Today we are practicing giving space,
No forcing calm,
No pushing our thoughts away,
No trying to fix everything.
Just giving space to notice what is actually here.
Find a position that works for your body today.
Sitting,
Lying down or however you need to be.
You do not need to make the mind quiet.
You do not need to arrive as a better version of yourself.
Just arrive as you are.
And just become aware of your breath.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out relaxed.
And just while you're settling in and relaxing,
Remember that your body knows how to breathe and your body knows how to relax.
We're just allowing these things to happen.
Let's have a little Dharma talk I guess So in Zen practice there's a very ordinary kind of wisdom.
Not a wisdom that floats above life,
Not a wisdom that escapes the body.
A wisdom that sits still long enough to just see clearly.
A thought appears,
A feeling appears,
A pain appears,
A memory appears.
Even a worry appears.
And the habit is often to do something with it immediately.
Follow it.
Argue with it.
Fix it.
Explain it.
Turn it into some story.
Turn it into a problem.
But not everything that arises needs our immediate attention.
Sometimes a thought is just a thought.
You have thoughts,
But you're not those thoughts.
Sometimes a feeling is just a feeling.
You have feelings being not those feelings.
Sometimes the sensation in the body is simply asking to be noticed.
You have sensations.
But you're not those sensations.
And sometimes if we give it space we realise it is not the whole truth.
It is just something passing through that we don't need to do anything with.
And space matters because without space everything fails.
Every thought feels true.
Every feeling feels urgent.
Every body sensation feels like a command.
In this space.
We can begin to see.
This is a thought.
This is a story.
This is a fear.
This is a pain.
This is a memory.
This is the body asking for care and the list goes on.
If your mind is anything like me,
The list is literally endless.
This is just something that's arising in any given moment.
And seeing clearly is already the kind of piece we need.
So today we're not trying to get rid of anything.
We are practicing space.
Space in the head,
Space in the body,
Space around the feelings,
Space to be who we are.
Without needing to manage every part for ourselves.
That intro kind of needed to be there to set the ground of where we are.
So let's begin.
So as we bring our awareness back to our bodies,
Just breathing in calm,
Breathing out relax.
And you may notice the points of contact.
There may be a weight or a temperature.
The places that feel comfortable and the places that.
.
.
Feel a little more tense or sore may be restless or numb.
No need to solve any of the body right now.
Just notice the body as it is.
And now just imagine you're sitting inside of a shade.
A comfortable shed.
A quiet shed.
It is your space.
You are sitting there,
Maybe on a chair,
Maybe on a little bench.
Maybe you have a blanket with you.
The windows are closed and the door is closed.
There was not much room for anything to move.
You're surrounded by the things that keep you comfortable.
Nothing to worry about in this shit.
It's your shed.
Now imagine a saw appears in the shed.
Maybe a worry or a memory or a plan,
A judgment of yourself.
And notice what happens when the thought appears in a closed space.
Does it feel loud?
Does it feel close?
Does it feel like you need to deal with it?
No need to change it,
Just notice it.
Now imagine a feeling that appears in this shadow.
Whether it's a sadness or a frustration,
Maybe a fear or a tenderness.
Maybe something you cannot quite name.
And you may feel slightly uncomfortable with this.
And it's okay,
We're going to open up in a moment.
But does it feel like there's a pressure?
Does it feel like it fills the whole space?
Does it feel more like you?
And you're crammed in here.
Again,
No judgment,
The shed is not wrong,
It's just small.
As your shed.
And sometimes our mind feels like this,
Sometimes our bodies feel like this,
A closed space where every thought and feeling has to sit right inside of us,
Right beside us with nowhere to go.
Now gently imagining opening the door.
Let some light come in,
Maybe some air come in.
And imagine yourself stepping out of the shed.
Slowly and gently,
No rush.
And now you're outside,
Imagine you're in an open field.
Or an open space,
It could be a meadow.
The wide sky,
The fresh air.
Loads of space and room in every direction.
You can even stretch your arms out if you wanted to.
And there's a bench there that you can simply sit on if you choose to.
And now let the same thought arise if you remember it or another thought.
And this time just feel the difference between how it feels when it arises from all this space.
Do you notice the difference?
The thought is still there.
But there is sky around it,
There's air around it,
There's a distance,
There's a space that makes you feel like you don't have to immediately deal with it.
You may be able to see it more clearly.
There's a distance between you and the thought.
I'm here and I can see the thought.
I'm here and I can be aware of the thought.
And let it just go on like maybe a cloud.
No need to push it away,
It just has room to.
.
.
To disappear by itself.
And now imagine a feeling arising in this open space.
It's almost so much easier to deal with a feeling sat on a bench in an open field.
Than it is sat in there.
Tidy crammed shed.
The space for some wisdom to step in.
Space for us to be able to go,
Ah,
That's what I'm feeling.
Space to be able to wisely deal with it.
Is it a thought?
Is it a story?
Is there a feeling?
Is there a fear?
Almost likes if there's room for it.
Just like when we give a friend space.
We can see their feelings clearly.
Giving ourselves space,
We can see our feelings and thoughts.
A lot more clearly.
And just briefly imagine being back in that shed now.
With those same thoughts.
And that shed could mean a busy household.
Or a place at work where you don't really have much room to think.
And then imagine been in those places with more room,
More space.
And of course,
When we're talking about space,
We're talking about.
.
.
Time space as well.
That space after the thought.
I may become aware.
Sometimes we feel these thoughts and feelings fill up all of the space we have,
All of the feelings we have.
There's no room for wisdom,
There's no room for genuine thoughts.
There's no room for caring and loving and openness.
And I'm going to quietly offer these words and they may feel useful.
May there be space for you.
May there be space for me.
May we see clearly what is arising.
May we trust the wisdom that comes with space.
Now let the image gently fade,
No need to hold onto the shade or the fill.
They're just feelings.
Space does not mean distance from life.
Space means just enough room to see things clearly.
That gap at the end of the sentence.
That space between the next thought.
Enough room.
To know what the thought was.
What the story is.
What the feeling is.
So I'm going to count back from five.
So five,
Feeling your body,
What it is right now.
Four,
Noticing the room around you,
Three,
Taking a slightly deeper breath,
Two,
Moving your fingers and your hands and your toes and number one,
Just opening your eyes and if they were closed and thank you for sitting with me today.
Thank you for creating space in your life.
For wisdom to be there when you need it.
Take care and thank you.
