We're going to begin with a sitting practice.
So taking a moment to find what you're going to be sitting on to make yourselves comfortable and at the same time alert.
Taking the first few moments to welcome yourself on this cushion,
On this bench,
On this mat.
Seeing if we can kind of put to the side any expectations that anything in particular is going to happen.
And seeing if it's possible to just be open to whatever is going to show up during this practice.
There's really nothing to achieve,
To attain.
Just sitting here and noticing.
And so with the eyes lowered or maybe shut,
First becoming aware of the body.
There is a body that's sitting here.
And as we become more aware of the body,
Maybe making slight adjustments.
Really just allowing the body to settle.
Letting gravity do the work for us.
Noticing the stillness of the body.
And in the context of that stillness,
Noticing the parts of the body that are moving because the body keeps breathing.
That might be the rising and falling of the abdomen or the chest.
The expansion and contraction of the rib cage.
The flow of the air through the throat.
That enters and leaves around the lips if the mouth is open or the nostrils.
And choosing a place now to establish attention.
To establish an anchor for attention.
Having attention somewhere in the body where we're really noticing these sensations of breathing.
A very narrow area like the tip of the nostrils.
Or it could be a wider area like the whole area of the chest.
Letting gravity do the work for us.
And this anchor for attention doesn't mean we have to stay there perfectly 100% of the time.
It just means that when we get lost,
We know where to come back to.
Because getting lost in thought,
Getting distracted is part of the practice.
And so taking some time to explore this region of the body we chose.
To explore it through sensation.
What sensations are there?
If it's hard to notice sensations,
You can choose to take bigger in-breaths and out-breaths.
This will generate more obvious sensations.
And then experimenting with allowing the body to resume its natural breathing pace,
Rhythm,
Intensity.
And seeing if we can keep our attention on those sensations that maybe will become more subtle.
Good morning,
Lee.
Noticing that the breath is not just one thing,
It's many,
Many moments.
It's part of a cycle that repeats itself but never exactly the same.
And so taking the time now to really notice the different parts of this cycle,
How they actually feel.
If an in-breath is long,
We know that it's long.
If an in-breath is short,
We know that it's short.
If an out-breath is deep,
We know it and if it's shallow,
We know it.
Allowing ourselves to be surprised by the next in-breath and the next out-breath.
Not knowing what it's going to be like exactly.
Allowing ourselves to be surprised by the next out-breath and the next out-breath.
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So bringing the same curiosity and interest to losing awareness of the breath.
When I'm lost in thought or distracted by some other thing,
What is that?
And then,
How do I come back?
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And then how is the breath when I come back?
Back.
And seeing if we can now broaden the field of our awareness in the body around the breath.
Allowing the waves of attention to ripple out.
Just becoming aware of the body as a whole.
As it just continues to sit here or lie here.
And continues to breathe on its own.
But other sensations are here.
Keeping a wide open attention.
And allowing sensations to reveal themselves in awareness from moment to moment.
And allowing sensations to reveal themselves in awareness from moment to moment.
And as you sit here just listening to the words of this poet named David White who writes enough.
These few words are enough.
If not these words this breath.
If not this breath this sitting here.
This opening to the life we have refused again and again until now.
The life that's here inside as we sit here.
Rather than distract ourselves tune out avoid really just being here being aware.
And as we sit here just listening to the words of this poet named David White.
And as we sit here just listening to the words of this poet named David White.
And as we sit here just listening to the words of this poet named David White.
