And if you would like to close your eyes very gently and allow your whole body to become relaxed.
We relax all our body all the way from the top of our head right the way down to the tips of our toes.
Almost as if our body seems to disappear or as if our body becomes as light as a feather.
Also so that our mind can become light we let go of all the things that we normally think about.
It's like we're about to set off on a long journey.
If we travel with too many bags and boxes it's not going to be very easy for us to make that trip.
But if we can leave behind all the things that we don't really need then it's going to be much easier for us to make that journey.
So in our case our thoughts are like the excess baggage.
So we're going to put our thoughts on one side for now to allow us to reconnect with the happiness and joy inside ourselves.
Sometimes for all you folks who've meditated so much already it's possible to see a shining Sun or a star inside yourself.
In which case you can put your attention right at the very middle of what you can see.
For those who can't see it yet just imagine you can see or feel something bright at the center of your body.
So how can we be in our center?
This may be new to you or you don't need to put a hundred percent of your attention on your center of your body to complete any task.
Maybe just use 80% of your attention focusing on what you're doing while keeping 20% at your center.
But before you do anything start recollecting your attention at the center first.
In fact you can take a shower while being at your center,
Drive a car while being at your center,
Brush your teeth while being at the center,
Or even eat your dinner while being at your center.
It just depends on how you divide up your attention.
You can even be on the phone while having your mind centered inside you or hold a conversation or read a book while being at your center.
But if you're able to bring your mind back to the center before doing any activity then you will always have the full awareness while you're doing that activity.
It's only normal for your mind to wander away now and then but don't worry you'll get it back again.
To keep your mind at the center you might like to visualize a picture as if you see or feel something at your center in the middle of your stomach such as the Sun a shining star or a bubble.
If it's the Sun then feel its warmth and brightness radiating from inside you.
Don't feel frustrated if it's not clear the first time around and don't feel upset if the mind wanders off target.
We need to be patient and understand that it may not happen immediately.
It may not happen today or the next day but eventually it's got to come to us easily.
At the same time don't overdo it.
Visualizing the object too hard may do the equivalent of waking the baby and it may never stop crying.
So always be gentle when you're meditating and keep it fun.
All you have to do is keep restarting gathering your mind back again when it wanders.
Again the percentage of time your mind stays in the center will gradually increase from zero to almost 100% in some meditations.
Meanwhile while we are doing other things we try to keep our mind at the center until we master it.
And keeping the mind at the center will come as naturally as breathing if we practice often enough.
So having that presence of mind will be helpful to us.
Whatever activity we do it can increase your happiness and fulfillment from day to day.
Some people place their attention too heavily but this will not help them to see the inner object more clearly.
Some people place their attention too lightly but that would just mean that you get sleepy while you're trying to meditate.
All we need to do is place our attention just right,
Not too heavy and not too light.
How can we know when it's just right?
Well when it's just right the light inside will start to grow.
It will become as large as your whole body and it may become so large that it spreads all around us like an aura or a halo.
And in this way we can spread that light of peace as far as we can because the further we can spread our light the more people we can touch with our love and compassion.
And this love or compassion is sometimes called the light of peace.
The more people we can spread our light to the more people we can bring peace to.
If we can spread our peace to the whole world then we will have world peace.
A long time ago there was an expert meditator who spread the light of peace in just this way.
And even the animals in the forest did not want to fight one another anymore.
Even the lion and the lamb wanted to be friends when they were touched by this light of peace.
And any dangerous animals could no longer stay in that area.
So this is why we have to spread the light of peace as far as we can.
We try to spread in the same way.
That was recommended in that time 2,
500 years ago.
If we spread the peace to our family then our family will have peace.
If we can spread it for our school friends then our school friends will have peace.
If we can spread it for all the people in our country then the whole country will have peace.
And in this way we spread our light of peace as far as we can for a few more moments in silence together.
