So finding a comfortable posture,
Whether you are choosing to practice lying down or sitting down,
If you're choosing to practice with your legs crossed,
I always like to remind people to use perhaps a pillow to lift your hips so that way you can release some of the pressure of your knees.
And if you're practicing sitting down and your feet are touching the ground or kind of touching the ground,
This is the reminder that perhaps using a pillow if you cannot reach the ground so that you can have that support.
And noticing if you would like to practice with your eyes closed or open today,
If you choose to practice with your eyes closed today,
You can go ahead and close them if you're keeping your eyes open,
Just holding a soft case throughout the practice.
And as we arrive here,
Noticing what the body is asking to get comfortable.
So perhaps resting the hands,
The arms on the legs or by the side of the body,
Noticing that our spine is straight,
Not too rigid,
But alert as we start to become present to this moment.
And as we arrive here in this moment in time to practice,
I want to invite you to take a deep breath through the nose.
Let's hold the breath for a couple seconds and let go through the mouth.
Once again,
Take a deep breath through the nose,
Hold,
Let it out the mouth.
One last time,
Deep breath through the nose,
Hold and let it out the mouth.
Allowing this cleansing breath to let go of anything that has become stagnant in the body and the lungs and the heart.
Allowing the breath to let the body,
The mind,
The heart settle in this moment.
Allowing the breath to go back to its natural flow and rhythm.
Noticing as the way of the body settles in this place,
Rooting in this moment as it comes in contact with the object that you're sitting on.
Perhaps noticing how the feet or the legs come in contact with this object that we're sitting on and how this object is coming into contact with the ground,
The floor,
The earth,
Allowing for this present moment to have a stable ground,
A supportive ground.
As we practice mindfulness during our meditation,
As our willingness to become witnesses of this present moment,
There are a variety of qualities that we practice.
As the moment to moment experience unfolds and arises and our attention is noticing these unfoldings,
We're cultivating practices like kindness,
Non-judgmental awareness,
Curiosity,
And many more qualities that allow us to become friends of this moment to moment experience.
Just like a friendship,
We may not always get it right,
But that love and that care inspires us and motivates us to keep trying.
Today I want to encourage us to practice one specific quality,
The quality of beginner's mind.
So if this is available to you,
Perhaps as we start to practice becoming aware of this quality,
You may want to settle or set an intention maybe for this practice,
Maybe for the week to come,
Maybe for a lifetime.
The quality of beginner's mind is really the willingness to see this moment,
This experience as if it was the first time that you were witnessing it like a baby as it opens the eyes to this world and scans around the room.
What can you see in this moment?
What can you notice in this room that you're sitting in?
How would it feel like to practice this quality of beginner's mind as you become aware of what's happening in your environment?
Are there any sounds,
Any smells?
Can you feel the temperature of the room in any part of your body?
Are there any parts of the body sensing different temperatures,
Perhaps as your clothes come in contact with the skin or your bare skin coming in contact with the air in the room?
What does this feel like?
How does it feel like to notice the breath for the first time?
Can you notice any temperature as the breath comes in through the nostrils and you hear the breath as it travels in the body?
Where do you feel it in the body?
Where do you feel this breath as we explore the breath,
The environment?
Distractions and thoughts may arise.
How would it feel like to approach these distractions and these thoughts as if they were here for the first time?
Is the first time this guest is arriving home?
If you get too wrapped up in thoughts or distractions,
Simply bringing that curiosity,
That beginner's mind to the breath.
The quality of the beginner's mind really allows us to see the world from a pure lens.
It is as though we are cleaning the lens of a camera.
Sometimes these lenses get dirty and they shift and warp the way in which we see,
Perceive our surroundings or our internal world.
So from time to time,
It is always a beautiful gift to perform a deep cleaning to this filter.
Perhaps things will start to see or be seen brighter,
Sharper.
There's not going to be any obstructions in the way,
Nothing warping this perception,
This observation.
For the last couple moments of our meditation,
Allowing our attention,
Our beginner's mind to come in contact with the body,
Noticing any part of the body that seems as though it is the first time you're noticing it.
And slowly and gently inviting some movement to your hands,
To your feet,
Maybe moving your neck side to side,
Allowing the breath to bring you back to this moment,
To this community.
And whenever you're ready,
If your eyes have been closed,
Allowing them to open now.
