Practicing Amongst The Messy.

What brings us to our practice? It might be subtle but there's an agenda lying somewhere within and it can be helpful to name that. Perhaps we want to 'be a meditator' or we think that meditation might fix something that's troubling us. Meditation is about being present, remembering how to turn towards what is already here. Sometimes that arrives in momentary glimmers. The truth is that our essence is loving kindness, we don't need to work hard to get it, it's not out there it is already in here. As we sit in our practice we encounter the active parts of ourselves that block this truth - very often the judge, the critic, the protector take centre stage and their voices can be loud. This practice welcomes all of that messy reality into our experience with a gentle smile and a curious heart.

Transcript

So good morning and welcome, Welcome to your your practice space. Take a moment to feel into your surroundings, Into your seat. Allow yourself to settle. So you might choose to have eyes open and if you do then just looking downwards, Just sort of, I don't know, Half a metre ahead of you. Maybe even a meter ahead of you. With eyes soft. Or perhaps you prefer to practice with your eyes closed. And then feeling into the body if there's any movement that would be helpful. Can tend to fixate and become quite rigid. In our minds and in our bodies so it can be helpful to just remember that you have permission to move, You have permission to Wonder. Yeah, Permission. To be distracted. From your practice and come back. And before we began, I was lying in bed thinking our guided practice today. What am I going to do for the guided practice? And then I smiled to myself, Reflecting on. That old, Old pattern of what will my performance be. How will I present? This guided meditation. And it's not really. My intention to perform. Where it can kind of find its way into my lens very often. That might be something that resonates with you to the performance of your meditation. What you might tell yourself about how. It ought to be. What it means that you meditate, What that means about you. Other people might think, Say. If they know that you meditate. Not because we're judging ourselves at all, But because it's quite funny, Really. Something's driving us to be here. Has something in us, Some idea. That motivates us to get up and sit together. Perhaps that's quite interesting just to reflect on what that might be. What I know for sure is it doesn't require my performance. For you or I to meditate. It's just about presence. And maybe that's just a thing. That comes in glimmers occasionally. Perhaps watching your breath. Is helpful for being present. We share an intention this week for loving kindness. It's not something we need to go out and get. It's not something that we're seeking. Or working towards. Something we're coming back to It's already here. Perhaps we can pull back on the effort. Maybe we let our breath bring us into our heart. What is it like to try to feel your heart? Without trying too hard. Maybe a better expression is turning toward. What is it like to turn toward your heart? Roach. So being curious around how it is for you to turn toward your heart. Maybe it's quite difficult. Maybe staying present with the inquiries. Quite challenging. Or maybe it's effortless. And then noticing how you meet that. How you meet, Ah, It's effortless or it's difficult. That second layer. Of how you respond to what you find. Different parts of ourselves. Might be more active in our practice. The part that judges. Apart. That has all the rules. Part that thinks it's too hard and wants to give up. The part that thinks there's a hundred other things you could be doing. All parts of ourselves. Are welcome here. It doesn't have to be serenity. And bless. For it to have value. There's something more honest. About being present even if it's just for glimmers. And I know for myself, More often it's quite messy. 4. . . So our practice today was for loving kindness. Not as something we have to go out and get, But as something that's already here. Our essence. Who we actually are. Beneath the busy. We don't have to try so hard. We're already there. Offering the fruits of our practice to ourselves. To each other. And to all beings. Namaste.