Today's practice is all about seeing and getting a glimpse of the world building.
That's going on in the background in each moment of our lives.
So find your posture.
Let the body settle down.
And in today's practice,
Just keep attention wide open.
Receptive.
And just take a few minutes and enjoy noticing everything slow down.
Letting our expectations settle.
Just lose some steam and momentum.
Always remember to come back to the presence.
Over and over again.
And for this practice,
I invite you to be a fisher,
Not a hunter.
We're not here to seek out what we're looking for,
But just to catch it.
When and if it happens.
So cast your attention wide.
An infinite knot.
Open attention to include all physical sensations,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Emotions,
Worldviews,
Anything that we can notice at all.
Just allow all of it to be noticed.
If at any point you find this turning into a mental exercise where you're thinking about this,
Just invite you to bring your attention into your heart.
You're not going to be able to stop thinking.
But you're not going to also notice this world building with thinking.
Meditation without compassion.
Is simply an exercise in philosophical thinking.
Our practice here is to be connected.
So stay rooted in the body with the feeling of an open heart and compassion.
With the body continuing to settle.
I now invite you to notice every time that something surprises you.
Especially really subtle surprises.
Just notice that experience.
Perhaps you see something.
Hear something,
Smell.
Taste.
Perhaps a physical sensation arises.
Or the texture of your breath feels different than you expected it would.
Maybe you feel a certain way about something,
Or a memory pops up,
Or a thought appears.
Just notice how often that life itself is surprising.
Just a reminder that we're not hunting for this.
For fishing.
Just cast the net and notice whatever does or doesn't show up.
I find surprise to be a doorway into seeing our expectations.
When any surprise arises.
It can be an indication that we expected something.
So what did we expect?
Again,
Don't dwell on this.
Just see if you can immediately identify what the expectation was that was there in the first place.
If you're surprised that something feels good or went well.
That's the doorway into something that was expected.
Similarly,
Something surprises you because it's unpleasant.
Whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Just notice that.
If you notice things showing up and feeling like a confirmation,
That's also something to notice.
It might show up as,
Oh yeah,
That.
Or in a really subtle way,
The feeling that I knew that would happen.
All confirmation of our existing worldview.
And filters and biases.
Whether we were right or wrong is immaterial.
It's just the fact that we were expecting it at all.
A beginner's mind is surprised by everything.
It does not crystallize around anything.
So see if you can just allow yourself to be surprised by everything.
Nothing shows up the way that you thought it was going to.
Not really.
Try to adopt the view of beginner's mind.
The mind of an innocent child,
Just open to experience,
Open to being surprised and curious about everything.
It's not a curiosity that's trying to solve anything.
Just to keep learning.
Learn more.
Without needing to arrive anywhere.
It stays open instead of crystallizing.
As you notice surprise,
Meet it with compassion.
Some of these expectations may reveal aspects of us that we may not like to see.
If we discover we have a certain view or filter and it doesn't feel very good,
Then just let it go.
If it doesn't let go easily,
It may need to be investigated further,
But there's no judgment here.
Judging ourselves is just another view,
Just another layer of thinking we're adding onto it.
You're just trying your best.
Meet surprise with compassion.
See if you can notice how the filters can show up with or without a charge.
World building that we're doing moment to moment can just be.
You notice assumptions or expectations,
And if they're charged,
There's momentum.
This drive and energy towards doing something about this.
Allow this action potential to lose steam.
To cool its fire and not to grip us so tightly.
And we don't grip it so tightly.
So notice how compassion is actually the mechanism for that.
Continue to keep the mind wide and open.
Allow experience to just pass straight through.
You can be more of a surfer,
Surfing the waves of experience,
Not making anything of it.
Being in your life without getting completely swept away by it.
When a juicy thought pattern shows up and we notice it.
Perhaps we even notice that we're kind of getting into it.
Just allow that noticing to pull you back.
Open and spacious.
Big mind and big heart.
And for the last minute.
Begin very slowly transitioning out of practice,
Really maintaining it.
Let's see if you can notice any kind of surprise during this time as well.
Basically continue practicing as you end the practice.
Okay,
Practice is never about achieving some sort of thing here.
Formal practice,
At least as I see it,
Does have a way of inducing states and experiences that are unique.
And even then we still make nothing of it.
Ultimately,
We're here to practice for the rest of our lives and for everyone in them.
And to loosen our patterns so that we're kinder,
Better to everyone around us.
And ourselves.
So as you notice these formations,
This world building,
As it were,
Don't judge yourself for it.
It's just something interesting.
If you find something that isn't all that pleasant,
And you're like,
Oh,
This pattern sucks,
Just start loosening it.
Let it go.
And Enjoy the surprise.
And let's close today with one final breath,
Breathing in.
And out.
Thank you for joining me and thank you for your practice.
