Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today,
I want to talk a little bit about finding joy in the present moment.
I know it may sound simplistic to say this,
But in order to find joy in the present moment,
We have to make sure that we're in the present moment.
Let me say that again.
In order to find joy in the present moment,
We have to be sure that we're in the present moment.
Now that might sound obvious,
But often we overlook this fact.
Think about it.
We spend so much time thinking about stuff that isn't even happening right now.
Not happening in this moment is a natural human trait.
We're thinking about the dinner we burnt last night,
Or the report we should have done better on,
Or what we're going to cook for Thanksgiving dinner.
We're wondering if our partner will remember our birthday,
If we'll ever have a million dollars,
Or if we're doing this meditation thing right.
We keep going over the past and find ourselves contemplating the future,
Something that doesn't even exist.
And while we're doing that,
We're forgetting to be present right now,
Present in this moment.
Our constant preoccupation with the past and future also impacts our meditation practice,
Because just when we begin to tap into a higher sense of joy and peace,
We're sometimes distracted.
As we come into a state of stillness and a feeling of oneness,
It can seem as if these feelings are fleeting,
Temporary,
Not sustainable.
I'm here to assure you,
Each one of you,
That all of these things are sustainable.
You can have this feeling of peace and oneness and joy.
The trick is not to think about it as an eternity or as something you have to struggle with for ages,
But rather to just take it one moment at a time,
One breath at a time.
Because if you can find this peace,
Even briefly,
Then you can continue to find it again and again and again,
One moment at a time.
And as you get better at focusing on this moment,
It will get easier to do so moment after moment.
And the most important factor is that you have to believe that.
I know it's a natural human reaction to doubt ourselves.
Most of us start out thinking that we could never possibly sustain this feeling of peace for more than a minute.
In our experience,
It just doesn't seem possible that we could have a feeling of peace and oneness and joy for any period of time.
And if you don't believe you can,
Then you probably won't.
Call it self-hypnosis or the little engine that could syndrome.
But if you just believe you can,
You're more than halfway there.
I believe that attitude is over half of anything.
I was told that I would never walk again.
Not possible.
But I had to try.
I had to believe I could.
And in the end,
If I couldn't,
Well,
Then at least I know I tried.
But I worked hard and I believed.
And yes,
I walked with a cane for 20 years.
But now I walk six miles a day and you couldn't pick me out of a crowd.
I'm passionate about this because I've lived it.
In 52 years,
I've done a lot of breathing.
And I believe in each one of you.
It starts with just the desire to do something.
We want to find joy in the present moment.
And all we have to do is focus on just one moment at a time.
And then the next.
And then the next.
When we don't believe,
We can let ourselves get distracted.
You think about something coming up later in the day.
You think to yourself,
Am I doing this breathing right?
Close your eyes now.
Let's go in search together for this present moment.
Just relax.
No pressure.
There's no place to go.
No place we have to be.
Just here looking for the present moment.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing or lying down.
How do I know?
Because the present moment we're looking for is in all those states.
It's everywhere we can go.
It's everywhere that we can be.
Stand on your head.
The present moment is still there,
Just waiting for you.
Relax your face.
Unclench your jaw.
And relax your neck.
Maybe you'd like to shake out your arms and hands and just let them rest comfortably.
Let your shoulders drop.
Just let your body sag.
Ease any tension you have in your chest or your belly.
Maybe shake out your legs and feet too.
And as you begin to really relax,
Let's start to focus on our breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time.
Our breath is our anchor.
It's there for us in all moments and focusing on it can help us to capture the present moment.
Just breathe at your normal pace.
Don't force anything.
Just let your breath move in and out.
Let your breath flow like a river.
Sure and tranquil and calm.
As you focus on your breath,
Track its movement in your body.
I mean really track it.
Feel it as it comes in through your nose,
The air moving into you.
Notice the movement of your chest and belly as the life-giving air moves into you,
Filling you up with energy and vitality.
Perhaps hold your breath for just a moment as you contemplate the wonder of it all.
And then begin to exhale and track your breath as it moves out of your body,
Out of your chest and belly and they deflate as the air exits.
Now just continue to breathe and follow each and every breath.
I want you to give the same amount of attention to the tenth breath as you give to the first breath.
When we have random thoughts during meditation,
It's just a sign that we aren't fully in the present moment.
If we're thinking about our next breath,
Then we aren't being present in this breath.
Each one of you,
However,
Has the power to find the stillness within you,
The power to find the peace within yourself.
The most important thing you have to do is to believe that you can.
I believe it and you should too.
And remember,
You don't have to find this peace for an hour at a time.
You just have to find it for a moment.
A single breath.
Just the tiniest of moments.
Just find it once.
I'll do it with you.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
That's it.
Let's do it again.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And then again.
And then again.
If you can find peace and stillness for one moment,
One breath,
You can find it again and again.
The more you practice snatching this moment of peace and joy over time,
That moment will begin to lengthen.
At first it may only be a few moments before it drifts away.
But don't let that bother you.
Just refocus on your breath and begin again.
Find that moment of peace again,
One breath at a time.
Over time you can expand the moments of stillness.
One moment becomes two,
Becomes ten,
Becomes sixty,
Becomes a hundred.
It all begins with your decision to find peace within yourself.
It begins with your belief in yourself and in the process.
One breath at a time.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Be in this moment and then be in the next.
You can do this one breath at a time.
Now 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.
Take in a deep breath through your nose and let it out through your mouth,
Letting out a sigh.
You're ready to move back into your day,
A little calmer and more joyful than before.
Before we go,
I want to leave you with the words of a short poem by Natalie Ducey where she said,
When your soul finds peace,
No anger,
No doubt,
They have all been released.
I haven't moved,
But everything has changed.
When your heart finds peace,
Only beauty reigns.
The more often you get in touch with your breath,
The easier it will be to stay in the present moment.
I hope for each one of you that this has been a beneficial and calming session.
Till next time.
