So we can start by gently adopting the posture that we need so that our heart and mind can really relax along with our body and pick up on feelings of inner ease,
Peace and softness.
And when you're ready,
Close your eyes and just start to release tension from all those habitual places where tension builds up in your body.
Initially in every meditation,
We need to structure our practice,
Perhaps just for the first 10 minutes or so,
To make a clean break from our usual preoccupations while setting the mood for the meditation ahead.
So in this regard,
You can start by slowly taking a deep breath in before exhaling,
Just to feel the soft touch of your breath on your lips.
And repeating this a couple more times,
Each time letting your body settle a little bit further into the moment.
Let your breath flow naturally as you feel its ebb and flow.
Release any tension or tightness still gripping your head or face.
Relax yourself from your shoulders down through your chest and your belly.
You can let yourself really relax into the cushion.
You generally want to err on the side of being relaxed when relaxing your body.
Turning your attention now to relaxing the mind,
You can start to become increasingly attuned to the feelings inside you.
If at any point when you're meditating,
You start to feel a sense of not quite being comfortable,
Definitely look to the mind and acknowledge and notice any mood that's there.
So take the first few moments of your practice just to come to an inner place of relaxation.
Not reaching for anything,
Not expecting anything,
And most definitely not being hard on yourself in any way.
You can let go right from the start of any sense of self-reproach and let your practice come from a place of kindness and compassion.
Simply taking a few moments of our time to train the mind,
Re-habituate the mind,
Redirect the mind essentially to the present moment of our experience,
Our direct experience of the here and now,
Rather than the place where we're habitually caught up in concepts,
Ideas and daydreams,
Plans for the future or stories of our past.
And although we don't want to be too heavy-handed,
We might need to accept that out of unfamiliarity,
We may start out by feeling slightly uncomfortable,
Agitated or restless when we first sit down to meditate.
If you've been busy doing other things or have simply been thinking a lot,
The mind is unlikely to calm down immediately.
It will have built up a certain amount of momentum that will take a few minutes to settle down again.
It is only natural to experience that movement of mind physically as well as mentally.
Remember the idea of giving the mind space and allowing it to come to a natural place of rest in its own time.
Rather than leaning forward into the future,
We continue to settle back as your nervous system begins to settle into this nice sense of a decluttered life with nothing to do,
Nowhere and no one to be.
So really withdrawing the mind away from the future and the past,
Away from worries and preoccupations with the significant others in our life.
Similarly,
We peel the mind away from any moods that might make us feel uncomfortable.
Many different moods that we can feel as we are meditating.
Sometimes we can end up feeling bored or longing or annoyance,
But if we observe the feeling without reacting to it,
Giving it space instead of trying to push it out of our awareness,
But at the same time making space for something more positive,
This practice can be one of being with this one unique moment of our life,
One moment at a time and letting ourselves wholeheartedly be here with the vitality of our body and breath.
We treat any pleasant or unpleasant feelings arising,
Any moods,
Bodily sensations,
Sounds or visual imagery in the mind with equanimity,
Just accepting them all for now.
Now that we have relaxed ourselves both in body and in mind,
We breathe in slowly and make a mental note of the turning point of the breath inside the stomach.
Once we've taken note,
From here on in,
We can just forget about the breath.
The turning point of the breath in the stomach is the center of the body,
Which is where we're going to rest the focus of our attention.
We're going to place the awareness,
The mind,
At this point.
It's right here at the center of the stomach.
In practice,
It doesn't really matter where exactly we place our mind at this stage.
Once our mind is calm and refined enough,
The mind will zero in on the center of the body by itself.
When the mind begins to settle at that point,
You will feel that something is almost alive at the center of the body.
For the time being,
Just rest the mind gently in the general area of the center of your stomach at the point that you feel most comfortable with.
The way you place your mind at the center of the body is as gentle as if you were floating a needle on the surface of some water,
Creating not a single ripple on the surface while not letting the needle sink.
It's how you're going to place the mind at the center of the body very gently.
And to help keep your mind in place,
You can picture the image of the sun shining in your mind,
The same sort of sun you might see if you were walking at the seaside and saw the sun on the horizon,
Shining bright,
Clear and round.
Visualize without making any effort,
Because it is the natural ability of the mind to picture things internally.
Never we think of anything,
A picture of that thing will arise in our mind.
That's the way we visualize the shining sun at the center of the body.
And we continue to rest our awareness there with the inner sun at the center of our body the whole of the time.
If thoughts interrupt our meditation,
We do our best to ignore them rather than elaborate on them.
If we find the mind is plagued by thoughts,
If we find our brain is like the proverbial hamster wheel,
Then we might find it useful to make use of a traditional mantra such as hearing the words Samma Araham,
Samma Araham,
Samma Araham.
Coming up from the center of our body,
Over and over again,
Until the mind starts to gain independence from those thoughts,
Until the spaces between the thoughts start to last longer than the thoughts themselves.
Just because you sit for a few minutes each day,
Doesn't mean that you'll immediately master the mind and be able to turn a corner on your old habits.
It's not to say you won't sometimes experience those aha moments when you realize what it is that you've been doing.
