To further address the question about the frequency of meditation,
There is also the possibility of using some meditative practices pretty regularly throughout your day,
Every day.
And these can be the short,
Simple things that speak to you,
Like being quiet for one minute or meditating for three minutes.
So it doesn't have to be a big deal.
There are these very simple nervous system resets that you can use.
You can also breathe into your belly.
You can presence yourself by noticing three things around you that you can see visually and naming them to yourself.
So I see a tree,
I see a window,
And I see a picture on a wall.
And just doing these simple practices can help create more awareness throughout your activities and a gentle sense of calm awakeness.
This is an ideal state to live in,
Although we all get amped up,
And that is also useful.
And we all get sleepy and kind of lethargic,
And that's also useful.
But more or less throughout the day,
It's nice to have a soft,
Gentle awareness that allows information in,
So you're receptive,
And also allows authentic movement out.
So your words,
Your speech,
Your actions are coming from the center of you,
Rather than based on an external locus of control.
I am stepping into silence with you,
And in a few minutes,
We'll see what words come.
Silence is a liminal space to simply be.
Notice your own presence.
Notice how bright you are,
Day and night.
Notice whatever you would like to notice and breathe in deeply.
Notice the transition between breaths.
Notice where one breath ends and another begins.
And notice if you count your new breath at the beginning,
At the top,
Or at the bottom,
At the inhale,
Or at the exhale,
Or however you define your breath.
What is the transition for you?
There's two parts to the breath.
Where do you count your new breath?
Notice the ease and transition with breath.
We don't even need to think about it,
And we naturally transition between breaths.
Follow your breath and become aware of how we are transitioning into a new year soon.
When do you count the new year?
Is it the calendar year or another event,
Another spiritual marker,
Another tradition that tells you when the new year begins?
When is your new year?
Continue breathing consciously.
And if you can,
Breathe through your nose,
In and out,
Nostril breathing,
In and out through your nose.
If you can't breathe through your nose for any reason,
That's okay.
Simply breathe consciously.
Notice breath is happening and lengthen your breath.
Slow it down.
As you sink deeper and deeper into your own nervous system,
Regulation and relaxation,
As your hands warm,
As your heart rate slows and matches your breath,
As your brain waves regulate and decrease in amplitude,
Decrease in frequency,
Creating an even,
Steady state of mind,
As your body relaxes and the skeletal muscles let go.
Notice what you would like in the new beginning of a new year.
What are you looking forward to?
What are you hopeful of or hopeful for?
What do you want in the new year?
Gratitude gives hope.
As you continue to relax and breathe slowly,
As your body grows heavy with letting go,
Notice what you're grateful for in this moment,
Allowing this moment to be brand new.
What are you grateful for now?
Allow your gratitude to bring hope.
Allow gratitude to bring flexibility and curiosity.
Stretch yourself a little to find a big gratitude or stretch yourself a little and find a really small gratitude.
Gratitude is a really fun place to play with our minds,
With our mental cognition,
With what our minds are good at.
And our minds are really good at being flexible and curious when we allow them to be,
When we invite that in.
And we remember that the stretching is good.
To think of another country,
To think of another person,
To think of the galaxies beyond our galaxy,
Or to think really small into the microcosms of the body or life here on earth,
Or the atomic particles.
We can use our minds well to stretch and grow flexibility.
Most importantly,
I welcome you to be.
Meditation is a beautiful space to be.
All the instruction can be let go of,
Especially if you choose to simply be and rest in the beingness.
Rest in your being.
It is here,
Day in and day out,
Through every change and transition.
That being that you are is the most precious,
The most sacred part of life.
Gently open your eyes and allow the shapes and colors of your space to enter your vision so that you receive sight.
