Namaste everyone.
Please take a comfortable sitting posture or any posture that's comfortable for you right now.
If you are sitting in a chair,
See if you can put both feet on the ground.
Sit as upright and dignified as possible with your shoulders relaxed and take a few moments to settle in and becoming aware of your body,
Sitting in your space.
Now in your own way,
Take a few moments to relax your body.
Perhaps feel the bustle softening and loosening,
Relaxing and releasing.
Just simply letting go.
Maybe take a few deep breaths and notice that as you breathe out,
There's a natural feeling of relaxing and releasing a little more with each breath.
Just simply letting go of all the tensions and worries of the day.
Allow yourself to go from the usual mode of doing to a mode of non-doing,
Of simply being,
Not trying to do anything,
Not trying to go anywhere.
Just simply being.
Let your breath become your anchor,
Bringing you in the here and now.
Embody a sense of compassion,
Patience,
Curiosity.
And notice the times when your mind wants to judge or is struggling with letting go of all the thoughts in your head.
And see if you can simply allow your experience to be just what it is.
Resume your normal breathing.
You're not breathing in any particular way.
And you're not trying to get anywhere or expecting this to get you somewhere.
Just trying to experience the breath as it is in this moment.
You may find your attention wandering,
Getting caught up in a smell,
A sound,
A thought,
A body sensation or an emotion.
See if you can simply become aware of these thoughts,
Emotions,
Sensations without becoming attached to them,
Without letting them engage you in any conversation with them.
And just gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Using your breath as an anchor for your wandering attention.
You may become aware of various body sensations,
An itch somewhere,
A pain somewhere.
And although it's not required to sit completely still during this meditation,
See if you can resist the urge to respond to these body sensations.
Accepting your thoughts,
Your emotions,
Your body sensations in this moment.
Accepting them for what they are and choosing not to respond to them in any way.
And just staying aware of your breath,
Your nostrils,
Your throat,
Maybe in your chest or your abdomen.
Or maybe feel the breath throughout your body.
This is a poem by Derek Wilcott called Love After Love.
The time will come when with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door,
In your own mirror,
And each will smile at the other's welcome and say,
Sit here,
Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was yourself.
Give wine,
Give bread,
Give back your heart to itself,
To the stranger who has loved you all your life,
Whom you ignored for another.
Who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
The photographs,
The desperate notes,
Peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit.
Feast on your life.
Now let's take a moment to acknowledge ourselves for having taken this time to be here.
To sit here and experience this moment.
And with gratitude in your heart.
Bring your awareness back to your breath.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Namaste.
