Morning,
Afternoon,
Evening.
So.
.
.
I start off with a poem from.
.
.
Thomas Merton who's a.
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Christian mystic monk from last century.
So.
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Thomas Merton It's called courageous rest.
Some of us need to discover that we will not begin to live more fully.
Until we have the courage to do and see and taste and experience much less than usual.
There are times when in order to keep ourselves in existence at all,
We simply have to sit back for a while.
And do nothing.
And for a person who has let themselves be drawn completely out of themselves by activity,
Nothing is more difficult than to sit still and rest,
Doing nothing at all.
The very act of resting is the hardest,
Most courageous act a person can perform.
It's not really seen like that,
Is it?
Maybe some of us.
Hey,
You've gotta do it.
Maybe more than the average person,
Maybe,
I don't know.
Is to wish to make too many assumptions.
That's right here.
We're not trying to attain anything,
That's more doing.
It's just a subtler form of doing.
And trying to get anywhere in this subtle form of doing.
I'm not trying to have a nice experience.
It's another subtle form of doing.
Well,
I'll just get a bit,
I'll just,
You know.
Cultivate some calm.
It's another form,
Subtle form of doing.
Nothing wrong with calm.
And we may do it for the first few minutes just to settle and then we.
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We leave everything behind,
All efforting behind,
And we just watch,
We just smell,
We just taste,
We just feel.
You sit in that silence and experience.
And he says,
To experience,
To taste and experience much less than usual,
Not more,
It's less.
Okay.
So that poem was from Thomas Merton.
We missed it.
So by all means start off by cultivating a little calm if you wish.
The first few minutes.
Use the mantra,
Sharim.
Settle the nervous system.
Sharing,
Sharing.
Just sink with the breath.
If you're using the mantra,
Maybe you can just drop that.
Just experience the breath.
Not to get anywhere,
Just to be here.
Listen to the sounds.
Silence.
Mind will.
Invite you into its world.
Into its stories,
Just decline the invitations.
Just gently and kindly.
If you criticize yourself,
You've accepted another invitation.
Just drop those invitations.
And come back to what's really happening.
Which is very simple and direct.
What's going on right now.
If the mind is quite agitated,
Do pick up the mantra again for a few minutes.
Where is your attention?
Being,
Not doing.
Just drop the invitations.
We turn back to the body.
Just experience what's here.
Rest.
What's happening?
Okay,
That brings us to the end of the session.
A little stretch,
A little wiggle.
And hopefully take some of the stillness into the day with you.
