So welcome,
Welcome to your practice today and to our sacred space,
Our meditation circle,
And take some time to stretch up and settle in.
So last week we spent a lot of time on this settling in and stretching up in our seated posture.
So maybe just taking a couple moments here to notice how it is in the physicality of your body,
Your soma,
As you settle into your comfortable seat and finding areas of the body that feel comfortable,
Easeful,
Maybe even peaceful.
And you can keep your eyes open here,
Eyes closed,
But softening the gaze.
So as to not strain your eyes at all,
Just softening your gaze,
Inviting the eyes to soften and relax.
And as the gaze softens and relax,
Noticing how perhaps maybe gravity takes a bit of a hold to then trickle down to the cheeks,
The jaw,
Softens just a little bit.
And here maybe just allowing naturally,
Organically,
A deep inhale to come to fill the lungs up through the throat.
And even taking a big yawn on the exhale.
Release tension in the mouth,
The jaw,
The throat.
Following a couple of times to release any kinks in the neck.
As an invitation for gravity to settle even more deeply in the shoulders.
So the shoulders begin to naturally draw down through weight of gravity,
Arms through the fingertips,
Naturally settle with ease,
Effortlessness,
Hands placed on the thighs or wherever is most supportive to you.
And maybe the belly softens just a little without any insistence,
A little more room here to breathe perhaps.
Checking in with the pelvis,
The sole of the seat or the seat of the soul rather.
Maybe there's some lightness in the upper body as the seat grounds through gravity,
Supported by the earth,
Both legs all the way through to the soles of the feet,
Supported by the earth.
Isn't this a miracle in and of itself,
Gravity?
Allowing us to take up space and settle so eloquently in our bodies.
Vertically,
Spine growing taller,
The head,
The neck,
Perfectly balanced on the spine.
And just notice here now that we've kind of checked in with the whole physical somatic body,
Scanned,
Just taking a couple of moments to see if you need to make any final or last adjustments or notice any shifts or changes,
If any.
Maybe there's a little more softness,
Ease or comfort.
Or maybe conversely,
Maybe you're noticing tension or discomfort.
And to know that it's all welcome and to shift,
Make any adjustments to accommodate the full range of sensory experience with self-compassion,
Love and understanding.
It's all welcome and unique to you.
So from this place here,
We'll begin by opening our eyes.
If they've been closed,
Gently and slowly opening your eyes to perhaps maybe a fresh view of your outer world and here landing on an object that you see in your outer world that's pleasurable,
That is of interest to you,
Maybe you've seen for the very first time today.
And land on that object for a couple of moments and truly soak it in as a miracle,
The miracle of seeing with two beautiful eyes.
Just see.
Seeing with soft eyes,
Not to strain by any means.
Just see.
And when your attention fades naturally,
Just noticing where your attention is tugged or pulled to the next sensory object in the visual field.
See.
Being open to it and allowing it to freely come and go in equanimity.
Equanimity as you cast your gaze onto an object of interest,
Seeing in your outer world a gift that we get to choose what we focus on,
That brings us immense pleasure.
Just see.
And nothing else to do.
All auditory and somatic,
Emotional rest in the background,
But all of our attention is on seeing in our outer world at the foreground of our attention.
At the foreground of our attention.
See.
See.
Finding your own rhythm.
See.
And even if it's inducing pleasant emotions,
Just allow that to rest in equanimity,
Allowing it freely to come and go as it is.
Seeing the fine details of your experience.
And then allowing that to go with an invitation to rest in the background just for a little while.
And then we'll move to seeing in,
So closing the eyes and as you close your eyes,
Softening the gaze inward to the visual field,
Which represents the mental image at either the screen of the mind or maybe somewhere else in spatial location within the head or outside of the head.
Noticing mental image or lack thereof.
You may just notice gray pixelation in front of the eyes as a blank screen.
Or cascaded with light,
Pixelation,
Light and dark.
Maybe there's a range in color.
Just see.
All of your attention.
Focus on seeing in.
And maybe just for fun,
Seeing yourself in six months time.
So at the end of the year.
Just see yourself in six months time.
Where might you be?
What might you be doing?
Play with that for the next couple of moments.
If that feels right for you.
And if nothing comes up,
Just enjoy the blank page as a place of rest.
But the question lies in the background and equanimity,
Allowing it to come and go freely just as it is.
