Please start to settle yourself into a comfortable seated position.
We will begin with the guesthouse,
A poem by Rumi.
This being human is a guesthouse.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy,
A depression,
A meanness.
Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all.
Even if there are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture.
Still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought,
The shame,
The malice.
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
This being human is a guesthouse.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy,
A depression,
A meanness.
Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all.
Even if there are a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture.
Still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought,
The shame,
The malice.
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Notice what came up as you heard those words.
Let those feelings and thoughts settle as you bring your attention back to the breath and back to the body.
Now bring your hands into prayer pose,
Palms together at the center of your chest.
While keeping the fingertips connected,
Open up the space between the palms.
Inside your hands imagine placing something that is challenging to you.
A thought or emotion or sensation.
Possibly something you want to have less of,
Something that you've been wanting to control or suppress.
Notice it,
Acknowledge it.
If you feel like it is a possibility for you right now to give that thing a little bit more space,
Then you can separate the fingertips,
Opening the palms to the sky.
Keep the wrists together.
Just keep making a little more room for that to be in your life.
What would it be like to give it some more space?
What would it be like to let it be there just as it is without trying to change anything?
What would it be like to let it be there just as it is without trying to change anything?
What would it be like to let it be there just as it is without trying to change anything?
What would it be like to let it be there just as it is without trying to change anything?
And if there is still more possibility for you to open to it or even welcome it,
Then you might open the arms apart any amount,
Giving it as much space as it needs.
Find softness wherever it is available.
Center of the palms,
Tops of the shoulders,
Throat,
Jaw,
Heart.
Notice what it's like to greet it with open arms.
Let it be there.
Then softly bring your hands back to the center of your chest.
Namaste.
