So let's make a start on our meditation together.
Before doing so,
We need to make sure our body is comfortable and to make sure our body is relaxed.
We sit in our most comfortable position,
A position by which we feel the most relaxed.
It could be on a chair,
It could be on a cushion on the floor,
Or any other way that you feel relaxed.
You can place your hands,
Palm up,
In your lap,
Or really in any other position that is comfortable for you.
Any way that is soothing to your body.
And when you're ready,
Softly and gently close your eyes.
We close our eyes just enough to stop our surroundings from being a visual distraction.
There's no need to close our eyes tightly.
We close our eyes just enough that our eyelashes touch lightly together.
So that we feel relaxed and calm.
If we close our eyes properly,
Every other part of our meditation will automatically fall into place.
Because meditation is about relaxing and getting comfortable in the way we like it.
And we'll notice that if we are fully relaxed,
Just by the way it feels to us subjectively,
No one else can know better than us.
So if we feel that we are comfortable,
Then we will know that we've got it exactly right.
But in the meantime,
We relax our forehead,
Allow the muscles of our face to become soft,
And relax our jaw.
Relax our shoulders,
Arms,
Our trunk,
Our abdomen,
And our legs.
We make sure that we are completely relaxed,
All the way from the top of our head down to the soles of our feet.
And it's worth taking the time to make sure we are properly relaxed.
There's no need to rush at all at this stage.
And having relaxed our body,
We can turn our attention to relaxing the mind.
For now we let go of any worries and thoughts of responsibilities,
Putting them to one side for the time being to allow us to relax,
To let our mind make its journey inward just for a while,
Just being relaxed and neutral and free of all worries.
And as we are relaxing,
As we are just practicing to rest our mind,
We take a few moments to check in with ourselves,
To see whether if we are fully relaxed,
Calm and content,
Or if our attention has become distracted,
Wandering to other things we have in our mind.
If there are any distractions,
Then we bring our mind back on track.
We check in with ourselves for any residual tension or drowsiness that might have crept into our meditation.
And if we have any other feelings,
Any other thoughts that are holding us back from being peaceful,
Calm and relaxed,
Holding us back from a feeling of purity within ourselves,
Then all we need to do is just let go of those obstacles,
Tensions,
Wandering thoughts or drowsiness.
And before long,
Our mind will softly and gently,
Almost automatically return to where it feels it likes,
To where it's balanced and relaxed,
Without us having to do anything special at all,
Simply by maintaining this feeling,
By being calm and relaxed.
Whatever happens,
We just let it be and let it go.
And our mind will start to feel the flow,
The flow of positive energy and purity that arises from within,
Eliminating any darkness,
Drawing back the curtain that obscures the subconscious mind.
And we'll be able to pull back the veil,
Like the moon breaking free of the clouds in the night sky,
To restore us to all-round inner vision.
To achieve this,
All we need to do is just to remain neutral and relaxed,
Allowing us to travel inward,
Further and deeper,
Becoming purer and clearer in our view of the world,
And attracting peace energy into our lives,
Gathering up abundance in the things that we need,
Simply by being still,
Still without doing anything and remaining at peace in every moment.
And at this point,
If you find that your mind is unable to settle,
You might try conjuring up the image of a bright crystal or sphere,
Wherever inside you you feel comfortable.
It doesn't need to be clear as long as you feel it right there,
It's okay.
For long we'll start to feel light in weight,
We'll start to feel the illumination on the inside,
And we'll start to notice that when we close our eyes,
It's no longer dark inside.
But whatever happens in our meditation,
There's no need to pay too much attention to the detail.
We simply relax and let go,
And allow this positive energy to keep flowing through us,
Cleansing our body and mind.
The sense of happiness inside us will gradually accumulate more and more,
With a sense of fulfilment,
A sense of flourishing,
A sense of being nourished with happiness,
A happiness of the sort that we would be happy to share,
Happiness that brushes off on those around us as well.
So we take this opportunity,
This time that we have together right now,
To relax,
To be free of worry,
To be with this inner feeling of comfort,
Of peace,
Within our mind to enjoy this flow of relaxation together for a few more moments in silence.
