We left off considering how we are often for or against ourselves.
Anger arises.
We're against anger.
Joy arises.
We're for joy.
Sadness arises.
And of course because we're for joy,
Then we're naturally against our sadness.
We're sad about the sadness.
We're angry at our anger.
We're confused at our confusion.
We're exhausted at our exhaustion.
In being against our anger,
More anger is invited.
In being sad at our sadness,
More sadness is invited.
And being confused at our confusion,
More confusion is invited.
And this makes itself known also in what we do.
What action we take at the onset of a feeling.
Loneliness makes itself known and we try to move away from it as quickly as possible.
Hunger makes itself known and we try to move away from it as quickly as possible.
Sadness makes itself known and we try to move away from it as quickly as possible.
We try to split away.
We try to split from what is making itself known.
And in this attempting to split away in our being against ourselves,
Against what is making itself known,
We divide ourselves.
We divide our energy.
And when energy is divided,
It is weakened.
In all distinctions that we create within ourselves,
In all our being for or against ourselves,
We're unable to be natural.
And nature is a deep unity.
Nature is a deep harmony.
A deep harmony that arises from a choiceless,
Not choosing,
A choiceless letting go.
And a comfortable seat.
Exhale all the air out.
Inhale a breath.
Inhale all the air out.
Inhale all the air out.
Make any final adjustments in your seat.
Settle in.
Settle down.
And in your seat,
Find the invitation to draw your attention inward.
Inhale all the air out.
Allowing the breath to be your guide.
Allowing the breath to be your charioteer.
The vehicle upon which your attention moves inward.
Allow for the body's natural breath.
And taking notice.
The rhythm,
The natural rhythm of the body's breath.
And how extraordinary that there is always a rhythm that is making itself known through our very bodies.
That we're recipients with every breath of our rhythm.
A beat.
How extraordinary.
If your attention has opened to the subtlety of the breath.
See what else is making itself known.
Against the backdrop of the breath.
Observing what seems most pronounced at the very surface,
The very tip of your attention.
At the very surface.
Our thoughts.
Being just the very tip.
At our most tip of experience.
Just observing the thoughts.
That are making themselves known at the surface of your experience.
The vast range of expression.
Configuring themselves into words.
Ideas,
Notions.
An endless configuring and reconfiguring.
An endless arranging and rearranging.
The amount of words,
Ideas that we carry about ourselves.
That we carry about the world.
See if your attention can become curious.
If your attention can plunge deeper.
Than what is making itself known at the surface of consciousness.
To observe and even more so experience.
The feelings.
Leaving rise.
To the thoughts at the surface of consciousness.
Notice even your reaction to that suggestion.
To turn towards.
The feelings giving rise.
To our thoughts.
And just how much our thoughts are a convenient distraction.
From what we're actually feeling.
Notice any attempt to turn away.
Prompted by an underlying bias.
A for or against.
Notion of what you should be feeling.
Notice how you might be trying to turn away.
Perhaps by fidgeting.
Perhaps by thinking.
Imagining.
Remembering.
Notice how you're trying to escape the rawness.
The sharp edges that is the realm of feeling.
Here allow your exhales to become a little bit deeper.
You may have noticed that the rhythm of your breath changed.
As you try to open into uncharted territory.
Allow the exhales to be a little bit more pronounced.
Where you're at.
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