When you're ready,
Let's softly and gently close our eyes,
And softly and gently relax our eyes,
Our face,
Our neck,
Our shoulders,
Relaxing our torso,
Our abdomen,
Our legs,
All the way down to the tips of our toes.
We relax our arms,
Our hands,
And our fingers,
Making sure that every single part of our body is completely relaxed.
We take our time to make sure that we feel good,
Feel comfortable,
Because this comfort,
This relaxation,
Is at the very heart of the meditation practice.
Once you're able to feel good,
Feel relaxed,
Feel comfortable,
Just by doing that,
You've already achieved almost a hundred percent success in your meditation.
And if you're able to maintain this relaxation,
This comfort and peace,
For just one second at a time,
And that is already a hundred percent success in your meditation.
So we continue to relax,
Continue to let this feeling flow,
And if you're feeling relaxed and comfortable in the present moment,
Then you're already doing a great job in your meditation.
We continue to maintain this peacefulness,
This tranquility,
This relaxation,
Keeping it going by simply resting,
Being calm and comfortable,
Just like this.
So by being calm and relaxed and peaceful,
Our mind will automatically start to accumulate that peace and positive energy within.
We'll start to gain a sense of stillness,
And as it becomes more and more still,
Our mind will become clearer and cleaner,
And the effect of that will enlarge outwards into our lives,
Affecting the way we make decisions,
Choose our words,
Or reach out to others through our actions.
We find that as our mind becomes more and more centered,
Everything in our lives becomes more wholesome as a result,
But for now we don't need to worry about any of this,
We just remain calm,
Relaxed,
And peaceful within ourselves,
Allowing ourselves to pick up on that sense of comfort,
And if there's anything to interrupt that sense of comfort,
We should feel free to adjust ourselves,
And little by little,
By increments,
We will gradually move from 100% success to 110 or maybe 120%.
We'll feel that our mind will become more and more clear,
And clean,
Pristine,
And pure,
Until at a certain point we'll be able to actually see that clarity within us.
We'll start to see what is meant when they say that the mind is clear and bright,
And whatever happens in our meditation,
Or even if nothing happens at all,
We just allow our mind to remain still,
Keep our mind at ease,
Keep our mind relaxed,
Calm,
And peaceful,
Treating this feeling of stillness inside us as something precious,
Something that's going to take us deeper,
Closer to the source of that positive energy that's being generated within us right now.
In the meantime,
We keep ourselves relaxed,
Calm,
And comfortable,
That's all we really need to focus on right now,
Letting go of all our thoughts,
All of our worries,
Putting aside any responsibilities for right now,
Treating the time we have in the present as the most precious to us,
An opportunity to give ourselves a sense of peace,
Self-love,
In a way that can spread outwards,
Also to bring happiness to others,
Making ourselves more of a pleasure to be with,
So later on we'll be able to share this sense of compassion and happiness with our friends and family,
And eventually to everyone in the world,
The way we accumulate this sense of peace,
This love and happiness will start to softly and gently manifest within our mind,
And as we relax more,
Feel more and more peaceful and comfortable,
We may feel as if our whole body is starting to become light in weight,
Almost illuminated from the inside,
As if there's something moving inside us,
Like a gentle breeze,
Blowing gently through the mind,
And cleansing away all the negativity,
But all that's happening is that the mind is gently moving towards a standstill,
Which means that the thoughts in the mind are gradually grinding to a halt,
But in the meantime we're able to keep ourselves relaxed and calm and comfortable,
With this feeling of peace and relaxation so crucial to our lives,
We may already have come across such a feeling from time to time in our lives,
But maybe never really paid much attention to it,
But if we start to pay attention to this feeling of relaxation that's there,
Quietly in the background,
Starting to nurture and cherish this feeling,
A sense of love and compassion inside our mind,
Will start to connect with all the positivity in our lives,
In our family's lives,
In our community,
And eventually to the whole of the world,
So this feeling of continuity and relaxation is the heart of our meditation practice,
This peace inside the mind,
This sense of relaxation,
It's just a question of training the mind to get used to being more comfortable and relaxed,
Allowing that peace to take over,
Allowing that sense of peace and love that we need so much to return to ourselves,
By taking good care of ourselves both in body and in mind,
Maintaining that good feeling,
While keeping a sense of comfort,
Accumulating more and more of that sense of peace and happiness,
If you find that even with that sense of peace and comfort inside yourself,
That your mind still doesn't feel like it has settled,
If it's like we are trying to fly our kite,
But the wind still didn't pull on the end of the string,
Or if you feel that your mind still hasn't taken the bait,
Especially for those of us who are new to meditation,
Then it might be an idea to add a little bit of structure to our practice,
By allowing the mind to settle and center within the space of our body,
In the place that feels the most comfortable for us,
Or more classically somewhere down around our solar plexus,
Gently guiding the mind into place,
In a way that it finds it easiest to link up with that sense of positivity on the inside,
If you feel that you can already detect the place the mind needs to be,
Then just gently maintain the mind at that place,
By means of the feeling,
If it helps you to have some sort of visual to keep your mind in place,
And usually we favor something bright and rounded like the sun,
A full moon or a star,
Or perhaps a sparkling diamond,
Usually as a byproduct of that visual focusing of the mind,
In a gentle and comfortable way,
We'll start to feel that sense of flowing inwards,
Pulling the mind deeper within ourselves,
If we find the mind wandering away,
Losing touch with that feeling,
Each time we just bring it back again,
In the same way we can pull the mind back if we suffer from sleepiness or discomfort,
What's important is that we don't worry about what's happening in the meditation,
We simply readjust to maintain that sense of peace and comfort continuously,
Once you feel comfortable again,
You can keep the mind on track with that sense of ease and peace inside you,
Continuing on the journey inward,
As it takes us closer and deeper toward the source of true happiness within,
Closer we come to that point of peace,
The clearer will be the sense of that positive energy,
The sense of fulfillment as if we desire for nothing else in the world,
While overcoming negativity,
Breaking free of any shadows,
As the mind becomes more luminous within itself,
Feeling the brightness inside,
Brightness that has a shadowless quality to it,
So we spend this precious time together,
Learning more and more about ourselves,
Taking good care of our mind,
Cherishing the sense of wholesomeness from within,
Maintaining that sense of relaxation and comfort,
Continuing to accumulate more and more peace,
This treasure within ourselves,
As we continue our meditation in silence for a few more moments now,
Until we come to the appropriate time,
So we continue to keep our mind on track,
Immersed always within that sense of happiness,
Contentment and relaxation within ourselves,
While making sure our body remains comfortable,
And maintaining a sense of contentment with whatever we have achieved in our practice so far,
With that sense of contentment,
We'll continue to progress in our practice whatever happens,
Being comfortable within our mind,
Means keeping our mind free from worries,
Allowing ourselves to immerse the mind in that sense of tranquility,
If we can manage to stay with this sense of relaxation and comfort,
It's already the heart of the meditation practice,
As long as we give due importance to this feeling of relaxation,
Then it's already 99.
