Hello,
Dear ones.
Today I'm going to introduce you to my dear friend and teacher,
John P.
Milton,
And have John lead you into a delightful meditation on presence.
Before John starts,
I want to give him a proper introduction.
John P.
Milton is perhaps the most influential environmentalist and spiritual master you likely never heard of.
John recently celebrated his 80th birthday.
He came of age in his career when the field and mindset of conservationism was dramatically shifting to that of environmentalism,
A movement he helped to birth.
He worked alongside giants of the movement,
David Brower,
Russell Train,
Barry Commoner,
Emory and Hunter Lovins.
He organized and authored several seminal conferences and books that launched a movement.
He worked with heads of state the world over to save thousands of acres of wilderness and helped inform the landmark Environmental Protection Act and was among the first ever White House staff ecologists during the Nixon administration.
John's spiritual path intertwines and influences his environmental work and ultimately took expression in the creation of multi-faith practices and principles to help thousands of students across the globe.
I'm very fortunate to be one of those students.
Through his spiritual pull to learn more,
Facilitated by his global travel for the Conservation Foundation,
Which has since merged with the World Wildlife Fund,
John took a deep dive into the spiritual traditions and practices of Taoism,
Tibetan Buddhism,
Tantra,
Vedantic Hinduism and Shamanism.
His work and spiritual practice led him to sacred places in nature in Bhutan,
India,
China,
Mexico,
Europe and throughout the United States.
Along the way,
John studied extensively with spiritual masters and practitioners including Dilgokense Rinpoche,
Sogal Rinpoche,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Veradas.
And friends,
This is only the beginning of his resume,
But I think almost as soon as John's meditation on presence begins,
You're going to know that you're in the presence of a true master.
I'm excited to expose you and introduce you to John P.
Milton.
There's a very simple meditation practice that I'd like to share with you,
Which really involves connecting with trees and birds and stones and clouds in the sky,
But connects with them in a way that helps to bring out this pure presence.
Personally,
I've found it very,
Very helpful to work with water and with leaves in particular,
Because leaves are constantly in a state of movement.
Water is constantly flowing and moving.
And because water is flowing and moving and leaves are often shifting and changing,
There's a quality of nowness that's always there and present with them.
So they're ideal for meditating outdoors.
So if you can find a beautiful tree,
Or if you can find a stream or a pond where the surface of the water is constantly changing the way the ripples form,
Or perhaps the sound of the wind,
Just as it's blowing through this cliff right now and blowing through the rocks and through the trees around us.
Maybe it's the sound of something that you may wish to work with.
But the main thing is to meditate on presence with the movement of leaves,
The flow of water,
Maybe the rolling form of a cloud,
Or the sound of the wind as it passes through the limbs of a tree or over a cliff.
But find yourself a spot out in nature,
A beautiful place that inspires you,
A place that gives you a sense of harmony and peace and tranquility,
A place you love to go to.
Or if you can't go out into wild nature,
Maybe you can do this in a beautiful park or a garden even in your backyard,
But a place that inspires you.
And sit there and you can either do this in a standing meditation,
Which we've already discussed,
Or you can do it in a simple sitting meditation.
So sit or stand comfortably and with that wonderful being of nature in front of you,
Let your mind focus undistractedly on the way in which that being of nature moves.
If it's a stream,
For example,
Let your mind stay completely present with exactly the way the water is,
Moment to moment,
As it flows in its beautiful swirls,
Its ripples,
Its leaps,
Its jumps,
Its pools,
Its eddies.
Let your mind move precisely into the form of the stream,
Wherever your eye rests,
And stay with the precise form of that stream,
Moment to moment.
If your mind starts to wander off into things that have nothing to do with the stream,
Or even with how the stream just was,
Or what the stream might be like in a few more moments,
Just bring the mind very gently back to the actual way the stream is in the here and now.
And if it's not a stream,
But perhaps the way the leaves are moving in a tree,
I love to meditate with aspen leaves because they shimmer,
But if you're sitting with a tree,
Or perhaps a flower,
Sit with the movement of that plant.
Let your eyes rest exactly on the beauty of the plant,
The form of the plant as it is moment to moment,
As it's changing moment to moment.
Stay with the exact shape and pattern and play of light on the leaves,
The pattern and play of light on that flower.
Let your mind remain completely undistracted with the beauty of that form.
If any thoughts or emotions come up,
Let them come,
Let them arise,
And let them go.
Don't dwell on them.
Just let them come,
Let them go.
Bring the mind very gently back to the beauty of the flower,
The beauty of the way the leaves of the tree are moving gently in the wind.
Let your mind be completely at peace and in harmony and completely full with the absolute truth of the way in which that being of nature is,
Moment by moment,
Instant by instant.
Feel the joy of merging at a very,
Very deep level through this quality of pure presence.
And as you meditate in this way,
If any other things arise,
If there's the sound of a bird in the background,
You can hear a plane perhaps in the sky passing over.
So as these these other aspects of nature come and go,
Don't look on them as distractions.
If as you meditate,
For example,
On the movement of leaves or the movement of branches in the forest,
And there's suddenly the flash of a bird,
Honor the presence of that in the moment.
Honor the tremendous flow and opening of nature's dance.
Nature is full of constant change and interconnectedness,
Interdependence,
Intercommunion between all the beings of nature.
And you can delight in being part of that too,
As that goes on.
But just keep the major focus or the major emphasis on the movement of the leaves in the forest or the way the water is swirling down that stream or the way the flowers are swaying in the breeze in that field of wildflowers.
And allow all the other experiences of sight and sound and smell and taste with nature to arise,
Manifest,
And disappear as part of the background of that whole experience of being at one with nature.
And as you do this,
Again,
The main emphasis is on presence with that beautiful being of nature.
Going deeper and deeper and deeper into present-centered,
Moment-by-moment awareness.
Discovering at a deeper and deeper level the pure awareness of nowness.
Going deeper and deeper into the pureness of nowness that all beings of nature share with you.
Because all beings of nature have the same pure awareness at the very core of their being.
You share that.
They're totally present with the now,
Just as you are.
You go deeper and deeper into the appreciation of that pure presence of nowness.
And as you do this,
Delight in the feeling of harmony and tranquility,
Peace,
Serenity,
And natural communion that arise from this experience of pure presence.
Delight in the bliss and the happiness and the peace and the tranquility of being present with the experience of pure interconnectedness with all of nature,
With all of life,
Being part of the incredible web of life itself.
Be completely present with the realization that this pure awareness that underlies your form is the same pure awareness that underlies all the forms of life and the web of life with Gaia herself.
So this is a practice you can do anywhere,
Anytime.
It's of course best to do this out in nature,
But it's a practice which you can bring into your everyday life.
It's a wonderful thing to do whether you're with family or friends or at office or in the car.
You could always practice the simple presence of nowness with your senses in the context of whatever's going on in your life.
Present-centered awareness is simply being here now.
It's as simple as that.
And you can do this anywhere,
Anytime,
Any place,
Under any circumstances,
Under any conditions.
But it's best to cultivate this out in nature because nature supports you in present-centered awareness because it's the foundation of all of nature.
So when you go back into the city or you go back into the busyness of your life,
You'll find that that present-centered awareness can arise in situations that before might have been tense and anxious for you.
And now suddenly and magically you find that you're able to stay completely present and relaxed in situations that before might have made you very distracted and very contracted.
And that will be a great blessing.
That can transform your life.
