To begin,
Find a comfortable position of choice and close your eyes.
Notice the quality and depth of your breathing.
Notice any sensations of comfort or discomfort in the body.
And with your next exhalation,
Imagine sending your breath to any places of tension or holding in the body.
Breathing in clean,
Healing light.
And breathing out tension.
Breathing in healing.
Breathing out tension.
Breathing in healing.
Breathing out tension.
Relaxing the small muscles of the face.
Relaxing the shoulders.
And now begin to deepen the breath.
And we're going to extend the breath to a count of five.
With a slow and measured breath,
Breathe in two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Pause.
Breathe out two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Pause.
Breathe in two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Pause.
Breathe out two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Pause.
Now,
Allow the breath to regulate at its natural pace for several cycles on your own time.
In our previous meditations,
We practiced tools for recognizing,
Accepting,
And investigating our compulsive habits by cultivating an attitude of non-judgmental awareness and loving kindness.
Today,
We will learn the last step of the RAIN acronym,
Known as non-identification.
There is a Buddhist notion that says our suffering is linked to two different functions of the mind,
Aversion and attachment.
Aversion is the turning away of the mind from the present moment.
In the first three steps of RAIN,
We have worked with aversion by learning to cultivate a relationship with our difficult emotions.
This practice allows us to process challenging events in our lives without becoming stuck in cycles of repression and numbing.
However,
It is also important that we do not become overly identified with or attached to our emotions.
Emotions are fluid and ever-changing by their own nature.
We can imagine this fluidity by comparing emotional states to tides in the ocean.
Depending on the weather,
The tides can be stronger or,
On a sunny day,
Placid and calm.
A recent study out of the University of California,
Berkeley,
Identified 27 distinct categories of human emotion.
These categories include admiration,
Adoration,
Aesthetic appreciation,
Amusement,
Anger,
Anxiety,
Awe,
Awkwardness,
Boredom,
Calmness,
Confusion,
Craving,
Disgust,
Empathetic pain,
Entrancement,
Excitement,
Fear,
Horror,
Interest,
Joy,
Nostalgia,
Relief,
Romance,
Sadness,
Satisfaction,
Sexual desire,
And surprise.
It is no wonder that we have become out of touch with our emotions.
With this expansive list,
Feeling can seem like a full-time job.
However,
With the practice of mindfulness,
We learn to welcome and hold space for,
And then release our emotions without becoming overly attached.
In order to move beyond our suffering,
We gently bring ourselves,
Time and time again,
Back to the present moment.
So now,
Bringing your attention back to the body,
Noticing the points of contact of the body with the floor or chair,
Feeling the entirety of your body,
Feet,
Legs,
Hips,
Abdomen,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Neck,
Head,
Face,
Notice the rise and fall of the breath.
And now,
Check back in with any areas of tension in the body.
Notice if there have been any changes in sensation since the beginning of the meditation.
And now we will practice our four-part exercise,
Recognition.
With your next in-breath,
Feel into a space of tension in the body.
And with the out-breath,
Name tension in your mind's eye.
Acceptance.
With your next in-breath,
Feel into the space of tension.
And with the out-breath,
Your affirmation.
Yes,
There is tension here.
Tension is welcome.
Investigation.
With the in-breath,
Feel into your tension.
And with the out-breath,
Exploring where this tension originates.
As you breathe,
Take the next 30 seconds to explore any memories,
Sensations,
Or events associated with this tension.
Non-identification.
With the in-breath,
Feel into the space of tension.
And with the out-breath,
Affirm in your mind's eye,
I am not my pain.
Now gently guide the attention back to the breath.
Once more,
Sweep the attention through the entire body,
Feet,
Legs,
Hips,
Abdomen,
Chest.
Shoulders.
Arms.
Hands.
Neck.
Head.
Face.
And now allow the breath to regulate,
Taking one minute to follow the breath,
Simply being with the present moment.
And when you are ready,
Gently guide the attention back to the sensation of the body against the floor or the chair.
Wiggle the fingers and the toes.
Stretch the arms and the legs.
And slowly open the eyes with a soft gaze.
And prepare to re-enter your day.
Bell.
