Hello and welcome.
In our meditation today,
We're going to explore equanimity.
Equanimity is the natural progression from love to compassion to joy to equanimity.
With love,
We learn to like ourselves and see the essential goodness in others.
With compassion,
We begin to feel empathy for our vulnerability,
Our capacity to be with the pain of others.
When we can befriend our experience,
In the present moment,
Joy arises and we celebrate and appreciate life's abundance.
With equanimity,
We feel at ease.
The mind is free of reactivity and judgment.
It is clear,
Open and responsive.
This enables us to settle down and work with others in harmony and goodwill.
Equanimity does not mean that one is indifferent,
Emotionally blank or otherwise unmoved by the suffering that surrounds us.
On the contrary,
Equanimity is mindful non-reactivity,
The capacity to respond to situations in a balanced,
Harmonious and wholesome manner,
Keeping one's composure in times of hardship.
Equanimity is definitely a work in progress.
So let's begin our practice of holding equanimity mindfulness and so take a few moments to get comfortable now.
And then as you orientate your body,
Turn your attention to the breathing.
Be aware of the gentle rise and fall of your breathing.
Bringing your attention away from the external everyday noises and sensations and bringing your attention to your mind,
To the thoughts,
Noticing is the mind busy,
Calm.
And then letting go of the attention of the mind and orientating to the body sensations and locating the comfortable sensation in the body,
Allowing for that comfortable feeling to spread and grow throughout your body.
Recognizing your feelings of love and compassion for yourself and for others.
And from this orientation of wellbeing for yourself and for others,
You might like to just allow for my suggestions to land in your heart space there now.
And as you hear the suggestions,
You can hear your own voice repeating these words.
May I bear witness to the things just as they are.
May I remain peaceful and let go.
May I offer care without hesitation,
Knowing I may be met with gratitude,
Anger or resistance.
Knowing I don't control the course of my life,
Suffering or death.
May I find the inner resources to genuinely contribute where needed.
May I see my limits with compassion just as I see the limits of others.
I care about the pain of others,
Yet I cannot control it.
I care for all beings,
But my way is not the only way.
All beings have their own journey as I have mine.
May I be free from preference and prejudice.
And as you reflect on how much things can be out of our control,
You can reflect that equanimity gives courage to face change and adversity.
So bringing your attention back again to your body,
Back again to the present moment.
And that practice of equanimity is a combination offered by Sharon Solsberg in her book Loving Kindness and also from Ruth King,
The founder of Mindful of Race Institute.
And we thank the educators of the rock meditation teachers and the Australian sister,
The Insight Meditation Institute.
Thank you for listening to this practice.
It's by from Simonette and I look forward to sharing some more meditations with you in the near future.
