Morning Vows.
Whether you are sitting up or lying down,
Take a few moments to get out any last-minute movements.
Adjust yourself in such a way that you feel relaxed and stable.
As you prepare your body in this way,
Look for any areas of tension or tightness that may be bothering you.
And ask your body to release them.
Once you have found this relaxed and stable position for yourself,
Let go of movement.
Imagine that your body has become like a strong and stable mountain.
And for the rest of our time together,
Make an attempt not to move even if the urge presents itself.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Try not to change anything,
Just simply allow your mind to rest on the experience of breathing.
As you rest your awareness in this way on the natural rhythm of your in and out breath,
Relax your mind and allow the thoughts to settle.
You may be able to feel as though your brain is relaxing.
If this is not easy for you,
You can also bring your attention to the space right behind your forehead between your eyes.
Work to soften and release tension in this area of your face as much as possible.
Notice any gripping in your eyes and relax there as well,
Feeling as though your eyes sink away from the inner surface of the eyelids,
Moving deep into your skull.
Try not to breathe in an effortful way,
And instead,
As we move through the practice,
Leave your breath completely uninterrupted,
Interfering with it as little as possible.
As you allow it to do its natural job.
Bring your attention now to your entire physical body.
Whether you are stretched out,
Lying down,
Or you are more compact in a seated position,
Make an attempt to visualize yourself as fully as possible.
Keep this image of yourself in your mind as you contemplate the words that I am saying.
It is a miracle that you are alive.
In order for you to be born,
Many people before you had to also be born.
For thousands of years,
One after the other,
Someone else had to take a birth on this planet in order for your life to come into being.
Not just one string of people,
But two strings of people,
One after the other after the other,
Had to take birth over thousands of years so that eventually your mother and father would meet,
And from that meeting you would be born.
It is magical that you are alive.
Let yourself sink into that awareness.
It wasn't just that your mother and father had to meet,
And so all the births before them had to lead up to their births,
Which led up to yours.
But also,
The right conditions at the exact right moment had to be met so that you could come into being.
It is a magical miracle that you are alive,
And it was an effortful process for you to get here right now.
Take a moment to drop out of your thinking mind and celebrate in the experience of your magical and miraculous birth.
Keep this feeling of celebration in your mind as you now invite into your awareness anyone that you know personally or know of who has died.
Life is a precious miracle,
But as difficult as it is to be born,
In the blink of an eye,
Life ends.
There is nothing on this planet that is permanent.
Take a few moments now to keep in mind anyone that you know personally or know of who has died.
Recognize how quickly life can go and how precious life is.
Expand your awareness to imagine yourself at a very old age,
Preparing for your own death.
Now that you have arrived here,
What choices have you made in your life that have led you to feel as though you have lived well?
Acknowledge any and all decisions,
From the mundane,
Like what you choose to eat for breakfast on a daily basis,
To the seemingly profound,
Like whether or not you had children,
Where in the world you lived,
And what you did.
What you lived,
And so on.
Acknowledge for yourself now that every choice you make has a direct result,
And that direct result leads to that experience of feeling as though you lived well right before you die.
Keep this expanded awareness.
Keep this expanded awareness of the miracle of your birth,
Of the impermanent nature of your life,
Of the karmic relationship to the end of your life feeling from every choice that you make.
And now include the knowledge that no matter what decisions you do or don't make in this life,
Pain is an inevitability.
Acknowledge for yourself now that every choice you make has a direct result,
And that direct result leads to that experience of feeling as though you lived well right before you die.
By looking back at your own life choices,
Or even through the imagination of a life in which you only made the best possible decisions,
See the truth that no matter what,
People will die,
Possessions will be lost,
There is nothing you can take with you at the end.
Acknowledge for yourself now that every choice you make has a direct result,
And that direct result leads to that experience of feeling as though you lived well right before you die.
Prepare yourself for your most connected day by choosing to take these four vows.
Vow number one.
Never forget how precious this human life is.
If you have chosen to take this vow,
Place your hand over your heart now.
Repeat silently inside of your mind,
I vow to never forget how precious this human life is.
Release your hand back down.
Vow number two.
Never forget the impermanent nature of everything,
Including your precious life.
If you have chosen to take this vow,
Place your hand over your heart now.
Repeat silently inside of your mind,
I will never forget the impermanent nature of experience,
Including my precious human life.
Release your hand.
Vow number three.
Be aware that every choice you make has a reaction that leads directly to how you feel you lived on the day that you die.
If you choose to take this vow,
Place your hand over your heart now.
Repeat silently inside of your mind,
I will never forget that every choice I make directly leads to how well I feel I lived the day that I die.
Release your hand.
Vow number four.
Rest in the truth that no matter how good of a life you live,
Pain is inevitable.
Instead of avoiding it,
Choose to embrace it.
If you choose to take this vow,
Bring both of your hands together,
Placing your thumbs against your third eye.
Repeat silently inside of your mind,
Pain is inevitable,
I choose to embrace it.
Release your hands.
Take three deep clearing breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Commit the vows to your mind.
Commit the vows to your heart.
Rest inside this wisdom.
Take as much time as you need here.
When you feel ready,
Open your eyes and go about your day.
