And welcome to your practice today.
I so often love to begin my own practice with a reading that I find inspiring.
So I'll start us off today by sharing one from Thich Nhat Hanh from his book Peace Is This Moment.
This one is called Lighting the Torch of Awareness.
We lead extremely busy lives.
I know people who say they don't even have enough time to eat or breathe.
It appears to be true.
What can we do about this?
Can we take hold of time with both hands and slow it down?
First,
Let us light the torch of our awareness.
Let us learn how to drink tea,
Eat,
Wash dishes,
Walk,
Sit,
Drive,
And work in awareness.
We don't have to be swept along by circumstances.
We aren't just a leaf or a log in a rushing river.
With awareness,
Each of our daily acts takes on a new meaning.
We discover that we're more than machines,
That our activities aren't just mindful repetitions.
We find that life is a miracle.
The universe is a miracle.
And we too,
Are a miracle.
With that inspiration,
Let's find our calm yet alert and comfortable seat for meditation.
Whether you meditate on the floor with crossed legs in a chair with your feet on the floor.
Begin to settle your body into your preferred posture.
And we'll sit together and practice awareness of our breath so that we can take it off our cushion and into our daily activities,
As suggested in our reading today.
Whether you sit with eyes closed or eyes open,
Begin to tune inward to the sensations in your body.
How is your body today in this moment?
No need to change or fix.
No judgment.
Just a simple loving awareness of your body as it is right now.
Let's begin at the crown of your head and scan your body from crown to ears,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Mid back,
Low back.
Perhaps taking a deeper breath when you find some tension.
Thighs,
Knees,
Calves,
Ankles and toes.
Fully allowing your awareness to land in your body in this moment.
Nowhere else to be.
Nothing else to do.
Simply be.
With this increased awareness of your body in this moment,
Fine tune that awareness to the rhythm of your breath in your body.
How does your body feel in your body today?
As we did with the body scan,
No need to change or modify.
Just notice your breath in your body.
Perhaps it's deep and slow or shallow and rapid or somewhere in between.
Wherever we are,
However our breath feels.
Just allowing and noticing.
And as your awareness becomes tuned to your breath,
Begin to notice where in your body you feel your breath the most.
Perhaps it's in your chest,
Your ribs,
Your belly,
Your solar plexus,
That point between your chest and your belly.
Perhaps it's the sensation of your breath entering and leaving your body on that skin right under your nose.
Cool on the inhale and warm on the exhale.
Wherever it's easiest for you to notice your body breathing,
Turn your awareness there.
And as much as you are able,
Keep your awareness on the sensation of your body breathing in and breathing out.
And when our thoughts arise and our awareness is pulled away from our breath,
Simply notice and bring that awareness back to the sensations of your body breathing.
Your mind is only doing its job.
Thinking,
Planning,
Strategizing,
Problem solving.
What a wonderful gift.
But for just now in this moment,
Our awareness comes back to our breath.
All of those thoughts will be there.
When we're finished.
Simply notice thinking and come back to the body breathing.
And when our mind pulls us away from our breath,
Simply notice no judgment,
Just noticing and gently guide your awareness back to your body breathing.
Noticing your in-breath entering your body and your exhale leaving your body.
Staying with that rhythmic sensation in your body.
And again,
Simply noticing when your mind takes your awareness for a ride.
No judgment.
Just noticing the magnetic pull of that thoughts in our mind.
There we go again.
Come back to your breath in your body.
Your awareness with your body breathing.
And for our last few breaths together.
Can you stay with your focused awareness on your breath?
And as we begin to close our practice together,
Slowly soften your awareness from your breath to your entire body in this moment.
Simply noticing.
Perhaps like my body,
Your feet,
Toes,
Ankles are asking for some gentle movement.
Or your fingers and wrists.
Or perhaps it's your neck and shoulders that would love a little roll side to side and back and forth.
And if your eyes are closed,
Slowly open them or raise your gaze.
Thank you so much for practicing with me today.
And I hope you can find moments of awareness amongst your daily activities today.
May you be well.
