Hello,
This is Lisa Sheehan.
Welcome to the practice of equanimity,
Which can be thought of as an even-minded tendency toward everyone and everything,
Regardless of our perception of pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral.
Synonyms of equanimity can include imperturbable,
Grounded,
Unflappable,
Steady,
Centered,
Or balanced.
We can practice embodying this even-minded quality in our three equanimity meditations,
Which include mountain,
Lake,
And sky.
In this lake practice,
We will envision ourselves embodying characteristics of water.
Water can be characterized by fluidity,
Flow.
There is motion,
Wave-like movement,
The opposite of rigidity,
Stiffness,
Gripping,
Or resistance.
As you sit here or lie here,
Allow for a soft gaze or close the eyes.
Let an image form in your mind's eye of a body of water.
It could be a lake or a pond or an ocean.
Perhaps it's a body of water you've been to or seen an image of,
Even if it doesn't come as a visual image.
Allow a felt sense of this lake and its characteristics.
The lake may be deep or shallow,
Clear or opaque,
Blue or green,
Or whatever color comes to mind.
Notice the movement or stillness of the water.
When the weather is calm,
The surface is flat,
Like a mirror reflecting nature around it.
Envision the colors of autumn leaves bouncing off the surface.
Envision a ray of sunshine reflecting off the calm surface.
Envision clouds moving slowly across the blue sky and their mirror image on the surface of the water.
When night arrives,
See the moon's image on the lake,
The movement of the trees reflected as they rock and sway in a gentle breeze.
Envision this body of water in winter.
The surface of the lake may freeze over,
Yet there is an abundance of movement below the surface.
This calmness can change at any time,
Depending on weather conditions.
Envision the wind gusting,
The sky darkening with an oncoming storm.
Waves are stirred up,
Causing the waters to become muddy and opaque as sediment stirs from the foundation of the lake and disturbs the formerly clear reflection.
Raindrops rebound off the surface.
The surface of the lake becomes choppy and unpredictable.
This body of water has the capacity to hold everything within itself,
Moment by moment,
Regardless of outer conditions.
It's spacious enough to possess the choppiness and the stillness,
The clarity and the cloudy.
When you're ready,
When you're ready,
Take in this quality of spaciousness within yourself,
Merging with this lake.
Connect now not only with the surface of the lake,
But with the entire body of water so that you can also be in touch with the stillness or gentle movement below the surface of the lake as well.
Observe the passing thoughts and emotions,
The physical sensations,
Which all come and go like ripples and waves.
Noting their presence,
Noticing if thoughts and emotions disturb the surface and the clarity of the mind's lake.
Do they muddy the waters?
Simply allowing their presence here without trying to change anything.
Dive down below the surface of the lake mind where the deeper waters softly undulate despite any commotion closer up to the surface.
Moment by moment,
Acknowledge whatever shows up.
Exploring down below,
Places of stillness when reflection and water are clear and undisturbed as you sit here or lie here.
Observe also the wave-like motion of the breath,
The rise and fall of the chest and the belly,
Comparable to the gentle undulations of the water down below the surface.
A place of fluidity with gentle flowing movement.
Noticing pockets of stillness down below,
Even in a storm when the surface is choppy and unsettled.
Much like our meditation practice,
In our daily life,
We can be in touch not only with the stormy turbulent thoughts and emotions,
But we can also rest our attention on the vast and unwavering reservoir of stillness and tranquility that exists down below the surface of the busy mind.
The lake reminds us that we are empowered to abide in a place of spaciousness and equanimity,
Even amidst the storms of life.
There is a capacity to dive below the surface,
To find respite in a place of stillness and quietude.
Affirming our ability to hold everything in awareness and in acceptance,
Allowing what already is here and now,
Moment to moment.
And as you're ready,
Starting to expand awareness back outward,
Noticing the sounds in the space around you,
Bringing some movement back into the body.
Thank you for your presence here today.
May all beings be happy and safe.
May all beings be healthy in mind and body.
And may all beings abide in a place of spaciousness and ease.
