Good,
So let us get into a mindfulness practice,
That's why we're here today,
Choosing your comfortable seat.
Your comfortable seat today could be on a chair or on a cushion and just sitting comfortably making sure that your back is reasonably straight,
That your hands are on your knees or in your lap and you can just drop your chin down slightly and if you like you can close your eyes or you can leave them open,
That doesn't really matter.
Closing your eyes just helps us to go a little bit more inward I guess,
But sometimes you might feel sleepy and feel tired so then leave your eyes open.
So thank yourself for being here today,
For logging on.
You've taken a gigantic leap in looking after yourself and exploring ideas of mindfulness and mental training,
Helping us to come to a place of calm and vision.
How are we going to move into the brave new world?
We need a very stable mind,
One of equanimity.
So really you're doing yourself a great offering today,
Let us take three deep breaths,
Breathing in through the nose and out through the nose,
Gently breathing in,
Inhaling and release out the nose,
Release what doesn't serve you today.
Once again breathing in through the nose and release again,
Let go of any anxieties,
Obstacles or issues,
Just let go.
Last breath,
Big breath in through the nostrils and now slowly releasing out the mouth,
Make a sigh.
Now coming to a normal and smooth breath,
The way that we breathe now and throughout the day sends a signal to our brain that we are calm and that we are resting and digesting and healing.
Observe what is here now,
Not what is next or what was,
Not now now or just now but now,
Right now in this moment,
This moment you are sitting here,
Observe how your body is feeling today and observe your breath in your body,
Just rest your mind.
We get so overwhelmed when we have so many things to think about,
Now just do one thing.
Release the thoughts and take a convicted sentence already in the body,
You will then Such may possible attack.
So we are cultivating presence of mind by paying attention in a particular way on purpose in the present moment.
This helps us to develop HD resolution of mind,
Clarity of mind.
When the dust settles,
We can see clearly.
And what do we see?
We see our mind and thoughts arising and that's normal.
In the same way that your body digests food,
Your mind or your brain has these thoughts and there's no need to stop them.
Often we use the breath or mindfulness support to come back from what these thoughts are.
But today we're just going to look at whatever arises in our mental continuum.
There may be distractions for sound or sensations in the body,
But we look at these thoughts today and if you have no thoughts,
Just resting on your breath.
We have this analogy of your mind being like a garden,
Like a little garden,
Which is the second part of the definition of non-judgment,
Non-reactivity and open-heartedness.
Whatever arises now,
Is it something that maybe we planted before as a seed that is now growing in our mind.
And this could be either a beautiful flower or lavender or azaleas or whatever it is that you've planted or maybe they're weeds and thistles and black jacks.
Feelings of being overwhelmed,
Feelings of stress,
Feelings of thoughts of panic.
We know that these are things that we can change.
We can get into the garden of the mind,
We can weed,
We can pull that out.
Through mindfulness we can plant new seeds of non-judgment,
Non-reactivity and open-heartedness,
But it takes presence of mind.
So with non-judgment for ourselves,
Resting on your breath and just watching this garden of your mind and whatever is ripening in this moment.
And our reaction plants new seeds for the next moment.
We have the ability to guide our mental health and train daily in mental fitness so that when the winds of change blow that we remain strong like a big tree in the garden.
The big tree loves the wind because its roots just get stronger,
It challenges the tree and the roots get stronger.
So we create a good foundation daily through daily practice,
Cultivating our beautiful garden and when our garden is prepared we have such wonderful visitors that can enjoy it with us.
Wonderful thoughts,
Wonderful words and wonderful actions.
Let us end the practice now just by dropping the chin and taking in one beautiful deep breath filling your lungs,
Breathing through the nose and slowly release out the mouth.
Taking a moment just to observe how you feel compared to when you logged on.
And if this is a feeling you would like to cultivate then come back to it every day.
Know that you have the right tools when you go into the garden to prepare the soil,
To nurture the soil and to plant the right things that can only ripen as beautiful experiences for you.
Lifting your chin and slowly opening your eyes.
Great.
