Hi and welcome.
In our perceptions,
We often feel like one thought is filling up our minds completely,
As if our minds are small,
Finite containers.
But this is an illusion.
Our minds are vast,
Infinite,
Clear,
And spacious.
When we experience the vastness of our minds,
We begin to see our thoughts like clouds in the sky,
Moving through this vast,
Spacious awareness,
Not filling it up.
This gives us some space from attachments and the dissatisfaction of life.
This meditation will focus on the mind being like the sky.
In a comfortable spot,
Lying down or sitting in a lotus position,
Really feel the ground supporting you.
Now let's begin our meditation by setting our motivation.
I am going to do this meditation in order to attain enlightenment so that I can help bring all beings to that state as well.
Take a few breaths and check in with your mind and accept the frame your mind is in.
Let it force your mind to be in a mettive state or judge your feeling.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Focus your attention on the opening of your nostrils,
Where you can feel the subtle sensations of the breath as it enters and leaves the body.
If your mind wanders,
Bring it back to this place.
Don't try to control the breath,
Just breathe normally and gently.
As thoughts arise,
Have a neutral attitude towards them.
Don't worry about them or get excited about them or cling to them.
Unnote their existence and refocus your attention on your breath.
Let it force your mind to be in a mettive state or judge your feeling.
Let it force your mind to be in a mettive state or judge your feeling.
Now allow your mind to expand and encompass your entire sphere of consciousness.
Imagine you are looking toward the sky.
It is fast and the sun gently warms you.
Your mind is like the sky.
Imagine your thoughts like clouds.
You don't control them.
They peacefully come on to the horizon and they drift away.
As thoughts come up,
Think of them like clouds.
Tell a story about them or worry about them or judge them.
They are like the clouds.
They don't stay long or alter the natural stillness and spaciousness of the sky.
They are transitory.
You can notice them and then let them go.
Observe the sky and be happy,
Warm in the sun.
In this moment,
You are perfect,
Exactly how you are,
Filled with spacious clarity and awareness.
Thank you for sitting with me today.
Let's dedicate our meditation.
I dedicate this meditation to all those who are suffering,
Who are in pain or feel weak.
I will use the compassion and strength I have gained to better interact with the world and spread love and joy and reduce hate and fear.
Let's close with some prayers.
May all sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all sentient beings be inseparable from the happiness that is free from suffering.
May all sentient beings abide in equanimity,
Free from attachment and anger that holds some close and keeps others distant.
Due to the merits of these virtuous actions,
May I attain the state of a Buddha and lead all living beings without exception into that enlightened state.
May the supreme jewel,
Bodhichitta,
That has not arisen,
Arise and grow.
May that which has arisen never diminish,
But increase more and more.
Thank you for sitting with me today.