But the process will likely be a gradual one,
Where each day you enter the zone a little bit more easily,
With a little more clarity,
And in doing so you'll manage to avoid many of the habitual reactions that stress you out.
This is what it means to have awareness,
To see the mind with absolute clarity.
Those who are new to meditation often make the mistake of searching for some kind of experience,
Or want to be rewarded with some sign of progress or fruition.
But peace of mind or insight will always be elusive,
If we are struggling to find it.
But if you can bring a sense of genuine captivation and curiosity to your meditation,
Then it doesn't really matter what those qualities are,
It's because they become a part of the meditation,
Part of that which is observed.
A quality that can be described as gentle curiosity.
When this becomes part of your approach to meditation,
You'll notice that the mind feels very open.
The idea of approaching meditation with a gentle curiosity implies a sense of soft,
Open,
Patient interest.
It's perhaps the way you might quietly watch a wild animal from a hidden place,
Without letting on that you're there.
Because you're so engaged,
You're 100% captivated by what you're watching,
While trying not to influence the result.
You merely remain aware of the immediacy of the moment,
Free from impatience,
But content just to watch the mind as it is.
The thing to remember about clarity is that what needs to become clear,
Will naturally become clear.
Meditation is not about rooting around in the recesses of the mind,
Digging up old memories,
Getting caught up in analysis and trying to make sense of it all.
Clarity will arise in its own time and in its own way.
Sometimes clarity will mean becoming more aware of the thinking process,
At other times the awareness might shift to the emotions or physical sensations.
Whatever happens and whatever you become more aware of,
Allow it to happen naturally.
So instead of resisting it because it's unpleasant or uncomfortable,
Or trying to hasten its departure by delving into analysis,
Just allow it to happen in its own way and at its own pace for a few more moments in silence.
When you bring the attention back to the center,
Do so gently,
With respect for yourself and respect for the stability of your mind.
When different feelings or bodily experience arise in your practice,
Whether it be warmth or tingling in the body,
We can observe that direct experience,
Watching it and allowing for it.
It is awareness that matters,
What we're aware of doesn't matter so much.
Whatever is actually happening internally and externally in the present moment,
If it is extraneous sounds then just hear them,
As if the sound originates from your center.
The mind wanders away or daydreams,
We just become more aware of the mind wandering and bring it back again to the center without making a fuss.
In such situations it may be useful to remind ourselves of the analogy of taming a wild horse.
Instead of rushing or forcing your mind to obey,
Imagine a wild horse on the other end of a slack rope that you're holding.
You give the horse all the space it needs.
In the beginning it will buck and strain with all its might,
But eventually if you don't let go of the rope it will tire itself out and calm down.
At this point,
Since the horse doesn't feel as though it's trapped or pinned down in any way,
While it still runs free in the field,
You keep a watchful eye on it,
Holding on loosely to the end of the rope.
But as time goes on you gradually shorten the rope.
If you do this gently enough with a wild horse it won't even notice the difference.
It will feel as though it still has all the space it needs.
Little by little you coax the horse closer,
All the while keeping an eye on it,
By giving it enough space to feel at ease and not too nervous.
In the same way we charm the mind back to the center of the body,
Until it feels captivated just to stay at the center.
So we continue in this way,
Gently training the wild horse of our mind,
Lightly and gently,
Until we come to time for some loving-kindness meditation.
Once the mind has absorbed the source of pure energy,
Imagine the energy radiates out within all directions.
We visualize the pure energy taking the form of a crystal sphere,
Growing larger to cover our entire body,
Reaching out to our whole family,
Our neighborhood,
And everyone in the world.
No matter who they are,
We emanate a positive intention,
With a growing pure energy,
Full of love and compassion towards all.
For those with suffering,
May they be free from sadness and pain.
For those with happiness,
May they be happier still.
Imagine that we also emanate a positive intention to everyone in the country,
Neighboring countries,
All continents,
The entire globe,
And beyond,
Wishing everyone everywhere be well and happy,
Dwelling in peace.
Even in the darkest night,
The starlight can shine through.
Even in troubled times,
There can be a silver lining.
Even when things around us have gone awry,
Yet our mind can re-engage with happiness through the practice of meditation.
So may all human lives be filled with empathy toward one another,
Freedom from stress and anxiety,
Freedom from worry and irritation,
Freedom from sickness and danger.
We share this peaceful energy for the benefit of our ancestors,
Family members,
And friends,
Whether they are still with us,
Or those who have already passed.
May they all feel cleansed by hope and joy,
While being sheltered against sadness,
Sickness,
Sorrow and danger.
May all sentient beings be free from distress.
May the growing stream of pure energy dispel any harmful elements from the bodies of all sentient beings on the planet,
As if the whole earth were being refined and turned pure and crystal clear,
As we can reach further towards unity and harmony in the world,
As we lead the world into a new era of integrity that emerges from the pure energy,
With freedom from harm and aggression.
May this pure energy protect the world from all physical and mental impurities,
As we sit and make wishes for ourselves or others for the last few moments of our meditation together in silence.
