
But rather,
If we can be still,
We will find that things will take care of itself
and we can come back to this place of peace.
Thank you.
