Be aware of the sensation of breath,
How it affects first of all your whole body as you breathe in and breathe out.
The object here is on the sensations of the body as you breathe.
Be aware very clearly on the physical sensations.
And then we narrow that focus.
So bring your attention to your belly and just be aware of that as it rises and falls,
Expands,
Contracts as you inhale and exhale.
Are we Manager wielding one!
And if you wish,
You can narrow the focus even more by bringing your awareness simply to the movement of the breath through the nostrils and across the upper lip.
Your choice can stay with the belly rising and falling.
We'll focus more narrowly on the movement of air at the nostrils.
Whichever you choose,
Stick with one.
And here we're spending a little time training the mind in concentration,
Training our mind to be able to hold it on a virtuous object for as long as we wish.
And start here with the breath.
We'll do this in silence for a few minutes and the practice is simply this.
When your mind wanders,
As soon as you notice,
We gently,
Firmly bring it back to the sensations of breathing.
We'll focus more firmly on the movement of the breath through the nostrils and across the upper lip.
We'll focus more firmly on the movement of the breath through the nostrils and across the eyes.
And then as we transition from our concentration meditation to our analytic reflection,
Let's tune up our motivation a little bit.
Think about all the beings that are online together here in this room,
Representing just a handful of the living beings that exist.
You can think that every one of us is in an interconnected web of kindness is how we live.
The chair we're sitting on,
The room we're sitting in,
The microphone you hear me from,
The sound system in your own computer,
Everything that's connecting us in this moment came about through the efforts of other living beings.
An uncountable number of other living beings.
So as we continue with the session today,
Think about the kindness that we have received since the day of our birth,
Since our conception before that.
Think that the way to repay that kindness is to return it.
Return it by cultivating our own good qualities to their absolute maximum potential.
Why?
Because every living being is caught in this cycle of unsatisfactoriness.
We can spend,
You know,
Dedicate what we're doing here today to help relieve that by helping to cultivate our own good qualities.
So let's do that with a very good intention.
Thinking of all beings.
The analytic reflection today is on compassionate inspiration.
And so I'll reflect a little bit about what is inspiration?
Its root means to breathe in,
To inspire.
But inspiration uplifts our minds and helps us rise to realize our potential.
So think about what are some of the qualities of character that you admire or that inspire you?
And I'll give you some examples and then you go from there.
So it could be things like courage or unfailing kindness or warmth or compassion or ethical integrity.
So qualities like that.
What particularly inspires you?
Have as few or as many as come to mind.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And then think about who are some people that you know or know of who embody these qualities that you admire?
Who are the people that really inspire you?
And I'll give you some well-known possibilities.
You know His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
Mother Teresa,
Martin Luther King,
Dorothy Day,
Pope Francis,
John Lewis,
The Buddha.
So think who inspires you?
Again,
You can have as many or a few as come to mind.
Seems very Sarah point.
.
And then let's narrow the focus a little bit and just pick one for a moment.
Bring them to mind.
Think of their qualities.
Now if you're inspired by this person with his qualities,
It's just a sign that these qualities resonate with something in you.
So now turn your attention to yourself and try to see your own virtuous qualities mirrored and maybe magnified in this person that you've chosen.
You can really spend a few minutes on this to look at your own good qualities,
To see how that admiration kind of reflects back on you.
And then rejoice.
Rejoice in your own virtue and seeds of virtue.
.
And following the root of the word inspire,
To breathe in,
You can even imagine breathing in these qualities even more,
Each one,
One by one.
.
You might even notice that some of these qualities you admire you have pretty strong propensity for and some that you admire admire are pretty weak in your mind right now.
So what ideas do you have to cultivate these qualities in yourself?
To model yourself even on this person that you admire so much,
What ideas do you have to be able to grow these qualities that inspire you and that can continue to be an inspiration as you progress along the path.
.
And in conclusion,
Make a determination to let yourself be inspired.
.
Make use of that factor,
That capacity to be inspired,
To use whatever words or phrases or slogans or images or people.
Keep your own heart uplifted and your focus on your goals of cultivating your good qualities and progressing along the spiritual path.
All the way to full awakening.
And then move your attention to the.
.
.
Embodiment of those qualities,
Whether it's a ball of light or the image of the boot itself,
On the crown of your head,
Let it dissolve into you.
And then we'll dedicate the merit of having spent this time cultivating our minds and sharing that goodness that's been created with all beings around us,
Which means all beings.
.
.
