I'm having a little giggle here.
This is my third attempt in as many minutes to make a recording.
I've already had various interruptions and it's just like that.
So to find some stillness in the midst of the busyness of life is where we find ourselves.
So perhaps I would like to offer a little poem,
A timely poem,
To set the tone for maybe a little stillness for the next while.
This is called Allow by Dana Faulds.
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow and grace will carry you to higher ground.
The only safety lies in letting it all in.
The wild and the weak.
Fear,
Fantasies,
Failures and success.
When loss rips the doors of the heart or sadness veils your vision with despair,
Practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your known way of being,
The whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
So,
Allowing your legs to fold the way they fold to support you from the bottom up with a sense of stability and groundedness.
Noticing the points of contact the feet make with the ground or with each other.
Noticing the temperature,
The texture.
Perhaps there is tingling in the toes or perhaps even the lack of sensation or awareness of the feet which is a perfectly valid experience to be having.
And with the lower part of the body grounded and stable,
Noticing how the back,
If you are sitting or standing,
How the back naturally extends from the pelvis following its natural curves with the head balanced on top,
Reaching towards the sky.
But already in the search for an appropriate posture,
Finding a balance between trying too hard and giving in.
Letting the back be strong and wide.
The neck long.
The belly soft.
Symbolic of a receptiveness and openness to experience.
And in that an opportunity to turn away from the resistance.
Turning towards allowing.
Allowing the qualities of the present moment to infuse your awareness.
And so where there are sounds opening to the sounds.
Where there are thoughts,
Allowing the thoughts to come and go.
Knowing that it's not necessary to engage with them,
Not necessarily helpful.
And so where there are thoughts,
Allowing the thoughts to come and go.
And so where there are thoughts,
Allowing the thoughts to come and go.
Turning towards that which may be helpful or wholesome.
It may take the form of aiming to anchor the mind on an object of awareness,
Such as a sound.
Perhaps it's the sound of my voice or something in your environment.
Perhaps that anchor for the mind is the way you experience your breathing.
And so where there are thoughts,
Allowing the thoughts to come and go.
Wherever it is that you choose to rest your attention.
Let it be in the service of finding that delicate balance between focusing too hard and drifting off.
And yet if you do find yourself following some stream of thoughts,
Perhaps planning or reverie,
Whatever it might be,
Fantasy.
To let that noticing be a way of gently shepherding your awareness back to these qualities of nowness that surround us.
That tickle us into presence.
So when we meet them with this curiosity.
We find a myriad of ways.
To feel connected to our bodies.
Our environment.
That we continuously look for ways to allow.
To open.
To become intimate with whoever we are,
However we are.
And wherever we find ourselves.
When there is a sound,
We notice the sound.
When we notice ourselves breathing.
When we notice ourselves breathing.
We inhale,
We exhale.
Knowing that we are breathing in and breathing out.
When there are thoughts,
We let them come and go.
And if we become aware of an emotion that may be associated with our thinking.
The opportunity is to notice the physiological effects that is on our bodies.
How it manifests in the body.
And the wisdom that holds.
What is moving through your awareness now?
How are you being present?
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt containing a tornado.
Dam a stream and it will create a new channel.
Resist and the tide will sweep you off your feet.
Allow and grace will carry you to higher ground.
Only safety lies in letting it all in.
The wild and the weak.
Fear,
Fantasies,
Failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of the heart or sadness veils your vision with despair,
Practice becomes simply bearing the truth.
And the choice to let go of your known way of being.
The whole world is revealed to your new eyes.
Godverb.
