Welcome everyone.
This is Pod McGordon and I want to speak to you today about juggling.
It seems to me that in life we are invited to juggle a zillion different things.
I know that's true in my own life.
I feel like I am juggling so many different areas of life and navigating,
Learning how to navigate and communicate skillfully.
So that's what today's meditation is about.
It's about navigating and juggling.
So if you'd like to participate in this meditation,
I invite you to put down whatever you're doing,
Close your eyes,
Make your body comfortable.
Make your body comfortable.
That might mean leaning back or lying down and begin by taking a really generous breath.
Breath creates space.
Breath creates space.
And as you're breathing,
I invite you to become a devotee of your breath to give all of your attention,
Your complete and total undivided attention to your breath.
Perhaps taking a moment and noticing what it's like to really attune to your breathing.
Because right now we're training our minds to be focused and attentive.
That's right.
Because where your energy flows.
In my experience,
It's really useful to be able to guide the mind,
To become master over the mind.
Because if we are not masters over our own minds,
Then our minds are driving us,
Our thoughts,
Our fears,
Our projections.
So right now we are reclaiming the reins,
Taking possession of the reins of the mind.
And it can feel so good to hold them in your hand gently yet firmly.
Noticing your breath as it rises and falls.
As it rises and falls.
Right now,
Turning toward the breath and holding the reins,
Guiding the mind where we want it to go.
The other possibility is the mind takes us and throws us here and throws us there,
Swirling us around the room by our hair.
Right now,
We're taking back the reins of the mind.
Guiding the mind through the chaos,
Through the ups and downs of life,
Through the swirls of wanted things not happening and unwanted things happening.
Through the blessings and the disappointments,
The movements of life as life breathes,
Sometimes calmly and sometimes swirling like a tornado.
So right now we're learning how to navigate the storms,
The chaos,
One breath at a time.
And I know that you know how to turn your attention to this breath,
To this rising,
To this falling.
Trusting that each time you do,
You're creating a pathway,
A clear pathway,
Weaving,
Carving out new neural pathways in the brain so that you will be able to travel down this pathway,
Guiding the mind into the center of this breath.
And yet,
It takes practice.
And the more we practice,
The easier it gets,
The more we're expanding our capacity.
The more gracefully we can take the reins of our minds,
Regardless of what comes and goes,
We can stay present and connected to this moment through this breath,
This moment,
This breath,
Navigating gracefully,
Fluidly,
With ease,
Navigating with ease.
And the more you practice,
The more you listen to this process,
The easier it gets,
The easier it gets.
Listening to this process,
Practicing,
Practicing,
Practicing,
Practicing,
Navigating with ease,
Navigating with ease.
