Hello,
Dear friends.
Today we are going to contemplate the question,
Who am I?
Contemplating this question deeply has many,
Many benefits.
Among them,
We start to become less dogmatic.
We gain deeper understanding.
Our minds become more flexible,
Less judgmental.
And we begin to open,
Open our minds and open our hearts to other perspectives.
And ultimately we can learn to let go and trust.
So let's begin.
Please assume a comfortable seated position with a relatively straight and yet relaxed posture.
Please take a few deep in and out breaths to allow yourself to connect naturally with the mind,
Body and spirit.
Breathing in deeply.
And breathing out.
Breathing in deeply.
And breathing out.
And now just take one more nice deep but relaxed in breath and out breath at your own pace.
And now just simply allow the breath to be as it is,
Natural.
If your natural breathing pattern right now is deep,
Great.
If it's shallow,
Great.
It really doesn't matter.
Let's just allow the breath to be as it is.
So I'm going to be silent for about a minute.
And please just breathe in and out during this minute.
And to keep your focus on the breath,
You might simply note in as you breathe in and out as you breathe out.
If you lose your awareness of the breath and become lost in thought,
As soon as your wisdom reminds you that you're lost,
Simply begin again.
So much of meditation is just simply beginning again,
Beginning anew,
Starting fresh.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Bringing your awareness back to the breath.
Breathing in,
Aware of the in breath.
Breathing out,
Aware of the out breath.
In,
Out.
Wonderful.
Now we're going to continue our journey inside.
And I'm asking you to contemplate a series of questions.
I will ask the question and then remain silent for maybe 30 seconds or so.
During this time,
Just simply notice whatever arises in consciousness,
While also maintaining some awareness of the in and out breath.
Just simply observe what arises.
There's no need to overthink this,
Judge yourself as you hear the question,
As you hear my voice.
Maybe thoughts arise,
Maybe images,
Maybe memories.
Really,
Whatever arises is fine.
In this contemplation,
Anything and everything,
Sensations,
Feelings,
Thoughts,
Any perceptions are completely acceptable.
We're learning how to contemplate and to turn our focus inward.
There's simply no way to mess this up.
Remember,
The essential attitudes,
Gentleness,
Patience,
A sense of humor and curiosity.
Those are the attitudes we want to maintain to the degree that we can.
Reminding you of your in breath,
Reminding you of your out breath.
In,
Out.
Now please ask yourself,
Who am I?
Where exactly is myself?
Where exactly is myself?
Am I my body?
Am I my thoughts?
Am I my thoughts?
Am I my feelings?
Am I my feelings?
Am I what I perceive?
Am I what I perceive?
Well done.
I imagine each of you had a different experience with this exercise.
And I imagine just an amazing amount of ideas or thoughts or feelings or judgments or whatever arose.
But I want to personally congratulate you on beginning this level of inquiry.
For millennia,
Sages and philosophers have encouraged this question.
For the very reasons I shared with you in the beginning.
And for me,
Most importantly.
Is that this type of contemplation can truly lead to an opening of the mind and an opening of the heart and always in the service of others.
So let's finish by relaxing into a few simple truths.
You can hear my voice.
You can hear my voice outside of you.
You can hear my voice inside of you.
You are alive.
You exist.
You are aware.
And right now,
Right now,
At this precise instant,
You are okay.
And it's always right now.
Thank you.
