So starting this practice by finding a posture in which we can be comfortable,
We can be still Ideally with our back nice and straight,
Whether we are lying down or sitting Ideally the most important part is that we can find a posture in which we can be stationary,
We can be comfortable And then bringing our attention into the body first of all Connecting with that contact with the ground through our cushion,
Our chair,
The floor And letting the awareness rise up and fill the entire space of the body Immediately becoming aware of all the sensations from the very top of the head down to the soles of the feet And setting the body at ease Letting the muscles of the shoulders soften and relax Any areas of tightness or tension in the body,
Soften and relax those as best as you can In particular checking the muscles of the face,
Around the forehead,
Space between the eyebrows,
The muscles of the eyes See that we're not frowning,
Not tensing any muscles in the face Everything soft and relaxed And give your body permission to be still right now as long as you are comfortable Allowing the body to breathe naturally And especially with the out-breath just allowing the body to fully release that breath all the way to the end And with that out-breath allow the body to soften just that little bit more And your body and mind to relax just that little bit more And giving ourselves permission to set aside all hopes and fears,
Worries and concerns There's nothing that need bother us right now We can set everything aside And then bringing to mind your most meaningful motivation for this practice So that it may be of benefit to yourself,
Those around you And then we can begin this visualization practice Starting by thinking about and visualizing our own body in its natural normal form Not visualizing the body elsewhere in front of you or to the side of you But right where it is now Keeping our eyes closed and just visualizing our body,
Bringing it to mind And then visualize that in the center of your chest there is a pure white light It is transparent and formless,
Somewhat smaller than the size of a golf ball And so just spending a few moments concentrating on the presence of that pure white light at the center of your chest We don't need to worry if it doesn't appear very sharply,
Very vividly It is enough to feel that it is there And be sure not to visualize anything solid It is not a sphere,
It is pure white light,
It's transparent,
It's formless And you can contemplate that this light represents your goodness,
Your wisdom Your own highest potential,
Your buddha nature if you like And from your heart center,
Imagine now that this light begins to slowly expand Slowly spreading to fill the entire inside of your body And as it does,
Imagine that the contents of your body melts into light So your organs,
Bones,
Blood and so on They all melt into and become this pure formless white light Your skin for now remains,
The outline of your body remains You can imagine that inside your skin there is only an empty like space Which is illuminated by light And so just focusing on this image of a hollow body of pure radiant white light And if you notice that this visualization starts to fade away You become distracted,
Your mind wanders Then just very gently bring your mind back Relaxing first of all in the body,
Releasing whatever has distracted you Gently returning your attention back to this visualization The inside of your body being hollow,
This radiant white light And then you can imagine that your skin too now dissolves into this white light Completely clear and transparent And as best you can,
Concentrate on the experience of your body As a body of light,
Formless transparent And imagine that you have no physical feelings,
No sense of weight No sense of solidity,
No physical sensations at all Just a peaceful experience of an empty like space,
Illuminated by light And you can think that all problems,
All negativities,
All hindrances Have completely vanished,
Replaced only with your goodness,
Your wisdom Your buddha nature,
Feeling and experiencing a sense of serenity,
A sense of joy And if any thought or distraction should appear to your mind Let it also dissolve into this white light as best you can And try to stabilize your attention on this visualization And don't worry if your mind is quite busy,
Don't worry if you lose that image But when you do notice it,
Engage your analytical thinking again Regenerate that image,
Bring back the visualization Your entire body dissolved into this white light Your boundary,
Your skin dissolved into this white light All of the hindrances,
All negativity,
Gone Replaced with goodness,
Wisdom,
Joy,
Serenity And then you can begin to release this visualization Bring your attention back to your immediate surroundings As we bring our practice to a close
