A little history about this project in case you haven't heard.
It began partly coming out of COVID.
Seems like everyone I knew was having a hard time.
I thought maybe we could create a little bit of a musical shelter.
A very simple proposition that in more or less real time,
If I tried my best,
It would be enough that people could have an actual break from some of these harder things that are going on in our lives.
And well,
I've been moved by how similar to what I had intended are the responses.
And so thank you for all that.
Anyway,
Mostly I like to talk a little bit because someone told me it was a good thing if they had to finish drying up the dishes.
So,
But we'll get started here.
And the first notion here is that I'm going to offer a suggested approach.
It does vary from night to night,
And part of that is to keep it fresh.
The idea of relaxing and this work with awareness partly is that it's not just going to sleep.
It's actually a very alert,
Even awake kind of rest.
And so even though one might not be trying to solve anything or trying to fix anything,
The idea is that we are really tuning in in an alert way to the impressions that come.
And allowing our awareness to glow a little brighter for this quality of alertness.
So feel free to make yourself comfortable sitting or lying down.
And it may be that as we do this,
You come to find that there could be a little more space that something takes up,
Oftentimes from life.
There's a tendency to have to close off or protect.
And so when we're in a safer place,
That shielding is,
Sometimes it falls away.
If you do need to expand,
That's fine.
All right.
So we'll begin just by acknowledging the way that we are and what we come to this moment with.
And we may notice that in doing this,
Our awareness has a kind of flavor or a kind of vibration or a kind of imagery.
It's different for different people,
The way we experience this kind of turning the attention,
Returning it somewhat back inwards to notice and locate how we are.
And the point in this beginning stage is to approach that with the acceptance of a scientist,
Which is to say to not exclude any data,
To be open to all of it.
That's best one can bear,
Sometimes.
And it's possible to notice cycles and places that have a stronger pull or even sometimes an avoidance.
That's all fine.
But simply to notice it,
Be present and to accept.
And from here,
We're going to undertake to use part of our awareness,
Or perhaps give ourselves permission.
That part of our awareness concentrates on something and perhaps tonight it'll just be beginning with the left foot.
And this gestures many things.
But again,
Beginning place to understand perhaps is we're creating something of a boundary of a moment.
We're beginning something.
So we bring our awareness to our foot.
And we try and stay with this part of our body.
And whatever impressions may come from it.
Could be warmth or sense of gravity.
So it's both a longer impression than we might normally pause for and it's a deeper impression.
And with this deeper impression it may be possible to soften and relax.
And perhaps again,
This is a quality of allowing permitting relaxation,
Allowing ourselves this moment to let go of what's before now,
And how we hold that in this part of our body.
And simply be soft now.
Then staying with that,
Bringing in some of our awareness to the right hand.
In a similar way.
Permitting a longer moment contact and opening to a deeper sense of the impressions of this part of our body which has done so much for us.
And perhaps here it's possible even to be aware of both the hand and the foot,
The right hand,
The left foot.
And even perhaps more or less to map out the journey,
The distance between them.
And allowing this part of the body to relax.
And while any of this is a valuable step,
It may be for some that tuning into the left hand and the right foot as well as possible.
In this direction we come to relax all the limbs and the space in between.
All the softening of the torso.
And a kind of release that allows one's exhale to really fully release anything that's held.
And the inhale to bring in some of this essential qualities of the air which gives us life.
The exchange with all living things.
And for just a moment to notice this quality of the air.
Its generousness.
And its medium of connection.
And then when it's right to let that go.
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