Loving Awareness: Sky Meditation

This meditation invites our intention to the present moment via the breath, body, sounds, sensations, and emotions - as if everything could be held with a sense of loving awareness as vast as the sky itself. Includes a visualization of the awareness expanding from the container of the body into the space around us - as far as you are comfortable exploring - into the infinite space of the sky. Inspired by Jack Kornfield, and my Insight Meditation studies with him and Tara Brach.

Transcript

Begin by bringing the attention to the breath, Inhaling and exhaling naturally out of the nose. Let the awareness float like a boat on the waves of the breath, Gliding along each inhale and exhale as they come and go. Allow the awareness to move with the breath into the parts of the body wherever you might feel movement of the inhale and exhale, For example the belly or the ribs or the chest. Letting your attention start to arrive into the moment and into the container of the body to begin. If it's helpful you can label the breath as inhale and exhale as they come and go, Allowing the breath to be like an anchor for your attention so that if and when it leaves, You can simply invite it back to the breath. If it's too challenging for you to anchor yourself to your breath, You can simply bring the attention back to the body in general or a specific area of the body. Just continuing to breathe naturally, Letting the awareness begin with the body itself. And scanning the body now, Whether from top to bottom or bottom to top, Whatever feels natural for you. You can begin with the head and move your way down or with the feet, Move your way up, Being as general or specific as you like. Just letting the attention float from one part of the body to the other easily, Letting the attention follow. If one part of the body feels tense or tight, You might allow the breath to move to this part of the body, Creating space with the inhale and exhale as though the whole body could breathe, As if the whole body were the lungs. If it's interesting or feels accessible for you today, You might even bring your awareness to the interworkings of the body like the organs, The muscles, The bones, As if they were all functioning easily without force with each breath, Without having to tell them what to do, Working their miracles. Letting your attention easily rest in the body with the breath, Whether it's a specific part of the body or the body as a whole, Just letting the attention move if it needs to and guiding it back to the container of the body if it moves elsewhere to the thoughts or the sounds. You can begin to notice the exterior of the body, The skin, Nails, The hair, Any sensations you might feel there, If there's a breeze or a sensation. Letting the breath breathe here too, Letting the awareness be with the whole body in this moment. And as the body moves with the breath or shifts to find its center line, Allow the attention now to expand outward to the sounds around you, Letting the sounds move in and out of the awareness just like the waves of the breath and the movements of the body naturally shifting in and out of the present moment, Changing in volume, Existing as it is, Not trying to change anything. With the sounds around you, You might also notice if any thoughts move in and out of the awareness, So the sounds might be external or internal. I'm letting the thoughts move just like the sounds, Sensations, And movements of the breath. It's helpful you can label the sounds as hearing or the thoughts as thinking to continue to anchor your attention, And always remembering that you can come back home to your breath. Inhale, Exhale. With the thoughts, There might also be emotions floating in and out of the awareness like the sounds, Like the breath, Naming them if it's helpful, Whether it's joy or anxiety, Being aware, Letting the awareness hold all of these sensations and sounds, Letting them move fluidly. Letting the awareness now expand outward a little bit further, Perhaps as though it could encompass your home, Your living space, Or wherever you are in this moment, Whether it's a few feet around you like a big circle, Or moving outward to your neighborhood. It's as though all of your own personal movements and sounds and sensations were like the movements all around you of others, Of other sounds, Of other thoughts and sensations existing, Whether in human beings around you or nature itself, The tiny movements that we might not even be able to see, Like the ants crawling in the grass or in the trees, The pollen floating around, Flower petals moving in the breeze, Letting your awareness settle on a wider, Vaster space, However far you'd like that to travel today in this moment, Whether it's a vision of where you are now or where you might like to be. Holding all of these sensations and shifts with a sense of gentleness, Kindness, Loving awareness, Just like you would hold a loved one or yourself in a time of need or compassion, Or just exactly as they are, Exactly as you are in this moment, Not judging, Not trying to make anything any different, Returning home to your breath whenever you need to, Inhale, Exhale, Or your body as an anchor, While still allowing the awareness to move as far as you'd like to go today, As though it could expand into the movement of the clouds above you, The earth beneath you, In all directions, Encompassing all of the shifts and the movements of the earth, Of its inhabitants, Of its energy, Its pulse, And perhaps it moves into a space as vast as the sky, Planets and galaxies, The stars, Letting everything move and shift and exist exactly as it is. And we know that we can't control things like the movement of the planets or nature itself. And so for these moments in this space of infinite loving awareness, We relinquish control of ourselves, Of our own thoughts, Sensations, The sounds we're hearing, Even the breath, And let everything move naturally, Just as it knows how to do. The body knows what to do. The earth knows what to do. The breath knows what to do. And allowing this loving awareness to hold yourself exactly as you are, Your thoughts, Your emotions, So that it might even expand beyond the container of your body. This awareness holding all bodies, All movements of each breath, All emotions of each human, Each animal, Nature itself. Allowing your awareness to expand as far as you'd like to today might not be this infinite sky. Perhaps it's just the space around you or even just yourself for now. But recognizing that we have the capacity to let the awareness expand outward, That the awareness might be able to hold yourself and all beings with love and kindness, Not to neglect the struggles or difficult things, People, Situations, Places. Just for these moments to hold everything as it is with a sense of love. So the love might come not only from within you, But that the entire awareness itself is love holding you, Holding all beings, Allowing everything to move fluidly. Just like the breath, Inhale, Exhale. For these last few moments you might even envision space itself as though the thoughts and sounds and emotions were like little shooting stars or comets or the movement of the planets themselves, Just moving throughout this vast open space. Easily, Gently, In loving awareness. Begin to gently draw the attention back in towards yourself slowly and easily as it works for you, Perhaps coming back from this image of space inward towards your own body without closing off this vastness, This open space of loving awareness that can hold all things, All beings, But just returning the attention back to your breath to the home of your physical body, Recognizing that you are always held, We are all always held in this open infinite space of love. Let your breath come easily and naturally in and out of the nose, Perhaps deepening the breath if that helps you to feel more anchored back into this moment. Bring the hands together. That feels comfortable for you to do so in recognition of your practice today, And thank yourselves for being willing to be here to show up exactly as you are. Namaste.