Reflection On A New Year

This meditation combines breath-focused mindfulness practice with an inquiry. As we reflect on the coming year, using the model of James Clear's Year in Review. What went well last year? What didn't go so well? What am I working towards in the year to come?

Transcript

Thank you so much for making this time on an unusual day after an unusual year. And so it's certainly a time of renewal and reflection. And so our meditation today will reflect that. I imagine us slipping into meditation, So not rushing into it, Just slowly becoming aware of what is present. And so I'll begin with a poem. I'll tell a little bit of a story and then we'll drop into a breath-focused meditation that also offers some questions for you. We'll practice for 15, Maybe 20 minutes and I'll guide you throughout. And then we'll take another five minutes at the end to reflect, Check in, And go on our merry ways. So if you'd like, You can close your eyes. Settling into your seat, Allowing the back to be straight but not rigid. Inviting a balance into your experience that reflects a stability but also a flexibility. There's no right way to sit in this practice of mindfulness meditation. Much of what we're doing is bringing an awareness and an acceptance of whatever comes up in each moment. Yesterday I received an email from one of my favorite authors, James Clear, And he offered two questions. The questions were, What is a mistake I seem to repeat each year and what can I do to prevent it this time? And that really got me. Those were two questions I didn't want to answer. Each year I have these grand plans. It lasts a couple of days and then I find myself right where I started on December 31st. But that's okay. That's how life tends to work. But when we bring mindfulness and inquiry, We're more likely to live an authentic life. A life that supports our well-being and thriving. So I've already started at work. What I did was instead of setting up three daily priorities that I ended up not doing, I set three daily priorities and then asked myself a handful of questions. Am I really going to do this tomorrow? How am I going to do it? When am I going to do it? And what help do I need to do it? So I'm hoping that that process will allow me to come closer to my intentions for the year. This poem is from David White. Start Close In. Start close in. Don't take the second step or the third. Start with the first thing. Close in. The step you don't want to take. The step you don't want to take. Start with the ground you know. The pale ground beneath your feet. Your own way to begin the conversation. Start with your own question. Give up on other people's questions. Don't let them smother something simple. To hear another's voice, Follow your own voice. Wait until that voice becomes a private ear that can really listen to another. Start right now. Take a small step you can call your own. Don't follow someone else's heroics. Be humble and focused. Start close in. Don't mistake that other for your own. Start close in. Start close in. Don't take the second step or the third. Start with the third. Don't take the second step or the third. Start with the first thing. Close in. The step you don't want to take. And as you settle now into practice, You might become aware of the sensation of breath in the body. Let yourself feel the breath where it's most prominent. You might observe the rise and fall of the belly and abdomen with each breath. The lift of the shoulders or the rise of the chest. Start close in. Gently observing the movement of breath without trying to change it or make it a certain way. Start close in. Feeling the muscles as they expand and contract with each breath. Feeling the sensation of fullness at the end of the inhale. Any release or relaxation at the end of the exhale. Letting go of any attempt to control the breath and instead being its witness. Observing the natural flow of the in-breath and out-breath. Start close in. In mindfulness meditation, We often use an anchor, Something to return to when our mind wanders or we're caught in a sensation or an emotion. We don't push those things away but simply return back to that anchor. The breath, The body, Perhaps sounds. So as we continue the practice, You might let the breath recede into the background but come back to it from time to time as a way to bring you back to the present, Bring you back to the here and the now. Start close in. It's really remarkable what that first step can do. Already this morning, I've changed all the passwords that Google's been telling me have been compromised for probably the last two years or so. I wrote in the in my journal for the first time in months. It wasn't pretty and I'm not done but at least I got started. I can see a path in front of me. So I want to invite you into a short inquiry. I'll offer a question and invite you to let responses arise. Very often when we're asked a question, We turn on the top 10 tunes machine, Reiterating narratives or stories that we've become quite familiar with. So when I offer the question, Notice what comes up, Holding it lightly and then letting it go and then asking the question again. So there's no need to go searching for an answer. Simply see what arises, Let it go and then ask the question again. And so the first question, What went well in the last year? What went well? What went well? We'll take two or three minutes with each question. When you notice you're spinning out a story, Come back to the question again. What went well in the past year? You might note any emotions, Any sensations in the body or thoughts that arise as you ask yourself this question. What went well? Asking the question again and again and allowing responses to arise. You might even notice the expression on your face, The posture of your body, As you recall and reflect on what went well. So as you release this question, You might come back to that sensation of breath, Feeling the body as it breathes in and out, In, In and out. And arriving now at a second question, What didn't go so well in the past year? What didn't go so well? It might be that we sense or experience a flood of responses. An invitation is to see if you might take them one at a time, Noting them and then setting them aside in your mind. What didn't go so well in the past year? The breath can be very helpful here. As the body perhaps tenses or tightens, That breath can find its way and give yourself care. What didn't go so well? Resisting the urge to hold on to or follow any of the thoughts that arise, Just letting them go after you become aware of them. So in a moment, We'll move to a final question. First, You might come back to that sensation of breath, Relaxing into this moment, Moment where there's nowhere to go and nothing to do. And as I look ahead to the next year, What am I working towards? What am I working towards? So the answer to this question could be a desired feeling state of peace or content or happiness. It could be an accomplishment or an achievement you're working towards. What am I working towards in the next year? So what am I working towards? It might be helpful to feel or imagine what it might like be like to arrive in that state. What am I working towards? Letting go now of this last question, Releasing and relaxing the body as you come back to the breath one final time, Perhaps lengthening and deepening the breath. Start close in. Don't take the second step or the third. Start the first thing close in, The step you don't want to take. And as the bell chimes, You might use that as a time to return to this moment, Letting the body move in whatever way it would like to, Fluttering the eyes open and closed, Open and closed, Offering yourself some appreciation for the time that you've spent in practice today.