Planting a seed.
Just see.
Not trying to grasp or pull in any way.
But allow it to drop in when it's ready.
And then just see.
It's all good.
Just see.
And nurture our internal vision of what we want more of a beautiful lifetime we've been given.
And then allowing that to dissolve.
Resting those seeds in the background and equanimity.
And now we'll bring all of our attention on the auditory channel or experience.
In our outer world,
Hearing the sounds outside.
We may be in a quiet room or,
And if so,
Just noticing that as rest.
Soak it in.
Get to know it with appreciation.
Or maybe noticing the sounds outside of the room,
Whether that be the sounds of the city,
Cars passing by,
Birds singing.
And really focusing our attention on the sounds that are pleasurable and the miracle of sound.
Just hear.
Hear.
Noting.
Staying with it for a couple of moments.
And you can even apply the label,
Whispering it inside or in an outside voice.
Here.
Which naturally builds up clarity and equanimity.
Alongside concentration.
Here.
Here.
Here.
Noticing the spatial awareness of the sound.
Is it in front?
Back?
To the left?
To the right?
Above?
Below?
Noticing the sensory details of your auditory experience,
Just as it is.
With appreciation.
And then allowing that to dissolve.
We'll cast our attention now to hearing in.
Hearing the sounds inside.
The sound between the ears.
Between the ears.
Or wherever you receive sound.
As you hear in.
Which is mental talk,
Chatter,
Sentences,
Periods,
Comments,
Pauses.
Maybe it's active.
Or maybe there's not much going on.
Enjoy that as rest.
Just here.
Here in.
And then we'll play here for a couple moments.
In the inner space of auditory.
And perhaps receiving positive phrases in six months' time.
What would you like more of in your life?
Maybe just one phrase.
That may surface for you.
Like,
I am working and living with more joy and creativity.
And creativity fuels my capacity in really beautiful ways.
And then repeating that phrase that arrives and lands for you.
Hearing good.
And then allowing that to dissolve.
Letting the auditory field,
Our auditory experience to rest in the background in equanimity.
And now we'll turn a soft attention to our physicality.
Our somatic experience.
So here noticing the outer feel,
Which is the physical body.
So just noticing the physical body,
Either whole body,
Sensation.
Which may have a feel or theme of expansion,
Contraction.
Or tranquility.
Rest.
Rest.
Or maybe perhaps zooming into a particular location.
And noticing perhaps maybe the physical change or movement in a particular location.
Or maybe it's restful.
Or restful.
Soothing.
Or comfortable.
And if it is,
Just enjoy that.
Just feel.
And you may notice the physical change or movement of the breath as it expands and contracts.
Or you may notice flow,
A general sense of the cells vibrating.
And a particular way could be vibratory,
Undulatory.
Maybe there's a sense of cool.
Or warmth.
Just feel.
Feel the miracle of being alive in this physical body,
The home of your soul.
In this physical body,
The home of your soul.
The home,
The physical home in this lifetime that's carried you.
So with appreciation,
Spending some time with some parts of the physical body that maybe you appreciate,
Like the souls of the feet.
Like the souls of the feet that allow you to walk.
The legs.
The spine.
The arm.
The head and neck.
Just simply appreciating the physicality of the body.
And allowing that to go when it feels right.
Maybe adjusting your posture just a little.
Noticing any shifts or changes.
Or not.
And then from here,
Noticing any benefits of your practice.
Like calm,
Tranquility,
Maybe gratitude.
Joy.
Excitement.
Seeing if you can locate a positive emotion here.
And ride the wave of feel good.
And you can even bring a soft smile to your face.
And as the emotion fades,
Just allow it to fade in equanimity.
We can call it back up by even coming back to our vision of seeing yourself in six months time,
Hearing the positive phrase.
And now putting the emotion in sequence.
And maybe that's joy,
Calm,
Gratitude.
Holding all three in your field.
See.
Good.
Hear good.
And feel good.
We'll give that a try.
Just for fun.
Allowing that to dissolve.
Riding the momentum of practice.
And thank you for your practice today as we finish up and come back into the room.
Perhaps sending this practice to those that we've practiced today.
Or maybe somebody who needs it the most in your life or out into the world.
And our practice doesn't end here.
We can continue to ride the momentum and take it out into our next task.
Enjoy.
