Just begin by making ourselves somewhat comfortable as best we can right now.
That might be sitting if you want to be more alert,
But feel free to lie down if you want to be more relaxed or possibly even go on to sleep.
I think some of us have had a challenging day.
Work is a little bit simple.
It's very factual in a way,
Except that there's something,
I think,
Unbelievably miraculous about our awareness and the body.
And so that's really the tools we're putting to use here.
Perhaps it's a little funny to think of the awareness as an object,
But it does have a substance and a substantial nature.
So along those lines,
Having made ourselves somewhat at peace with how we will be during this little journey,
I would ask that we begin this moment somewhat decisively with a kind of checking in,
Perhaps an acknowledgement or a kind of friendly hello to our awareness as it has arrived at this moment.
And this is something of a gesture of compassion,
Self-compassion.
And perhaps something of a stepping through a doorway that,
While we have been brought to this moment by many different stories and efforts and sacrifices,
Perhaps even rewards,
That in a moment we're going to be turning a corner and making a boundary of a moment,
A little bit of something not entirely conditioned by what came before.
But this isn't a breaking apart from what we've been.
We want to actually acknowledge and be present and welcome in how we are in transition to this new place.
So taking a moment just to notice this.
For myself,
I tend to check in quickly with my body,
The different things that it's going through.
And I tend to check in with my thoughts.
I notice the clarity and perhaps the things that concern me,
And perhaps the joys that have happened,
The things I'm wishing for.
And then similarly with my emotions,
The story of my time up till now.
It's a rich world.
And then while not endeavoring to fix any of that,
But just to be present,
I'm going to bring part of my awareness in a more directed way for a longer moment than I might out of habit.
And let's say I'll bring my awareness tonight to the top of my head.
And in this direction,
I'm bringing a simple notion of relaxing from the top of my head,
I'm able to relax my scalp and just feel in this interesting way of a shape of this very important structure that holds all my thought,
Seat of consciousness.
Several organs of perception.
And to some extent,
Following the shape of my head,
Relaxing the ears,
The forehead and the eyes,
The cheeks and the mouth,
The back of the head.
Then continuing with this relaxing what the head sits on,
Which is the neck.
And in this moment,
It's okay if you want to make some subtle exploration of the motion of the neck.
And if you do this,
You may find,
Or even if you are simply following through with this consistent suggestion to relax that your shoulders may drop a little.
That's fine.
Continuing down the spine,
Which is this very interesting,
Curved,
Connected structure.
The spine,
Of course,
Has these ribs which protect.
And then follow down the spine,
Which really truly is a little more inside the ribs than we might habitually map.
Center of the spine is also somewhat protected by the ribs.
And we can keep working our way down the arch of the lower back.
Just exploring this remarkable structure,
Channels so much current and energy.
Much too much to actually cotton on to with our thinking.
But we are able perhaps to sense the life force,
The glow,
The energy.
All the way down to the pelvis.
Arriving at the pelvis,
Keeping part of our awareness there.
Bring the other part to the top of the head.
Here we have these very,
Very interconnected,
But also rich and complex structure.
Many bones that can be extremely coordinated in our balancing.
But in their softening can also be extremely flexible.
And of course,
Between the pelvis,
The head,
Is this action of breathing.
Which one might notice a softness to.
And here I suggest not to change the breath,
But do take some brief moment and follow it.
This capacity to be present to the breath is something that can give one a remarkable amount of choice.
It can give one the freedom of presence,
Regardless of circumstance.
So just to spend a few moments in this safe circumstance.
Knowing that presence and that freedom.
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