I invite you to find a comfortable position,
One which allows your body to fully relax and let go.
Allow your shoulders to drop and melt.
Allow your breathing to become fluid and easy.
Finding yourself that meditation isn't about trying to create a particular state,
But a relaxing,
A letting go,
A remembering of the peace that is already here.
Allow awareness to reveal to you now your natural,
Uncontrived state.
Allow yourself to fall into this peace which surpasses all understanding.
I invite you to hold out a single hand and notice how do you know your hand is here if you can't see it or move it.
What does the energy of your hand feel like?
Is it moving or still?
Does it tingle or vibrate?
Do you sense an aliveness or vibrancy?
Rest your attention on this alive field of energy in your hand.
Can you feel the joyful aliveness of being?
Can you visualize the luminous field of light which permeates every cell of your hand?
The Sanskrit term Sat-Chit-Ananda,
Being,
Consciousness,
Bliss,
Is really just this bliss of being that can be felt in our presence body.
Now if you can feel the energy in one hand,
You can surely feel it in the other.
Experiment now and see if you can feel this energy in both hands.
I now invite you to extend this energy into one of your feet and feel the aliveness there.
And if you can feel the aliveness in one foot,
You can surely feel it in the other.
Now try holding your attention in all four parts of your body simultaneously.
We will now expand this field of presence further into the rest of the body.
Begin by noticing that there is a stillness and a silence before you seek it or try to create it.
Notice also that the mind exists in this field of stillness.
The stillness and the busyness of mind co-exist simultaneously.
Simply acknowledge the stillness.
Let go of trying to alter your mind or change it.
After all,
If you go to battle with your mind,
You go to battle forever.
Any resistance to the mind only gives it more energy.
What does stillness in the body feel like?
For some it may be totally quiet or still,
Or there may be different feelings or emotions that boil up.
You may have different experiences of energy running throughout the body.
Whatever is happening,
Notice that it's occurring within the field of awareness.
Don't push it away or indulge it,
Simply allow it to be.
As you allow it to be,
You return to silence,
The primordial ground of being.
We're now going to experiment with sensing this field of presence in three different regions of our body,
The head,
Heart and belly.
I invite you to bring your attention to the sense of presence at the level of the physical head.
What is the quality of aliveness like here?
You may notice the spaciousness or vastness,
A pure infinite space.
You may notice that all the thoughts of the mind arise in this clear,
Bright space.
Something is happening in this vast field of awareness,
Every sound and every feeling.
It's a peculiar paradox that our mind,
Which can be so loud and noisy,
Is permeated by this field of vast,
Open and wordless space.
I invite you now to sink your attention down to the level of the heart.
What is the quality of awareness like at this level?
You may notice that the heart's experience of presence has a rich,
Warm and full quality.
There's an immediacy to the energy here,
Which feels tangible and intimate,
As though you've grabbed a precious warm flame and pulled it close to your chest.
There's a fullness here which wishes to flow,
A richness so full that it's almost bittersweet.
You may notice a more active or restful energy,
Or various feelings occurring.
Allow all of it to be without pushing it away.
I invite you now to move your awareness down to the belly and simply notice what awareness feels like here.
You may observe that the energy has a greater solidity and groundedness than the head or the heart.
There's a quieter,
Deeper stillness that feels sinking or heavy.
The belly grounds us in our being and compels us to stay there.
It feels like a cavern which holds the breath captive.
It cocoons presence and slows it down to molasses.
Simply be present with anything that arises here.
There's no need to change or think or push it away.
Simply allow the energy to slow down and rest.
Allow awareness to dance freely now and explore the different facets of it throughout the body.
It may wish to dive back into the belly,
Head or the heart,
Or simply rest in the presence body itself.
I invite you to rest now in your own bright and nourishing field of presence.
May you be well.
May you be at peace.
Namaste.
