So this morning we'll do some meditation together,
Then we'll do a body scan,
Some breathing meditation,
And then we'll do the analytic meditation.
So let's cultivate our motivation for why we're here this morning,
Touching back into the three motivations that we try here at the Abbey to wake up with each morning.
As soon as we open our eyes before we've even gotten out of bed,
As much as I'm able today may I harm no living being with my body,
Speech,
And mind.
As much as I'm able,
May I be of benefit to myself and others with my body,
Speech,
And mind.
May all my actions throughout the day be guided by the altruistic intention to attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all living beings.
If the idea of Buddhahood is something unfamiliar or intangible,
We can just touch in with our wish to repay kindness.
Before we settle into some breathing meditation,
Some concentration meditation,
Let's check in with our body to make sure it's as relaxed and stable as possible.
So if you're in a chair,
It's helpful to not be sitting back on the backrest,
But to hold your spine up yourself if that's possible,
To keep it as straight as a stack of coins.
I find it helpful to imagine a little string pulling up the crown of my head,
Just tugging up slightly.
We have our feet firmly flat on the floor in front of us,
Our palms in our lap,
Left hand on the bottom,
Right hand on top,
Thumbs touching.
Let's do a body scan,
Working from either the bottom of the feet to the top of the head,
The top of the head downwards.
Bringing our attention,
Our awareness to each part of the body,
Seeing if we're holding any tension.
And sometimes it can be enough to just bring the awareness there,
To say relax,
And the tension goes away.
If not,
We can also breathe into that space and then surround it with acceptance.
Any pain or discomfort we have doesn't have to be an obstacle to our meditation.
Our bodies are very rarely entirely comfortable.
Take some time now to check in with the various parts of your body,
Inviting them to relax.
There we are.
.
Then we can bring our attention to our breath,
Either at the rise and the fall of the breath at the belly,
Or the in and out of the breath at the nostrils.
So pick one of those areas and stay with that.
We allow our breathing to be natural,
No need to force deep breathing or to control it.
Our body knows how to breathe.
And for the next 10 to 15 minutes,
We will make our breath our home.
And we know right from the start that again and again we'll be pulled away from this object of meditation by thoughts,
Feelings,
Worries,
Anxieties,
Planning.
And all we need to do is to recognize this and then very gently guide ourselves back to the breath.
Meaning that each time we do so,
Our mindfulness is getting stronger,
Our mind will settle,
Our concentration will go deeper,
And we'll have a much more powerful tool of the mind to investigate how things really exist.
Sometimes it can be helpful to count the breath.
It's a way to keep ourselves focused.
Breathing out,
One,
Breathing in,
One,
Breathing out,
Two,
Breathing in,
Two.
You can count like this up to 10.
Any time that we notice we're pulled away,
We can just begin again at one.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Nine,
Ten.
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Nine,
Ten.
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Nine,
Ten.
Six,
Seven,
Eight.
Nine,
Ten.
Nine,
Ten.
So without moving too much from the quiet space you've created in sight,
We'll now turn to the analytic meditation,
Looking at giving positive feedback and praise.
So often we're tuned into situations and people by first seeing what's wrong,
Whereas we can bring a lot of joy and benefit to ourselves and others,
Harmony and connection by training our mind to see what's going right,
To see the beauty contributions that people make.
So first investigate in your own experience how wonderful it is to receive genuine positive feedback or acknowledgement of the contribution that we've made.
Bring to mind a situation or two where someone acknowledged your efforts,
Your good qualities,
How you helped them,
And connect with how that landed for you.
Did it bring a sense of joy,
Sense of connection,
Harmony,
Encouragement to keep helping out in that way?
Excellent.
.
Perhaps you can see in your own experience that receiving another's positive feedback,
That some behavior or quality or contribution touches on our own wish to be of benefit and affirms that and encourages us to keep wanting to give,
To reach out,
To help where we can,
And also to have confidence in our own abilities and contribution.
So seeing the benefits of that in our own experience,
Then we'll explore how we can give that to others.
So bring to mind someone that you have a lot of contact with,
That is a loved one,
A close one,
Friend,
Family,
Or coworker,
And imagine how in various situations you could give positive feedback,
Praise,
Or encouragement,
Not just in the form of a good job,
But in a sense of really acknowledging how their actions made your life more wonderful.
Thank you for going out and getting the groceries today.
It really met my need for support,
Knowing that I was so busy and didn't have time for that.
Thank you for cleaning up after me,
Knowing I had to leave the house quickly,
Met my need to come home and find things nice and tidy,
A sense of ease,
Whatever it is.
Imagine giving that positive feedback,
Appreciation to the other person,
Connected with how it feels inside to give that.
Imagine the positive impact that it would have on the other person.
Thank you.
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