Sometimes living life can start to feel rather like a chore,
And an endless struggle to pursue and maintain a feeling of happiness.
We become reliant on a temporary rush of new experiences,
Each more extravagant than the last,
Whether it be food or drink,
Clothes,
Fast cars,
Relationships,
Work,
Or even a sense of peace and quiet in the countryside.
And what happens when the excitement wears off?
As soon as we become trapped and dependent on these external things for our happiness,
We can end up with a feeling of withdrawal,
When we can no longer access it.
By contrast,
Meditation brings with it an underlying sense of peace,
A feeling of fulfillment or unshakable contentment,
No matter what emotion might be in play at the time.
The breathing space meditation restores to our mind is not a quality dependent on superficial emotions.
It can be experienced just as clearly in periods of sadness or anger as it can in times of excitement and laughter.
Eventually it's being okay with whatever thoughts you're experiencing or emotions you're feeling.
That's why meditation feels good,
Often even from the first time we meditate.
A sense of contentment arising from meditation may not lead to raucous jovial laughter.
It leaves you with a sense of having touched upon that underlying sense of a place in life where you just know that everything is going to be okay.
And the consequence of this can be a life changing.
Time spent meditating can change the way a person feels about things triggering stress in our lives.
For example,
The absence of a loved one.
It may not make the situation less stressful,
But it changes the way you respond to those stresses.
Although you may experience a great sense of loss and sadness at times,
You can be able to treat it differently.
It's like engaging with a place beneath those thoughts and feelings where there is a sense of peace,
Of stillness and calm.
And having learned to access those deeper emotions through meditation,
You find it's an aptitude that can never be taken away from you again.
No matter what else happens to you in life,
You'll always have this place within yourself to return to.
It may seem obvious for us to exercise our bodies,
But we tend to overlook the well-being of the mind.
Sometimes it's because no one else can see our mind or because we think it's a lost cause.
Since our entire existence is experienced through the mind,
Since we depend on it for our sense of happiness and fulfilment in life,
And for positive relationships with others,
Taking a few minutes out of each day to meditate should be common sense for us.
If you're able to meditate regularly,
You would discover that the benefits of meditation are much broader than the qualities that arise directly from it.
The way the mind benefits from meditation is similar to the way a computer might benefit from defragmenting the hard drive,
In terms of consolidating and streamlining the information in the mind,
Reducing the flakiness and speeding up our access.
Meditation tends to have a positive impact in wherever in life it's most needed.
There's hardly any part of our lives that doesn't involve the use of our mind in some way.
Given the central role that the mind plays in our lives,
It's remarkable that more people have not cottoned on to the importance of regular meditation practice in life.
Really,
There's no need to focus on a particular area of your life where you'd like meditation to help,
At least not at first.
Sometimes knowing how meditation has helped others in specific ways,
Whether it's as an all-round stress buster or as an aspirin for the mind,
It can also help make us aware of its full potential.
Meditation isn't about becoming a different person,
A new person,
Or even a better person.
It's about training in awareness and understanding the how and why of what you think and feel,
And getting a healthy sense of perspective on the process.
You can manage to do that any changes you want to make in your life become that much more attainable.
More than that,
It shows that you're able to be okay with the way you are right now and how you feel.
The sort of self-awareness that meditation brings allows us to be more fully present in the moment and undistracted.
It implies resting the mind in a neutral state of awareness which is free of any bias or judgment.
The buzzword for all these qualities of mind as we apply them to our waking life is the term mindfulness.
And this quality of mindfulness contrasts with most of how we live our lives,
Which is to be constantly caught up with little and big thoughts and feelings,
And constantly being critical or judgmental about ourselves or others.
It's usually when we're caught up in all the little things that we start to make mistakes,
Mistakes that can affect our performance at work or in our relationships with others.
So successful meditation is a direct experience of the present moment.
In the same way that it's up to you to define the purpose of meditation,
It's also up to you to own the experience of meditation.
It's like you could never understand the taste of an exotic food by hearing about it secondhand from a friend.
