Preparing for meditation,
We find a comfortable seated position in which we are engaged,
Spine straight,
Chest is open,
The body supported,
Yet a position in which we can relax,
A comfortable posture,
Firm and stable,
Yet relaxed.
We close the eyes and as we cut the connection with the external world through the sense of sight,
We give ourselves the chance to reorient the energy of sight inwards,
Starting to look within,
Looking inwards,
Opening the eye of the heart when closing the eyes,
Sinking into a familiar dark space,
A space of me,
Of myself.
Starting to deepen our breath just a little bit,
Or to prolong the breath,
Just so that we can notice it flowing in and out of the body.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Another inhale,
Another exhale,
Breath after breath,
The continuous thread of the breath,
Which we can use as an anchor,
As a rope to hold onto,
Anchoring ourselves in presence,
Anchoring ourselves in the present moment.
Using simple breath awareness,
We might already become aware of the way we feel today,
Any sensations that might be present,
Any thoughts that might be present.
How is my mind today?
Is it distracted,
Or is it clear,
Free of thought,
Relaxed?
Am I centered,
Finding it easy to follow the breath,
Or am I presently all over the place,
Unable to stay with the simplicity of the breath?
Or did I even forget to be aware of the breath?
As we ask ourselves these questions with compassion,
With patience,
We acknowledge this initial state in meditation,
The stage of cultivating presence,
The stage of transition from the thinking mind,
From ordinary activity,
To a place of stillness,
Through the breath,
Approaching stillness,
Allowing the body to relax fully.
And together with the body,
The mind will gradually start to slow down and relax too.
Quiet body,
Quiet mind,
Centered being.
It is as if we recollect ourselves from all the places,
Ideas and thoughts that we have dispersed into.
Thoughts about past or future,
Thoughts about the to-do list,
About a moment in the week,
An unfinished business,
A decision that was not taken,
An anxiety about a future moment.
How many of these have I invested myself into?
And am I able to recollect myself so that I am fully here where I sit?
This is all that is required in meditation.
To arrive back right where you are.
And the simplest tools to use are the body awareness and the breath awareness.
Stillness of the body,
Still relaxed,
Yet stable,
Open,
A body charged with stillness.
And awareness of the breath,
Continuous thread,
Not going anywhere.
Not reaching a final point.
Not grasping,
Expecting,
Anticipating or wanting anything from it.
Just witnessing.
The belly rising and falling.
The air touching the nostrils on the way in and out.
And grounded in our present experience of body and breath.
We find our center in the middle of the chest.
The infinite space of the heart.
A vast,
Open space.
Unlimitless.
A space of pure potentiality and freedom.
That space that feels like home,
As when we return to it,
We return to the one we essentially are,
The most direct and intimate experience of myself.
Approaching that place with curiosity.
Having the breath to flow through the heart space.
Amplifying our connectedness with self.
And with all around us,
In a unified field of awareness.
Welcoming all in that space of me,
Of the pure I am.
And noticing how all flows through me.
Yet I remain untouched.
Noticing how thoughts may form,
Just like waves in the ocean.
They may travel,
Swirl,
And eventually crash and break on the shore.
We can observe that movement of thoughts,
Thought patterns,
Thought formations.
From a distance.
Remaining as the witness of this natural phenomenon.
Without identifying with the movement of waves.
Without claiming the waves.
Or feeling a sense of ownership.
Or identity related to the waves.
To just see them for what they are.
Created by natural forces.
With a beginning and an end.
Arising and falling.
A form of impermanence.
Where do they appear?
Where do thoughts arise?
And where do they disappear?
Questions that point to that vast open space of myself.
Questions that point back to awareness itself.
In which waves,
Thoughts manifest.
That they can change the immensity of the ocean.
The ocean is their true nature.
Your true nature.
Unmeasurable.
Limitless.
Just and free.
A notion of awareness that we can tap into.
When we dwell in the heart.
A notion that is the heart,
The heart of being.
And when we take a step back from following thoughts.
Blindly identifying with thoughts.
Or chasing an ideas of future or memories of the past.
We glimpse an infinite space.
With no beginning or end.
Just like the breath.
A space of presence.
And endless beauty.
The infinite self.
Abiding as the infinite ocean of the self.
Remaining in meditation.
And returning back to the ocean of the self through the breath.
Through the recognition of the impermanence of thoughts.
Being on the shores of the ocean.
And through the experience of deep longing and aspiration.
To know the depths of our being.
Right here.
And right now.
