Come to a comfortable cross-legged seat and begin to allow the body to relax in space.
Just settling here,
Keeping your eyes closed,
Gently place your hands on your knees.
Just feeling the contact of the hands on the knees.
Feeling the contact of the feet on the floor.
Beginning to feel the breath at a place that's the most obvious to you.
So feeling the breath in the nostrils,
In the chest or the belly.
Just allowing the mind to focus on a point of concentration such as the breath.
And if the breath isn't a neutral point of concentration for you,
You can focus on the contact of the hands or the feet.
And as you're breathing here,
Just notice any habitual tension that might be present in the body and intend to soften.
So if softening doesn't happen immediately,
The intention to soften creates a softening.
And continuing to keep the attention on that anchor,
The breath or the contact.
Notice if the mind wanders away from the anchor.
Simply with a generous and kind voice,
Invite your awareness and attention back to the anchor.
Good.
If there's any dominant sensation that rises whether it's physical or emotional you can begin to just allow your awareness to recognize that it's there.
If it's available to you naming the sensation,
If it's physical you can name if it's pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
Same if it's emotional.
And if there's a naming available for the actual sensation like squeeze or pulling or numb and if it's emotional fear,
Restlessness,
Maybe joy.
Just naming it and allowing it to still live in the awareness as you're sitting still.
Once you make conscious by noting the naming what's right here begins to dissolve,
Becomes less predominant and as the mind and the body begin to settle again you can come back to the anchor.
So we begin to be in relationship and in a flow with our thoughts.
We become like a sieve moving towards our thoughts getting curious about the nature coming into our body getting curious about that nature.
And just that interest allows for an expansion and in that expansion we can find the space and the stillness to settle back.
No,
We're not attachment.
I'll read one of my favorite poems from Jennifer Wellwood.
It's called Unconditional.
Condition I flee from pursues me.
Each condition I welcome transforms me and becomes itself transformed into its radiant jewel-like essence.
I bow to the one who has made it so,
Who has crafted this master game,
To play it as pure delight,
To honor its form,
True devotion.
I bow to the one who has made it so,
Who has crafted this master game,
To play it as purest delight,
To honor its form,
True devotion.
I bow to the one who has made it so,
Who has crafted this master game,
To play it as pure delight,
To honor its form,
True devotion.
Thank you for your attention.
Namaste.
