This is a practice I've developed called the I am not.
And what we're doing is we're going to do this as a call and response.
There's about eight or ten lines.
The first line is I am not my appearance.
So what we're doing is we're just identifying the different ways that we know the self and we affirm or reaffirm the self.
And we're seeing if we can unplug gently from a few of these.
We'll do the I am not practice and then we'll move into the breath awareness practice.
So start with some nice big belly breaths,
Filling your lungs,
Belly and diaphragm.
Then exhaling as much of the air as you can.
Letting yourself settle into your seat.
Getting right here.
Feel your contact with the floor.
Feel the support of the building you're in holding you right now.
And if you can sense it Mother Earth beneath.
Offering us nourishment and support in this moment.
If you wish you can put your right hand over your heart.
You don't need to but some people find that useful.
I'll say the line and you repeat it.
I am not my appearance.
I am not my body.
I am not my thoughts.
I am not my life history.
I am not my behavior.
I am not my emotions.
I am not my memories.
I am not anything.
So bring your awareness to the anapana region between the nostrils and the upper lip.
And we're just being with the breath.
Just like we're being together.
We just hang out with the breath.
We don't do anything.
Realize it in any way.
We just make contact and we rest on the breath.
Notice that your awareness has shifted or slipped off of the breath.
Gently and gently return it without judgment or self-criticism.
Practice for about 20 minutes.
I'll do some reminders and guidance during that 20 minutes.
You find yourself distracted with mental activity or thoughts.
Just relax and let the mental activity and thoughts be here.
You just don't need to participate in them.
Like clouds floating across the sky.
Just be with the breath.
Relax.
You you you you you you Just to simply be here You don't need to engage thoughts or other activities,
But we don't need to suppress or repress them either.
Just be with the breath.
Let the thoughts take care of themselves.
You you you you you you you If you find your awareness is wandered from the breath Gently return it If you're staying with the breath,
Try and relax into the breath a little more deeply,
Surrendering the control that's not needed.
You you you you you you you In these last few minutes before I ring the bell,
See if you can become a little more intimate with the breath,
Resting awareness on the breath,
Relaxing into the breath.
You you you you you you you you you
