So let us start by finding a comfortable seated position.
Maybe you could find a chair so you don't have to bend your knees.
Maybe you could put a mat under your butt to give it a little height.
Sometimes that puts less pressure on your knees.
Just see if you could find a position of stillness where you could move as little as possible over the next 10 to 15 minutes.
Take the time to make some little adjustments here and there.
Notice if your ankles are sore,
Your neck is sore.
See if you can modify your position just to be a little bit more comfortable.
And if at a later point in the meditation you have to move a little bit,
Let yourself move a little bit.
See if you could stay calm,
Present,
And as still as possible.
Acquaint yourself with the present moment.
Notice your inhale.
Notice your exhale.
Notice any sounds in the distance,
Any smells.
Notice any sensations on your skin.
Notice any thought patterns that keep coming in.
See if you could allow everything that's happening inside your mind,
Inside your body,
And outside your body to just be exactly as it is.
Simply sit in the space of allowance.
Say yes to this moment exactly as it is.
And now as you breathe,
Visualize a flame.
It could be a little flame located in your forehead area.
It could be a larger flame covering the entire building you're in,
The entire space you're in.
See if you can just keep your focus on a flame.
This is the flame that's burning for 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
Through all your ups,
Through all your downs,
Through all your confusion,
And through all your clarity,
Through all your intimacy,
And through all your dysfunction.
There's always a flame burning inside of you.
So simply continue to focus and concentrate on this flame.
And if you leave for a second,
A thought pops up,
Or you feel tension in a certain part of your body,
Say yes to that as well.
And then calmly and gently refocus your attention on the flame.
Imagine the flame is a vivid suspense thriller,
And if you miss even a second,
You're going to miss the plot twist.
See if you can notice things about it.
What does the flame feel like?
What does the flame look like?
What does it sound like?
What does it smell like?
Where is the flame?
Now imagine that your breath itself is the fuel for the flame.
Your inhale and your exhale are what keep it burning.
The deeper the breath,
The more oxygen the flame gets,
The brighter it burns.
The deeper the exhale,
The more pervasive the flame becomes.
If you feel yourself sleepy,
Let yourself be sleepy.
Gently and calmly refocus your attention back to the flame.
Now as you're watching the flame,
Focusing on the flame,
Investigating the flame,
Expand your awareness of the flame to you as a witnessing presence watching the flame.
Almost as if you're in the woods by a campfire,
Just sitting watching the campfire.
With your breath as the fuel.
Inhaling,
Making the flame brighter.
Exhaling,
Feeling the flame deeper within your body.
Now imagine that there's someone who you feel so warmly about,
Someone who you feel very connected to,
Somebody who makes you feel more you.
Imagine they come and sit next to you by the flame,
And together you two simply observe the flame,
Feel the flame,
And investigate the flame as one collective unit.
Now imagine someone you don't know.
Now imagine someone you don't know as well.
Maybe the cashier at the grocery store,
Maybe your barista at the coffee shop,
Maybe your friend's cousin who you just met at dinner.
Imagine they come and sit next to the two of you by the fire.
And they too are breathing alongside you and your close somebody.
And they too feel the presence of the flame.
And they too feel its presence.
They investigate it with curiosity.
And they too fuel the fire with their breath.
And as more people join the fire,
The brighter and stronger it becomes.
More clearly you can feel the flame permeate through your skin.
Now this may be a bit more challenging,
But now imagine somebody who you feel is wrong to you.
Somebody who makes your heart feel tense when you imagine them.
Somebody who you feel like has manipulated you.
Or deeply challenged your sense of who you are.
And imagine that they too come sit next to the fire to join the three of you.
If your heart tenses up,
See if you can say yes to that.
If your back tenses up,
Say yes to that.
If it feels entirely fine and nothing comes up,
Say yes to that too.
And simply notice as the group grows from the three of you to the four of you,
Feeling the presence of the flame.
Investigating all of its characteristics.
And breathing to make it stronger,
More pervasive,
And more potent.
And continue to simply focus all of your attention on the flame that the four of you are generating and strengthening with every breath.
And then you notice that to join the four of you,
The entire group of people within this building join you as well.
Could be fifty people,
Could be a hundred people,
Could be a thousand people.
They all calmly and quietly come into a seated position.
Sitting around the flame,
Feeling the flame's presence,
Investigating all there is to investigate,
And adding to the generation of the strength and potency of the flame.
If you feel any tension arise in any part of your body,
Say yes.
If nothing changes,
Say yes to that as well.
And simply breathe with the large group that you have become.
Breathe to experience and breathe to strengthen your individual and your collective experience.
And then you notice,
Not by opening your eyes,
Not by being touched,
But simply by feeling that the group is getting larger.
Now there's a continuous flow of people joining in the circle around the flame.
If you're in a state,
Imagine it's everybody from the state.
If you're in a country,
Imagine it's everybody in the entire country.
If you're in the world,
Imagine it's everybody from the world.
Slowly trickling in,
In a circle,
Coming to a seated position,
Feeling the presence of the flame,
Investigating the flame,
And strengthening the flame with every breath.
Any sounds you hear around you,
Any sensations you feel in your skin,
Imagine that they're all the result of the flame,
And they're all okay,
Exactly as they are.
They're simply strengthening your individual as well as the collective experience of the entire group.
Together you breathe,
Together you remove your judgment,
And together you experience the potency and the beauty of the flame.
Simply notice what's happening in your body as you visualize sitting around the fire with the rest of the world.
Anything out of the ordinary,
Any tension that comes up,
Especially in your chest,
In your back,
In your neck,
Maybe in your knees,
See if you could say yes,
Just like the sounds happening outside of you.
Those are meant to strengthen your individual and collective experience,
With everybody else joining in,
Observing,
And feeling the presence of the flame.
Now as you're experiencing the flame as strong and as beautiful and as bright as ever,
Slowly people start standing up to go back to their lives all over the world.
People from China get up and they go back into the woods.
The people from Brazil get up and go back into the woods.
The people from Australia get up and go back into the woods.
From Zimbabwe,
Saudi Arabia,
Israel,
Germany,
Poland and Russia get up and go back into the woods.
People from indigenous communities,
People 80 years and above,
Newborns,
People in wheelchairs and people with canes,
People in couples and people alone slowly get up and go back into the woods.
Before you know it,
The person who you feel has wronged you or who has hurt you or who has manipulated you stands up and goes back into the woods.
Soon thereafter,
The person you barely knew,
Coffee shop barista or your friend's cousin,
Gets up and goes back into the woods.
And next,
The closest person,
Somebody you feel so warmed by and has been by your side through so much,
Calmly and patiently stands up and goes back into the woods.
And you sit feeling the presence of the flame,
Continuing to investigate it with the most innate curiosity,
Continuing to feel its presence and strengthen it with each and every breath.
And we're going to sit feeling the power of the flame for five more breaths.
You can count on your own,
In the length of your own breath.
At the end of the five breaths,
You're going to calmly and patiently stand up and go back into the woods to open your eyes.
.
