Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today,
I'd like to talk a little bit about finding relaxation in your meditation.
If you've listened to any of my other meditations,
You're probably getting the idea that I believe that you can meditate anytime and anywhere.
You've probably also gotten the idea that I believe you can meditate in just about any position.
I've told you that when I first started meditating 54 years ago,
I would wear a special robe and sit in a special room and burn a special incense in order to meditate.
But over time,
I came to see that all of my preparations were irrelevant and unnecessary.
For relaxation,
I often practice what is called being the observer.
And all that means is intentionally stepping back and just observing what's around you.
Observing what's going on.
Not just letting things happen,
But actively observing what's going on.
I've found in my life that too often we get so caught up in our daily stuff that we forget to take time for ourselves.
We forget to observe what's going on.
We forget to give ourselves time.
And we forget to be kind to ourselves.
And this is what being the observer means.
It means it's the ability to be able to step back.
To look whatever situation you're going through.
And you can do this with really serious and important things or just your regular day-to-day things.
But you need to dedicate some time to yourself.
To care for yourself.
To care for your health and your mental state.
You need some time to focus on yourself.
And that to me is what meditation is all about.
Being able to focus our mind.
I've said it before,
But meditation is not about stopping your mind or making it empty.
It's about learning to focus your mind.
And I know that each and every one of you can do this.
How do I know?
Because I was able to do it.
Meditation will change your life.
It just takes commitment and time.
Practice.
You don't do a somersault on the balance beam without lots of practice.
Meditation is the same.
And I know that you can do it.
So as we get ready to begin,
Make sure all of your devices are silenced.
You can come back to the world in just a little bit.
This time is your time.
Make sure you're somewhere where you won't be disturbed.
Set yourself up for success.
And close your eyes now.
And let's get in touch with our breath.
Normally,
I would say that it doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing,
Or lying down.
But for true relaxation,
It's best to be lying down for this meditation.
Just breathe normally and don't force anything.
Let's start by scanning our body.
You're just looking for any tension or tightness in your body.
Unfurl your brow.
Unclench your jaw.
Relax your face.
Scan down your neck to your shoulders.
And ease any tension that you find.
Moving down to your chest and your belly.
Your hips and your legs.
Your ankles and toes.
Down your arms and fingers.
And don't be afraid to move.
You're not putting yourself into a coma.
Wiggle your fingers.
Rotate your neck.
Shrug your shoulders.
Squint your face.
Do whatever you need to do to get your body more relaxed.
And now as we settle in and get more comfortable,
Let's start to observe our breath.
Notice your breath as it comes in and flows out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just one breath at a time.
Observe your breath.
Just let it happen without any thought being given to it.
You are the observer,
Observing yourself,
Stepping back from your day-to-day life,
Your day-to-day observations.
Just listen to the sound of my voice and follow your breathing.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
One breath at a time.
Don't try to control your breath.
Just observe it.
Let your breath do what it does all by itself.
You might notice thoughts running through your mind,
And that's okay.
It's perfectly normal.
Your thoughts will begin to quiet down as you continue to focus on your breath.
Breathe in cool,
Refreshing air.
When you exhale,
Exhale hot,
Tense air.
Listen to the sound of the water moving in the background and observe your breath as it flows in and flows out.
One breath at a time.
Feel your body getting heavier each time you exhale and breathe.
Just breathe.
In 54 years of meditating,
I found that meditation can change your life.
It can help you to find calm when you need it.
It can help you to concentrate.
It can help you to get through the toughest of situations,
And it can help you to relax.
I've said this before,
But it bears repeating.
If meditation is something you just do once a day or three times a week,
Its true benefits will always elude you.
When everything changed for me was when I made the conscious decision to make meditation an integral part of my life.
How did I do that?
I began taking advantage of all the pauses in my day.
It's in everyone's day when you have the opportunity to just be.
And it doesn't matter how busy you are.
We all have moments when we can pause and just be.
It's time that would normally be wasted if you didn't take advantage of it.
And we all have so many times like this throughout the day.
Like getting in touch with your breath for a few minutes when you first wake up,
Or while sitting in the doctor's waiting room,
Or while waiting for someone in a car,
While sitting on hold with tech support,
And many other times throughout the day.
Learning to just be really means taking advantage of a moment for exactly what it is.
It's altering your perception of a moment.
To view a moment,
To observe a moment,
Is something precious instead of viewing it as something wasted.
It's viewing a rainbow after the shower rather than focusing on your soggy shoes.
To take a moment that might have been wasted to look at the beauty and complexity of a flower.
To view every day as something special rather than a day that's stormy or overcast.
Taking time to just be means taking the time to listen to the world around you.
Listen to the people around you.
To listen to the music in a rainstorm.
And doing this is the best way to find relaxation.
Learning to let go and to just be are points along the same path.
Right down the road from finding the present moment,
In searching for one,
You will find the others.
I'd like to quote Morpheus from the movie The Matrix when he said,
There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.
Each and every one of you is walking the path,
And with practice you will come to know the path as well.
I've said it before,
But I'm still a work in progress,
Just as you are.
Be grateful for all that you are.
Take this moment in time to just be,
And in the process,
Be kind to yourself.
Relax and just breathe.
Breathing in and breathing out.
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.
Every day is precious,
And getting in touch with your breath multiple times a day will bring you peace and calm and relaxation.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session,
And I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to join me in this moment,
To share this moment with you.
You have the power to change your life one breath at a time.
Until next time.
