Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today I'm going to talk a little bit about having a light-hearted attitude in your meditation practice,
And this meditation is based on a live session I did recently.
You know,
People often imagine that meditation is something very solemn and serious and full of effort,
But a gentle sense of humor and some playfulness or ease can actually deepen your meditation practice rather than dilute it.
If you've been around me,
You know that when I started,
I was very serious.
I had a special robe,
A special room,
Special incense,
But I found that sitting so stiffly with my hands and arms in a certain position and my tongue pressed against the roof of my mouth was not easing my life,
But what was really helping was my breath.
So I gradually relaxed my posture,
I stopped using mudras,
I stopped using Sanskrit words,
And I started moving during my meditation if I needed to.
So the thing to remember is that the primary goal of meditation is to train your mind to achieve a state of lasting calm,
Self-awareness,
And mental clarity.
Nothing you study or practice is bad,
But you always have to stop and think what actually helps.
Why does lightheartedness help?
Because it softens self-judgment.
When your mind wanders,
A light touch lets you say,
Ah,
Here I go again,
Or I'm doing this wrong.
No,
You're not doing it wrong,
You're just going off on a tangent again,
And that shift alone can change the whole tone of your session.
It keeps your practice human.
Meditation isn't about becoming a perfect stillness machine.
I've found that you have to look at the silliness of life.
You have to laugh at the playfulness of squirrels or hummingbirds chasing each other around a tree or dogs playing in the yard.
Being lighthearted builds resilience.
A light heart makes it easier to return to your breath after there's a distraction.
It's like giving yourself a soft landing each time,
And it opens the door to curiosity.
When you're not taking every sensation so seriously,
You can explore the mind with more wonder and less pressure.
And what it looks like in practice?
Maybe smiling gently when you notice your mind sprinting off,
Or letting a small moment of humor arise when you catch yourself planning dinner during a meditation on letting go.
Treating each breath like a friendly companion rather than a task.
And that's where I see you have to learn to look at meditation as a part of your life.
If not,
It's just an item on your to-do list,
And you'll never get the full benefit.
A light heart isn't the opposite of depth,
It's the opposite of strain.
And when strain falls away,
Presence has room to bloom.
There's a quiet strength in approaching meditation with a light heart.
Close your eyes now,
And let's get in touch with our breath.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing,
Lying down,
Or kicked back in your favorite recliner.
The only thing that truly matters when you meditate is that you're comfortable and alert.
As we start to settle in,
Notice your breath.
Just breathing in and breathing out one breath at a time,
And then the next,
And then the next.
Let's scan our body.
Relax your face.
Unfurl your brow.
Unclench your jaw.
Relax your neck.
I roll mine around.
You can do what makes you happy.
Relax your shoulders.
These are places of tension in today's world,
With so many people hunched over phones and tablets and computers.
Relax your arms and your hands.
Relax your legs and your feet.
Look for any tension in your chest and belly.
And as you begin to relax,
Let's focus even more on our breath.
Our breath is our anchor.
It's here for us in all moments,
When we're happy,
When we're sad,
When we're lighthearted,
And when we're not.
So we're just here beginning to settle in.
Let your hands rest wherever they may.
There's nothing to fix,
Nothing to perfect.
We're just arriving.
And as you breathe,
Imagine your body loosening its grip on the day.
Let the breath feel like a gentle friend.
One who never rushes you,
Never judges you,
Never asks you to be anything other than human.
It's our breath.
It's here for us at all moments.
And if a sigh wants to come,
Let it.
If a smile wants to appear,
Let that appear too.
And if nothing at all happens,
That's perfect also.
Now imagine a warm glow at the center of your chest.
Nothing dramatic,
Just a soft,
Friendly light.
The kind of light that flickers when someone tells a good story or when you catch yourself laughing at something simple.
And let that glow expand just a little with each breath,
Spreading out to encompass your body.
Notice how your body responds to this sense of ease.
We're not forcing it.
And it feels natural,
Like a quiet sunrise inside you.
Thoughts will wander in.
They always do.
And when they arrive,
Greet them with a soft,
Amused curiosity.
Oh,
Hello again.
Or,
Ah yes,
The mind doing its mind thing.
Let yourself feel the kindness in that tongue.
You're not pushing thoughts away.
You're not wrestling with them.
You're simply acknowledging them.
The way you'd acknowledge a friendly dog that wandered into the room.
Pleasant,
Harmless,
And not a problem.
Here I'm going to pause for just a minute so that you can just breathe and think.
And let that light expand around you.
And I'll be back in a minute.
Now,
Let your attention come back to the breath.
And let it feel playful,
Like a gentle wave rolling in and out.
Or imagine your whole body exhaling with a tiny,
Ah,
The way you do when you finally sit down after a long day.
Let the breath be simple.
Let yourself be simple.
There's nothing to achieve here.
Nothing to master.
Just a chance to remember that ease is allowed.
Now,
If you're willing,
I'd like you to repeat the following positive affirmations.
Either silently or out loud.
And I'll say each one twice.
I can meet this moment with ease.
I can meet this moment with ease.
I can let go of the pressure to be perfect.
I can let go of the pressure to be perfect.
And last one.
I can allow lightness to guide me.
I can allow lightness to guide me.
Feel how your body responds to these invitations.
Feel how the breath softens.
Feel how your heart opens just a little more.
Meditation is one of the more beautiful things of life.
Especially when it helps us to come to terms with the present moment and spending more time there.
As we come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch.
And feel how good it is to be alive.
How good it is to be in this moment.
And let this lightness we've cultivated stay with you.
Not as a forced positivity.
But as a quiet reminder that you can meet your life with softness.
With humor.
And with ease.
Now if you've listened to my meditations,
You know that I like quotes.
And I have a good one for you today.
By businessman Skip Pritchard who said,
Life isn't as serious as the mind makes it out to be.
Very true.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session for each and every one of you.
Till next time.
