So to begin with,
We're going to take a moment to acknowledge that here we are in this moment,
In this body,
Sitting in this position,
Getting a sense of gravity and how our body is being pulled in towards the center of the earth.
And we can also acknowledge that for this short amount of time,
That this practice and this meditation is the most important thing.
And anything that comes into our mind,
Whether it's a problem to solve or a great idea or something we have to plan,
If it really is that important,
It'll be there waiting for us and we can address it after this practice.
So for right now,
We can just give ourselves that permission to be fully present in the here and the now.
And one of the ways that can help ground us into the moment in the here and now in a physical way is by taking three nice long diaphragmatic breaths in through the nose,
Filling up the lungs and pressing into the belly and then slowly releasing them,
Aiming to have the out breath be just a bit longer than the in breath.
So we'll take those three diaphragmatic breaths now.
We'll do it to the chest.
And once we've taken our three breaths,
We can allow the rhythm and pace of our breathing to gently go back to its normal self-paced rhythm.
We can let it look after itself.
And we're going to start the practice by bringing awareness to the physical sensation of our breath.
The sensation is an anchor,
It's a guide.
It's always in the present moment.
So if we're focusing on and paying attention to physical sensation,
We know that our mind and our awareness is going to be grounded in the present moment.
And so we can follow the physical sensation of the breath as it flows through the body,
Feeling the sensation of the air coming through our nostrils,
Through our throat,
Filling up our lungs and pressing into our belly,
And letting go in the belly,
Expelling the air from our lungs coming up through the throat and out the nose again.
And we can just follow this movement as one full body breath,
Feeling the breath as it comes in and flows out.
It comes in,
Flows out.
You might notice that as you pay attention to your breath and your mind and your body start to come down a bit,
That the breath starts to become more and more subtle,
And that the breath and the mind and the body have this relationship with each other where as the mind and the body become more calm,
The awareness becomes more subtle.
And so in this way,
We become gentler and calmer and more present with every breath.
So let's spend a few moments just feeling and watching that movement and that sensation of the breath.
Just sayin' hello to everyone and just please feel free to Uber and let yourself get in It's also helpful to think of this like there's no way to get it wrong.
If the mind wonders and you have to bring it back quite regularly,
Or if you're really calm and clear in the mind,
Whether you're feeling upset or agitated or emotional,
Or whether you're feeling peaceful and content and happy,
Think of it like any scenario that arises is the perfect scenario.
Almost like a sense that you're happy and smiling and content that whatever shows up,
This is perfect,
This is the way that it's supposed to be in this moment,
This is the fullest,
Most immediate expression of life right here,
Right now,
Regardless of what it looks like.
And in that way,
There's no wrong outcome.
We just follow the breath,
Return it when we need to,
Acknowledge that things are showing up just the way they are in this moment.
And realizing that there's nothing we can do about it.
If a negative thought or a busy mind or a challenging feeling arises,
And it's already here,
There's nothing we can do about it.
It's just the way that it is right now.
And for this next part of our practice,
We're going to be using three questions to help us soften some of our resistance to the present moment.
If you ever notice yourself feeling triggered or stressed or suffering,
Think of this uncomfortable feeling in whatever form it takes as a meditation bell.
Imagine that there's a wise person beside you ringing the bell,
Ding.
And that bell and that wise person is reminding you that this suffering is a reminder that right now you are resisting the way things are,
And it's time to practice.
And in that way,
These moments of stress and suffering can become an ally.
They can become a reminder.
And so we breathe and we feel,
And we ask ourselves these questions.
The first question is,
How long will this last for?
Whether it's a thought,
A feeling or a situation,
We can ask this question and just watch and see what happens.
Watch and notice that the nature of all phenomenon is to arise and pass away to ebb and flow and change,
And just witness that change happening.
The next question we can ask ourselves is whether it's something that we're thinking or saying or someone else is saying,
We can check to see,
Is that really true?
Do I have some proof?
Can I know 100% for sure that that's really true?
And again,
We give a lot of space and we just watch and listen to what comes up when we ask this question,
Saying how all resistance that's expanding and creating more suffering is related to erroneous thoughts.
So just by questioning it,
We're giving a lot more space to the situation.
And the final question we can ask in these moments of suffering is,
Is that really me?
Are those thoughts,
Is this situation,
Are these feelings and emotions,
Is that who I am?
Is that something that I have power over?
Or is that just an experience,
A temporary experience that's the result of many factors that's arising and passing away?
We give a lot of space to the question and we watch and we observe and we notice whether or not this experience is me or whether it's just another ever-changing experience of life.
And after we've had some time to breathe and feel,
Anchor ourselves in the present moment through sensation and to question our experience and our assumptions about the experience,
We might find that we've come to a greater sense of acceptance and awareness of what is.
And we can let go of the practice by taking one more nice deep diaphragmatic breath in through the nose and then letting go.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes back up and continuing on with your day.
