I want to start this session with a quote from the Tibetan meditation teacher Chogyaam Trunkpa.
Hold the sadness and pain of samsara in your heart and at the same time the power and vision of the great eastern sun.
Then the warrior can make a proper cup of tea.
I like this because it makes me smile but also because I believe there is great wisdom there.
Samsara is a Sanskrit word for the world and the constant changes in this world.
The vision of the great eastern sun represents inner wisdom and goodness within each person.
The warrior is a symbol of the bravery it takes to be willing to look inward,
To acknowledge and allow whatever is there,
To be with whatever is observed with a love and gentleness,
And to be prepared to then get on with life and do what needs doing or making a proper cup of tea.
We have something built in us that wants to reject and avoid any kind of pain or discomfort.
So we busy our bodies and distract our minds with many strategies that we develop to stop ourselves from feeling any uncomfortable sensations or emotions.
Avoiding difficulties might work in the short term but unfortunately ignoring how you really feel is not helpful or healthy for us.
Carl Jung,
The Swiss psychiatrist says what we resist persists.
He claims that any aspects of ourselves that we resist would in fact create a bigger problem,
Actually enlarging it and that to accept whatever is there can help us to become whole.
People often sense tension all over their bodies,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Jaw,
Chest,
Fingers and toes,
But the majority of people will sense the physical sensations of stress and tension within their gut at some point.
The reason for this is there lies the enteric nervous system,
Also referred to as the second brain.
It contains around 200-600 million neurons,
The cells which transmit information,
And it has a rich interaction with the central nervous system via a massive nerve called the vagus nerve.
Emrein Meier,
A professor of physiology says that a big part of our emotions are probably influenced by the nerves in our gut.
This is because the neurotransmitters send signals to the brain that regulate your mood.
Also serotonin,
A feel-good hormone,
Is manufactured in large quantities in the gut bacteria.
So because there is a two-way communication between the gut and the brain,
It is very important that we keep a healthy gut,
But also that we keep anxiety and stress under control,
As there becomes a feedback loop between the gut and the brain.
If the gut is out of balance,
This then affects our mood.
If our thought life is out of balance,
This then affects our gut.
So today there will be two parts of the meditation.
One will be acknowledging,
Allowing and accepting any tension in the stomach area,
Treating it with gentleness and curiosity only.
And the second part will be a stimulation of the vagus nerve,
Which is effective in helping with anxiety,
Depression and inflammation.
So I invite you to close your eyes.
And take your attention to any parts of the body which might hold some kind of tension or pain or discomfort.
Move your attention around the body to wherever you notice this.
Now move your attention to the stomach area.
Really observe what is going on there.
What do you notice?
Scrutinize any sensations you have here with curiosity.
What is that sensation?
Is it tightness or dullness?
Heaviness?
Is it an ache or pain?
Is it a squeezing sensation?
A fullness or an emptiness?
What is there for you?
Don't try to resist or change whatever is there.
You are just noticing it.
If you notice you are pulled away by thoughts,
That's okay.
Just come back to the sensations in your stomach.
Maybe you notice that the sensations are attached to emotions.
Anger,
Fear,
Sadness,
Excitement,
Joy,
Frustration.
Allow whatever is there.
Accept it exactly as it is.
Try not to get involved in any narratives going on in your thoughts.
All you are doing is examining the fabric of the sensations in your stomach.
And noticing if there are any emotions attached to these sensations.
The noticing might involve just a label.
There is fear.
There is sadness.
There is joy.
Rather than attaching a whole story to it.
Keep bringing your attention back to the same place.
Just to see.
Just to observe.
Notice any tendencies to change or avoid any discomfort.
It's possible for you to just sit with it instead.
And now let us move our attention to the breath.
One hand on your stomach and one hand on your heart and breathe normally.
Keeping the attention only on the breath now.
Watching the breath in and watching the breath out.
Allow the inhale to deepen slightly.
So that the stomach extends and you feel your hand rise.
And on the exhale the stomach contracts and the hand lowers.
Continue to breathe in this way.
The stomach filling like a balloon on the inhale.
And slowly lowering on the exhale.
And you won't force the breath.
Just allow it to become smooth and relaxed.
And settle into the rhythm.
And now say to yourself on the inhale.
Breathing in I am calm.
Breathing out I relax.
Breathing in I am calm.
Breathing out I relax.
I am calm.
I relax.
I am calm.
I relax.
Calm.
Relax.
Calm.
Relax.
Nowhere to go.
Nothing to do.
Calm.
Relax.
And now take your attention again to the stomach.
Again looking with curiosity and gentleness not trying to change anything.
Do you notice anything different here now?
Maybe a softening of the sensations.
A relaxing.
Maybe they have gone completely.
Maybe no change.
Acknowledging whatever is there.
Know that there is great power in just sitting and being with whatever is.
Sometimes being kind and gentle with oneself is enough.
Often the lack of resistance can dissolve the feelings completely.
It is time enough to take the difficult edges away.
You have acknowledged whatever is here for you today.
Allowed it.
Accepted it.
Sat with pain and discomfort.
Sat with sadness or the emotions you felt.
You have been brave.
Allow yourself to become aware of the body now in contact with the seat or the bed.
Have an awareness of the outline of your body where you are right now.
Become aware of the space all around you and have a picture of yourself in your space where you are.
Tickle your toes a little to bring some movement back into your body.
If you wish you could move your head slowly and carefully from side to side.
When you are ready open your eyes.
This practice can be used to sit with any difficult emotions or pain anywhere else in the body.
Well done.
Now you can go and make yourself a proper cup of tea.
Thank you.
Thank you.