99% of success in our meditation,
We continue to maintain this sense of relaxation,
Little by little our mind will become completely still,
And through that sense of stillness and relaxation,
It will become attracted by itself to the true source of tranquility or true peace within ourselves,
Because although this source of happiness already exists in the mind,
It only becomes tangible to us when the mind becomes still and free of thought,
At which point it will become attracted there,
Returning to its origin,
And that 99.
99% of success,
We'll give way to the remaining 0.
01%,
Which is to be consistent with that feeling,
To keep that feeling of relaxation going as long as we can,
And when it starts to go away,
Then we readjust and come back to that feeling again,
It may seem repetitive that we have to keep readjusting in this way,
But eventually the repetition will ensure that we reach closer and closer towards the sense of true happiness within mind,
Gradually accumulating the happiness little by little,
Until our sense of peace and tranquility within becomes more precise,
And can lead us to the brightness on the inside,
Because when you are bright inside,
You will brighten up the rest of the world as well,
So we continue in this way,
Lightly and gently,
Keeping our mind on track at the center of ourselves,
Immersed constantly and consistently at the center of that sense of inner peace,
For a few more moments in silence,
Until we come to time for some loving kindness meditation,
So we continue to keep our mind on track at the center of ourselves,
Immersed always in the quality of the inner experience we have built up for ourselves,
As a result of our meditation so far today,
For some people it will be a feeling of well-being,
That seems to well up from the inside,
For others it may be something more like a sense of illumination arising from the inside,
For others still it may be a sort of imagery on the inside,
That we can appreciate through our mind's eye,
Whatever form that inner experience seems to take towards the end of our practice,
By touching gently with our awareness at the center of that inner experience,
We will become able to extend the qualities of that inner experience,
As loving kindness,
Initially towards ourselves,
Later towards the wider world around us,
So while remaining calm and relaxed and comfortable,
We softly bring our awareness to the center of ourselves,
Bringing our mind to rest at that place,
Place of greatest contentment for us,
While letting it be and letting it go,
While remaining calm and relaxed and still at the center of that sense of tranquility,
Of making the wish or the affirmation for ourselves,
At the center of that feeling,
That we always be well and happy,
Healthy,
Wealthy and wise,
Be fulfilled in all our wholesome wishes,
Successful in all our wholesome goals,
Be loved and respected,
Protected wherever we go,
Be able to find peace in our mind quickly and easily at all times,
And to be a role model of peace and love and true happiness,
With many other people as we possibly can,
We can make a wish for ourselves to be able to still our mind,
Be able to maintain true happiness at all times and reach the utmost of happiness as soon as possible,
And having extended good wishes for ourselves through our loving kindness,
We can now extend that loving kindness beyond ourselves,
Outwards into the world around us,
In ever-widening circles,
Positive energy that we have accumulated through our practice,
Almost like ripples emanating outwards from our center,
Ever wider into the world around us,
Softly and gently expanding,
With a sense of love and kindness and positive energy towards those around us in the world,
Throughout this room,
Throughout the entire building,
And outwards into the neighborhood in all directions all around,
Sharing the sense of peace and love with all beings around us,
Softly and gently expanding it further and further,
Till it covers the entire city,
The whole country,
Till it covers the whole of the world,
To ring the world as clear and bright and shining and filled with positivity,
Where positive energy cleanses away all the negativity,
As we share our love and kindness with everybody on this planet,
Extending wishes of love and kindness for every person,
Every being,
That they always be happy and healthy,
Wise and fulfilled in all their wholesome wishes,
May they be free from harm,
From hatred,
From anger,
And from frustration,
We can also make the wish that this world be free from war,
From disease,
From every other sort of negativity,
With the wish that everyone find peace in their mind,
Be able to still their mind quickly and easily at all times,
In order to reach the utmost happiness as soon as possible,
If we're thinking of particular loved ones of ours who are in difficulty at this time,
We might extend particular love and kindness towards them,
Holding them in the brightness and sense of peace at our center,
Thinking of their faces or their names,
As we extend loving kindness toward them for the last few moments of our practice until we come to the appropriate time.