You could never be able to appreciate the experience of skydiving by hearing someone else's description.
In the same way,
In order to get why meditation is special,
You need to practice it for yourself.
So we familiarize ourselves with methodology and subjective experience of meditation in the here and now for a few moments longer so that we can return to it again,
Finding a way to integrate it into our daily lives.
Now for a few more moments in silence.
So we take a few moments to re-engage with that positive energy and relaxation inside to reconfirm that we are still calm and contented,
Still feeling that flow,
That brightness within ourselves while remaining relaxed and contented.
We bring the mind to that warm,
Fuzzy feeling inside that we associate with good things in our lives that we are proud of.
We let those feelings coalesce into a bright,
Clear crystal sphere inside us while conjuring up a sense of thankfulness for all the opportunities that we have to do good things in our lives,
For all the sense of peace energy flowing through our lives.
We might also reflect on that sense of gratitude for the opportunity to reconnect with relaxation and the possibility of a haven of peace within our own bodies and within our minds,
A haven of contentedness within us that we can always rely upon.
We might cast our mind to things in our lives that we can be thankful for,
Whether it's merely being alive,
Still to be breathing,
Or a sense of gratitude for all the virtuous or altruistic people in our lives,
Those who support us,
Those who encourage us to be our best selves,
Encourage us to perform wholesome things in our lives,
And to open up to more positive aspects of our lives.
We engage with a feeling of gratitude for this feeling that we are experiencing right now,
A sense of inner peace that arises from being relaxed and content.
With this feeling,
Our whole state of mind will be gradually cleansed as time goes by,
Without us having to do or worry about anything at all.
So we rest the mind inwardly and be thankful,
Letting that positive energy flow onwards within our mind,
While making an affirmation for ourselves to always be happy,
Healthy,
Wealthy,
Successful,
Fulfilled in all of our good wishes,
Free from illness,
Danger,
Anything leading to untoward things in our lives,
While attracting wise,
Virtuous people,
Being inspired to remain on a path towards wisdom and illumination in our lives.
So we take a few moments to bring positive affirmations to mind for our own lives,
And through this peace energy,
We allow our mind to become ever brighter,
Clearer,
Purer as a result of our meditation,
And comfortably ensconced in these accumulated peace energies,
We share our loving kindness,
Share the peace energy with those that we love,
Our family,
Our friends,
Those toward whom we wish to express gratitude,
Possibly by picturing them at our center,
And sharing this feeling and positive energy with them.
Even if it's just a gentle intention,
It will be quite enough.
And our energy will flow outwards towards them all,
Sharing with them all the peace energy.
We can start by sharing that peace energy with those in the room with us,
Before expanding the feeling outwards to all the sentient beings in the building,
Wishing all those sentient beings be happy,
Healthy,
Wealthy,
Successful,
Fulfilled in their good wishes,
Free of infection,
Sadness,
Sorrow,
Danger or misfortune,
While being able to move in direction of happiness and fulfillment in life with ease.
Sharing our loving kindness,
Our peace energy further still,
Outwards to our community,
Society,
Country,
The entire world,
Wishing those sentient beings be happy,
Healthy,
Wealthy,
Successful,
Fulfilled in all their good wishes,
Free of infection,
Sadness,
Sorrow,
Danger or misfortune,
While moving towards the utmost of happiness and contentment in life.
May the world be free of pandemics and wars.
And as we continue to let that peace energy flow through all of us and outwards to brighten up the whole world,
Building a world of peace,
Sharing peace one person,
One sentient being at a time.
We share this energy even wider on the level of the galaxy,
Universe and cosmos,
Without borders,
Without limits,
Infinitely,
With the wish that all living beings,
Wherever they are to be found,
Be filled with peace and love.
Having shared our love,
Our peace with everyone and every being in this world,
We bring our attention,
Our awareness softly and gently back to ourselves,
To where we feel the most comfortable,
The most relaxed,
And for the last few moments of our practice,
We bathe ourselves,
We bathe our mind with this peace and happiness for a few more moments in silence.
Thank you.
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