So if your eyes are not closed you are welcome to close your eyes and have a very relaxing posture.
If you're sitting upright ensure that your hands are parallel,
Palms are folded in your lap,
Legs are parallel,
Feet are evenly placed on floor.
But if you're at home you're also welcome to lie down or recline ensuring that there is a sense of rest in your posture.
And as you sit and as you wait for next advice to come through your phone or laptop I'd like you to become aware of the sense of anticipation that you have as to what's next and see if you can reduce or can be neutral towards the sense of anticipation and see if you can just be.
The sense of anticipation could be in a form of managing,
Controlling or this very subtle sense of anxiety to know what's next.
See if you can relax that and see if you can just be as the presence.
See if you can just be as presence.
The presence and present time are correlated.
Both words are correlated presence and present time or just present.
So see that when you are aware of your presence you are aware of present time.
So remain available to this this sense of presence with no sense of anticipation and there is nothing that you need to do.
So there is no effort needed whatsoever.
Hence we started with allowing body to be completely neutral,
Completely at rest.
You're welcome to scan your body to see if there is any part of your body that is still in strain.
If there is a muscle group in your body that is still on which doesn't need to be on.
It could be your fingers curled up,
It could be your toes,
It could be tension in your shoulders,
It could be tension in your jaws.
See if you can alleviate it.
See if you can really be completely comfortable at ease in your body.
And as you sit like this in present as presence you have already activated what is now known as vagus nerve parasympathetic nervous system which is governed by vagus nerve which is the longest nerve in our body which runs from the stem of your brain to all organs to your lungs to your heart through our spine.
It's like a web of nerves that is responsible for healing,
Resting,
Rejuvenation.
It is completely opposite to stress and flight or fight response that we seem to be on when we are awake,
When we are engaged in activities.
So just by paying attention to your presence you have activated this nervous system and you may be able to notice that in your physiology as well as mentally.
And you may also notice that your breath is already calm,
Somewhat deeper.
So becoming aware of your breath and see if you can take five conscious breaths,
Just five on your own,
Remaining lightly aware of in-breath and out-breath.
This paying attention to your breathing is another technique to activate your vagus nerve.
And while we are at focusing on breathing I'd like you to try another technique where your out-breath is slightly longer than your in-breath.
So on your own if your in-breath is for four counts or four seconds,
See if your out-breath can be for six seconds,
Six counts.
And see if you on your own can remain aware of five such breaths,
Slightly longer out-breath than in-breath,
Conscious breathing.
When your out-breath is longer than your in-breath it also activates your vagus nerve and in turn you're paying attention to the movement of your body,
Movement of your lungs,
Chest and belly.
All induces activation of your vagus nerve.
So there's cascading effect of calming your physiology,
Calming your breath,
Being aware of it,
Ensuring that your out-breath is longer and you'll also find that when you're meditating like this your out-breath is slightly longer,
That your breath's not shallow,
That there's calmness in your breath.
These are all signs of your vagus nerve being activated.
And while we are on this topic of vagus nerve I'd like you to now smile,
A gentle genuine smile.
Smile that is synonymous to you telling your body,
Your mind that I'm happy,
That I am at peace and there's sense of satisfaction.
There are these deep messages that we give to ourself when we smile,
Very intuitive,
Unspoken language of smile from yourself to yourself.
Smile also eases all the muscles in your face.
So if you're careful in observing you'll know that a smile is softening your lips,
Your cheeks,
Your mouth,
Your jaws,
But also your eyes.
So if you can sense that there's relaxation of muscles in your eyes as you smile and same with your forehead.
So if you can tune into this rest as you smile.
As you smile know that this is your natural face,
This is your face at rest.
How many times we have this face during our day,
A natural face.
So continue to smile throughout this session and did you know that smiling is one of the best ways to induce parasympathetic nervous system to activate it.
Even people who can't smile due to paralysis when they're shown picture of smiling people that activates their vagus nerve.
There's a lot of power in smile.
So continue to smile,
Continue to be at rest,
Continue to breathe calmly,
Naturally and tell that there is no purpose of this session,
This practice other than resting in presence,
Resting in your presence,
Resting in this presence.
There's no effort needed,
There's no sense of anticipation,
You do not need to control anything,
You do not need to manage anything,
Only the sense of ease.
And in this sense of ease the words are listened to and words are understood.
