Awareness As An Ally To Our Present Moment Experience.

Everything we need for our practice is already here in this moment. Attuning to sensation, to listening without the need for it to be a certain way, we can befriend our body in a way that has no agenda other than to be here and listen. This is so different to demanding that the body 'slow down' or 'open', which is another form of internal shouty dictatorship. Being an ally is so much kinder than that, and the fruits of coming alongside are those of compassion, wisdom, truth.

Transcript

Okay. So we're letting ourselves get separate. However that looks for you. Maybe hear the sounds of my dog getting settled alongside me? Little bit of shuffling around, Stretching. I'm getting settled into a comfortable seat. Or perhaps lying. Let's use the sounds of our surroundings. To help grand ourselves. So listening for. The sounds of the building. Perhaps the road outside. Perhaps the birds. Maybe the household is awakening. Using your sense of hearing, Just tune in. Towards hair. And then coming towards the sounds of your breathing Can you hear? How the in-breath sounds. And the sound of the out-breath. Maybe it's so quiet. That there is no sound. As you drop into listening to the body. Can you hear the sound of gurgles? Of your heart. Of the current of movement within the body. And as you drop into the stillness of your practice, What happens? What do you notice? Happening to your heart. The weight of your body. Your relationship to ground. Do you notice the rhythm of your breath? Perhaps starting at the sensation of the breath moving through your nostrils. Tuning in to your nose. If you're breathing through your nose. The intimate edge. Of receiving. And surrendering. The gateway between the outer and the inner worlds. Just one of the gateways. Every cell of our skin is a gateway. Or maybe just staying with the sensation of the nose. Allows us to be in contact. With the natural order of receiving. And giving away. Maybe you can feel. And notice the breath as it moves. Inwards and outwards through the throat. In an unhurried way. No need for a performance. And just awareness as a friendly ally. Coming alongside the breath. Maybe you can guide your awareness down toward your lungs. Curious around how it feels. To take in the breath. The lungs. And to release the breath. Through the lungs. Stay with the lambs. Listening. For where that takes you. What are the nature of the stories that come? When you're orienting your awareness to the lungs. The story is that we might call the distractions the wandering off, Maybe That's not a distraction. Maybe it's part of the practice. Where do you go to? When you focus your awareness on your lungs. Nestled snugly between the lungs. Is your heart. It rests upon the diaphragm. And he doesn't. Sit there as a separate organ it's connected by membranes. Detached. To the lungs as they breathe. Connected by. Blood flow. Movement of oxygen. And carbon dioxide. No part of you is in isolation. They move with each other. At us. As each hour. So if we drop our awareness into the heart. What do we notice here? Do you notice something different? In tone. Texture. Perhaps temperature. How is it to stay with the heart? Where do you go to? When you draw your awareness toward your heart. Do you feel given? Do you feel a longing? To let your awareness drop down. To move through the belly. To drop to the pelvis. And to stay here in the pelvic bowl. Noticing sensation. Allowing your breath to deepen and coming back to the wholeness of your body. Listening to the sounds of your surroundings. Orienting to your place. Your body. This moment. Offering the fruits of our practice always to ourselves. And to each other. And to all beings. Namaste Thank you so much for being here.