Hello and welcome.
I just want to say off the top here that I'll just do a tiny little bit of teaching and then we'll do a guided practice together.
When I began Centering Prayer,
There's a practice called Centering Prayer,
About 30 years ago.
You're encouraged to find a sacred word.
And the word that came to me was the word nothing.
It kind of came out of the blue.
Often people might use the word love or Jesus or something else,
But I was just open and this was the word that surfaced for me.
So I went with it.
I had no idea what it meant or could mean at the time.
And I've been practicing Centering Prayer off and on ever since then.
And that word has taken on some incredible depth for me,
And it's been helpful.
It seemed like a strange word at the time,
Like I said,
But When thoughts arose,
I would return to it and it was a little bit like a magic eraser.
It would help me to.
.
.
Instantly let go and that led to a greater measure of ease and peace and That's my hope for you with this Meditation as well That practice and the use of that word nothing over really exposed one element of the ego and Over time I began to see how often I was trying to be someone someone wise,
Accomplished,
Understood,
Or even successful.
And today I'd like to explore what happens when we set that effort down.
Being nothing doesn't mean you don't matter.
It means you don't have to prove that you do.
Some people will say nothing to prove,
Nowhere to be,
Nothing to acquire.
So let's begin a little bit of a guided practice.
Find a position that lets you be comfortable and awake.
Start out by noticing where your body makes contact.
Maybe it's a chair if you're sitting,
Your feet on the ground.
If you're laying down,
It could be your entire back and the back of your legs.
Back of your head.
And just feel the support beneath you.
I want to invite you to take a few conscious breaths in through your nose and then exhale through your nose as well.
Inhale sort of to the top.
Of your inhalation and then let go to almost the bottom of your exhalation,
All the way out.
Let's do that now.
Now I just want to invite you to become aware of your thoughts.
And maybe just think over the last few minutes.
Or before you got onto this meditation,
Was there a thought or an urgency about something that you needed to do?
Or perhaps there's something that you wish you had said differently today.
Let the thoughts that arise just be here for the moment.
Is there any pressure to Attend to them right away.
And if there is what does that pressure feel like?
Allow it to be here.
Feel it.
Where is it present in your body?
Where does it show up?
What's it like to just wait and to let whatever that urgency happens to be to just be here?
And to just be.
Aware of it without.
.
.
Chewing on it or figuring it out.
Or making something happen.
What's that like?
If you want to try the word that arose for me when I started doing Centering Prayer,
You're welcome to,
No pressure.
Just say.
To your thoughts.
Nothing.
And when another thought arises.
Gently,
Very gently,
Almost imperceptibly,
Say to it,
Nothing.
You're not trying to create a result.
You're not trying to make the thought disappear.
You just.
Addressing it so that you can return to center.
Say the word,
Nothing.
Shifting into a little bit different exercise.
I invite you to imagine a suitcase beside the door.
And you're coming in.
Just before you come in through the door,
You're going to place the rolls that you carry,
Your work,
Your responsibility.
The ways people know you,
You're gonna place all those things in the suitcase before you come through the door.
So start to do that now.
You can even include the things that you're proud of and the things you wish you could change.
What do you wish you were known for?
Place that in the suitcase.
What are you known for?
Let's place that in there for a moment.
Maybe there's some shame or some things that you're notoriously known for,
Or some embarrassment.
Let's place that in the suitcase as well.
When you're ready.
Close the case and come into an empty room.
Where there's just plenty of space,
There's just you.
And the thoughts and the feelings and the perceptions that arise now,
But you've left all that.
Proving,
Etc.
,
Behind.
Just for the moment.
If you were a little nervous about putting those things in the case,
That's understandable.
But I've always found it's sort of a helpful exercise to do and to just tell my mind,
It's okay,
I can go back to it later and you will.
You'll open the case later,
But for now.
.
.
It's really helpful to set those things aside.
To leave them behind even if it's just for.
.
.
A few seconds.
What does it feel like to be in an empty but safe space?
Where you're not carrying the things that you Put in the case.
How does that feel?
You might notice that a part of you wants to make something happen in this meditation.
Maybe you want clarity or insight or peace.
Or an answer to a question or a frustration that you've held for years.
Can you just gently meet that with a little kindness and tenderness and without engaging it?
It's trying to help.
But that's a little bit beside the point.
The important thing is to just.
.
.
Be with it.
To be with that part of you that's just.
Wanting a result.
For a moment,
Just watch your thoughts come and go.
And maybe time it with your breath like a wave.
So a thought comes in and you breathe in.
And then allow it to leave and you breathe out.
Just do that on your own for the next.
Little while.
If there is some space,
Then just breathe like a wave.
Breathing in as the wave hits the shore.
Breathing out as it recedes back into the water.
I think the key self-inquiry question for this meditation is,
Who am I when I'm not trying to be anyone?
I invite you to just sit with that for a moment.
Ask yourself.
Who am I when I'm not trying to be anyone?
What arises for you,
Anything?
Make a note of the answer and maybe that's something you can contemplate.
In the time that remains in your day.
Or maybe once you're done this meditation.
Who am I?
When I'm not trying to be.
Anyone.
Okay,
Let's flush this all away.
Take a deep breath in.
And release.
If there's any remaining tension,
Just take a deep breath in.
And let it go.
Any effort.
Any remaining desire?
To make things happen,
Breathe it in.
And let it go.
If you're feeling struggle.
Breathe it in.
And let it go.
Your whole this moment is complete.
Now perhaps you feel some ease,
Perhaps you feel restless or unsure.
Just one remaining moment,
Allow it to be here in this moment.
Take one final breath in and then let it go.
Feel your body again,
Maybe jiggle a little bit.
Notice the sounds around you,
Notice the room.
Let your self be a part of what's happening,
Just as you are.
In a little while once you leave this meditation and leave Insight Timer.
You're going to return to the things that need your care and attention.
And maybe after doing this meditation,
It's my hope that you can return to them with a little bit more space and without the need to prove who you are.
You're not what you do.
For now,
There's nothing to achieve.
You're here.
And you can just be.
I hope you found that helpful.
Again,
Thanks for joining me and namaste.
