A practice of tonglen,
Or giving and receiving.
In the spirit of the radical embrace,
I invite you to take a few moments before we start this practice.
Could just welcome any parts of yourself showing up right now.
And just notice them and allow them to be here as they are.
Maybe even inviting them to join us in this practice.
There's nothing that need be left out here.
So we'll begin by establishing a posture that works for your body.
Make sure that you have at least three points of contact in touch with the ground.
Where the weight of the body is fully supported,
Without straining any other parts,
Particularly your limbs,
Back,
Or neck.
Once settled in your meditation posture.
Take some time to simply relax into an open awareness within your heart mind.
Use any resources available to you that can support.
This easing into a sense of spaciousness,
Expansion,
Ease,
Peace,
Contentment,
Okayness.
Including the ground beneath you.
The space stretching in all directions all around you.
And any sensations that have the taste of freedom.
Once you feel in touch with awareness.
Really allow yourself.
To be held by it.
To merge with it.
Opening to its qualities like boundlessness.
Luminosity.
Clarity.
And deep sensitivity.
If you'd like,
You can imagine that you're sitting on the top of a mountain looking out at the sky.
Or sitting at the beach looking out at the limitless expanse of the sea.
Any memory or image that brings a sense of spaciousness.
And ease.
Can support us here.
If you like the image of the sea anemone,
You might imagine.
Yourself just like that.
Hanging out in a nutrient-rich tide pool.
With your whole body completely open and receptive.
The warmth all around you.
Within this open space of awareness,
The whole of your experience can simply arise and pass away ceaselessly.
Sounds,
Images.
Physical sensations in the body,
Smells and tastes.
And thoughts and emotions in the heart,
Mind.
Allow yourself to rest even further back.
In the awareness that holds it all.
The space from which all of experience comes and goes.
Allow this awareness to resource you.
Trust in the awareness.
Feel free to hang out for as long as you'd like in this open,
Expansive,
Warm awareness.
There's also an invitation when you feel ready to begin to connect with your own body.
Deep heart wish.
For liberation.
Your own longing to be free from suffering.
You might imagine this heart wish sitting within your own heart space,
Breathing into it.
Placing a hand there to connect with the heart and these intentions.
And then just noticing for yourself all the different ways that you have or are currently suffering.
You may have to recall them or you might be able to actually drop into.
A direct experience of suffering just now within yourself.
As soon as you are in touch with this suffering,
Your own suffering,
The invitation is to Imagine you're breathing it into the space of awareness,
The boundless awareness that can carry anything.
And as you breathe out,
Breathing out liberation,
Freedom,
Ease,
Release.
Breathing your own suffering into the boundless heart of awareness.
At your core.
Allowing it to dissolve in the light of that awareness.
And then breathing out the natural freedom that comes as a result of meeting our suffering with love.
With each breath,
Transforming just a little bit more suffering into freedom.
If it's hard for you to imagine doing this on the breath.
Or if that's uncomfortable.
You could just imagine you're absorbing the suffering into the body through the pores of the skin.
And then as you soften,
Releasing into liberation.
Nothing can stick within this open space of awareness.
Nothing can sustain itself for very long.
All is free to celebrate.
If at any point you start to get overwhelmed or confused or things go a bit big or fuzzy.
You can always come back to the ground,
Sensations here.
Coming and going.
The spaciousness all around you.
You could even open the eyes and do a bit of orienting,
Or you might shake the body just to bring in some energy.
Notice any pleasant sensations.
Allow yourself to be resourced by them.
And then when you're ready,
Opening again.
To awareness and to whatever suffering might be here just now.
Allowing it to self liberate in the clear light.
Of your attending.
Your curiosity,
Your love,
Your compassion.
Taking in the suffering.
Giving back freedom.
Release,
Relief.
Ease.
Liberation.
Taking a few breaths now just to return to a sense of being present and available to whatever's here.
Reconnecting with that open space of awareness.
At the very center of your being.
And when you feel ready.
Bringing to mind someone you know who is suffering.
Friend,
A neighbor,
A colleague.
Family member.
It doesn't really matter who you choose.
As long as you can connect with them as someone who suffers just like you.
What's it like to think about them?
And the ways that they suffer.
Beginning to let that into your awareness just a little bit more deeply.
Turning towards a little bit more fully.
And beginning to allow the truth of their suffering into the awareness at your heart.
Allowing it to self-liberate and dissolve,
And then giving back freedom,
Ease,
Release,
Liberation.
With each breath.
You might even imagine this person getting all of the things that they need.
Deeply wish for in life.
Or maybe you're hanging out with them in a place that you both enjoy.
Happy,
At ease.
If there's any part of you that feels like you need to get rid of all of their suffering in one go or rush this practice in any way.
Simply remember that we are not actually doing anything.
Or letting awareness do the work.
We can be patient with it.
Little bit,
Little bit at a time,
Breathing in the suffering.
Breathing out,
Release.
Continuing to resource yourself in any way that can support you to remain present and available to this practice.
So again,
Feel free to hang out with this person for as long as feels supportive,
Generative.
It's also an invitation when you're ready to gently let them go in your mind.
And then slowly begin to expand your awareness.
To include all beings everywhere,
Maybe starting with those nearest and dearest to you.
And then expanding out from there,
Breath by breath,
Taking in.
Of suffering.
That those we know and don't know go through a line.
Breathing it into this open space of awareness.
And then giving back,
Freedom,
Liberation,
Ease,
Release.
Peace,
Okayness,
Happiness,
All the good things.
All of those.
States that we all so desperately long for.
And sometimes.
Employ unskillful strategies to get.
So without bias,
Without picking and choosing.
We just invite all of that into our awareness.
The suffering of all beings everywhere.
A little bit at a time.
Allowing it to dissolve and self-liberate,
Giving back ease.
If imagining all beings is a bit too much for you today,
Just do as much as feels doable.
Maybe it's just.
.
.
You and your neighbors.
Noticing how it is within your own being.
To follow through on this intention to not turn away from the suffering of the world.
But rather to turn towards it.
To really let it in.
And to trust that when met with awareness and love.
The only possibility is liberation.
With each breath.
Taking in suffering,
Giving back ease.
And again,
You might find resources like the ground.
Space,
The breath.
Self-touch.
Or pleasant sensations somewhere in the body helpful to support you in this practice.
Support you to stay present and available.
To suffering and its liberation.
As we begin to come to the end of this practice,
There's an invitation to simply return to this open space of awareness within your being.
You might rest back a bit in the posture.
You could open the eyes if they've been closed.
Place the hands,
Palms up in the lap.
Soften anywhere that feels contracted,
Gripped,
Tight,
Numb.
Maybe take a few deeper breaths here and just allow yourself to really well in any.
Benefits of the practice.
I'll also dedicating these benefits to all beings everywhere.
May all beings benefit from this practice.
May all beings find peace and ease.
And ultimate freedom from suffering.
And may this practice benefit you as you go about the rest of your day.