Magically,
No effort whatsoever is needed.
The presence is listening to these words without your control,
Your management.
So remain in this effortlessness and see that all work of your senses are done on its own.
Breath is taken,
Things are heard,
All the senses are working on its own without your control.
While we are on a topic of sounds and listening,
I'd like you to be aware of the sounds in your space.
Sounds coming from your mobile or laptop,
Sounds from within your body,
Sounds outside of your body but within your room,
Sounds outside of your room.
And see all these sounds as one soundscape,
Feel them as one soundscape.
All your sounds are known in this presence.
See if that's true,
All sounds are known in this presence,
Not outside of this presence.
They exist and they are known here.
So allow your awareness to become wider in your perspective,
Wider beyond your body,
Wider occupying the space of your room and even wider outside of your room.
As wide as the soundscape itself,
Effortlessly.
Remain open in your perspective as awareness.
Do not be limited to your body and remain open to the possibility that I the awareness is wider,
I know more than my body,
I know things outside of my body,
I interact with space.
So let go of any sense of limitation and it makes sense,
Makes sense to do so.
And as you become open and as you remain open,
See that in this openness you know your body,
You feel your body,
You can move around in your body from legs to hands to head.
And in this openness you can also roam around between sounds and sounds.
In this open awareness perspective you can also go in between your body,
So something inside your body such as perhaps your thought and something outside of your body such as a sound outside of your body.
And see that when you move between sound and thought,
Thought and sound,
Sound and thought,
See if you can do that.
So a sensation of sound and a sensation of thought,
Move between those two on your own and as you move ask yourself this question,
Do I come across a boundary that defines inside and outside?
A so-called thought is inside and so-called sound is outside but as I travel between two,
Do I come across any boundary that defines inside and outside?
So remain open to this possibility that I the awareness is wider open,
Knowing self,
Knows a thought and knows the sounds outside,
It knows the space.
And as you remain open to the nature around you,
As you sustain your focus on this openness,
Also know that your vagus nerve is being activated.
This also happens when you are in nature,
When you are quietly observing nature,
When you are in presence with nature.
The sense of openness,
Sense of unification with nature induces this calm or vice versa,
The calm allows you to know your oneness with nature,
Know your interaction with nature.
It makes you bigger,
It makes you freer,
Not limited,
Not narrow.
So remain with this openness,
Abide as this openness and see that no effort is needed.
All efforts are futile,
All efforts are thoughts,
Really see all efforts,
Efforts to get it right,
Thought about getting it wrong or trying harder,
All of those are thoughts.
So recognize them and let them go,
Let them pass,
Let them disintegrate on their own and really become effortless.
Trust that no effort is needed whatsoever,
All your senses are working on their own,
So you are prioritizing your sense of presence,
You are prioritizing your presence.
And these words,
Your presence is synonymous to yourself,
This is what you call me or I in all your conversations,
Essential I,
The presence.
All day long we call I,
I,
I,
But now we are abiding as I,
I am or I am-ness.
There are two essential qualities of this I am-ness,
See if it can be tested,
Known,
Two essential qualities,
I am-ness is,
That is,
It exists.
See if it is correct in your experience that you exist,
It may be a dream but even then it exists.
There is certainty about it being,
About its is-ness and it knows,
It knows that it is,
That you know that you are.
Very essential inherent quality of this presence,
See if it speaks to you,
See if you can confirm this,
I am and I know that I am.
Nothing else,
I am and I know that I am,
Intertwined is knowing and being,
One,
Same,
Inseparable,
Knowing and being is one.
By being you know and by know you are.
The beautiful experience is also known as awareness,
Aware means to know and ness is synonymous to is-ness or existence,
Being,
Awareness,
I am-ness,
Knowing and being.
So smile and be this I am-ness,
Abide as this presence,
Prioritize it and as you do that the fragrance of happiness and peace arise on its own through this I am-ness.
And you can call it the miracle of Vegas now or you can call it the fragrance of your I am-ness.
It doesn't matter what we call it but see if it is true in your experience that when I sit like this in my presence there is an inherent sense of peace and happiness inbuilt,
Not cultivated,
Not created,
Naturally there.
Not put from outside and can't be taken from outside or from inside.
So smile and recognize this experience for what it is and see if you can make a commitment to come back to this again and again,
Many times,
As many times as you can.
Thank you very much for your company in this I am-ness.
