Are we like fish swimming in the ocean,
Searching for water?
Are we immersed in a web of love energy that because of trauma,
Hardship,
Challenge,
We contract and cut ourselves off from the experience of divine love?
This is a question of presence.
Let's practice now and discover for ourselves.
There are two parts to this practice.
First,
We will practice letting go.
And next we will practice opening to presence.
Find a comfortable position for your body.
First let's look at the content of this now.
If your present moment were in a fish bowl,
What would it contain?
With open curiosity,
Simply notice the content of this moment for you.
What have you carried in from the past?
How much of your awareness is also stretching like a feeble rubber band into the future?
This stretching of our awareness,
Ruminating in the past,
Looking ahead into the future can be exhausting.
So we'll practice now letting go of that mental stress.
Is there an aspect of your awareness still living in the past through rumination,
Regret,
Longing?
I wonder if you can bring awareness to those thoughts,
Respectfully acknowledge them.
And now how much can you release this focus on the past just for a little while?
Like releasing a clenched fist.
Can you practice opening,
Letting go,
Like dropping a heavy bag?
With every exhale,
Let go a little bit more.
You may even choose to vocalize your exhale,
Letting go of the sigh.
Is there an aspect of your awareness that's living in the future through worry,
Speculation,
Desire to do this?
Just for a little while during our meditation practice,
I wonder if you can bring awareness to those thoughts,
Respectfully acknowledge them and practice letting them go just for a little while.
With every exhale,
Letting go of thoughts of the future,
Release your grip on them and allow these thoughts to release their grip on you.
Breathing,
Letting go,
Like dropping a heavyweight.
Is there anything in this moment now that you're remembering?
Resisting sounds,
Sensations.
Bring your awareness into this moment now,
Allowing this imperfect moment to be perfect as it is.
In my space,
I can hear the sound of a water fountain.
I can hear the sound of the rain outside of my window.
And instead of resisting these sounds,
I accept them totally allowing them to be part of this now integrated fully accepted.
If there are aspects of your now that you need to change and you can change,
Do so.
Breathing.
Let's go fully into this moment now.
As we reach through our senses,
Notice what you feel.
Notice the air circulating around your body,
Merging with your being as you inhale.
Notice the sensation of your blood flowing.
Can you feel the clothing against your skin?
What is the taste in your mouth?
Notice what you hear in your space.
Refusing letting go of resistance to what is in this moment now.
Calming down,
Settling down.
Can you feel the embrace of gravity cradling you to your chair or cushion?
Entering the now through our senses is just a beginning.
Letting go of the past,
Letting go of the future.
Anchor yourself in this now through your awareness,
Through the sensation of a full inhale.
Notice what that feels like in your abdomen,
In your chest.
Allow this anchor to bring you back into this now whenever thoughts arise and want to distract your awareness.
Going deeper into stillness.
As I speak,
Can you give more focus to the space,
The silences between my words,
Around my words?
This silence,
This space is what gives my words shape.
Without the silence,
Without the space.
My meaning would be indiscernible.
Allow your breath to flow fully and also effortlessly naturally.
Can you bring your focus to the space between your breaths?
So at the height of your inhale,
There's a little moment,
A little space of emptiness before you exhale.
And when you're empty,
There's a little moment,
A little space before you inhale again.
Can you give more focus to the spaces than to the action of breathing?
In the background of your mind,
Thought may continue to flow.
Can you give your focus to the spaces between thoughts instead of focusing on the thought itself?
Can you give your focus to the space between thoughts instead of focusing on the thought itself?
As you become more still,
More quiet,
More calm,
I wonder if you can listen for the rain falling outside my window,
But listen for the subtle silences,
The spaces between the sounds of raindrops reaching the earth.
Can you give your focus to the space between thoughts instead of focusing on the thoughts itself?
I wonder if you might bring your palms together in front of your heart so that your middle fingers are touching.
Can you bring your awareness to the sensation of your middle fingers touching each other?
Is the rest of your being quiet?
Bring all of your focus to those fingertips touching and listen for the quiet,
Subtle sensation of your pulse in your fingertips.
And once you can feel that gentle rhythm,
Can you give your focus to the space between pulses for just a few breaths?
Breathing down,
Quieting.
Just breathing,
Letting go of everything else,
Listening for the space,
The quiet between pulses in your fingertips.
You may begin to experience your own natural,
Beautiful presence.
It's always there like the sun,
But sometimes it's concealed by our excessive thinking,
Doing,
Stretching our minds all over time and space.
By bringing your awareness here into this simple,
Perfect,
Quiet now,
You may begin to glimpse the beautiful presence that is perhaps more you than anything else.
Nothing else to do right now,
Just breathing,
Allowing this moment to be,
Allowing yourself to be and listening to the inner spacious quiet.
As you reenter the flow of life,
Can you continue to practice releasing the past and future as much as possible,
Maintaining your connection to the practical?
I wonder if you can acknowledge the quiet,
The gentle,
The stillness in your every now,
Giving focus to the spacious,
Peaceful aspect of life.
