Okay so coming to a comfortable sitting posture,
Letting your hands rest somewhere comfortable,
Shoulders relaxed,
Finding a nice uprightness,
Balance and some people like to call it poise,
A nice poise in the body and then letting everything soften and relax around that,
Eyes,
Jaw,
Fingers,
Our attention inside the body,
So if we bring our awareness now particularly to the heart,
The heart traditionally seen as vibrant red color and in the energy system the heart is more than just a pump,
It's more than just the anatomical system in the middle of your chest,
The heart represents the qualities or characteristics of passion and kindness,
Love,
As seen as the emperor,
The head of the organ system and the layer of tissue surrounding the heart,
The pericardium,
Is seen as the bodyguard or the soldier around the emperor.
The heart energy to really radiate out,
Be felt and to find those connections and relationships that it really desperately wants,
That we desperately want,
Need.
We have to let this bodyguard know when it's appropriate to stand down.
So in our safe practice space,
Just here,
Together,
We can reassure this bodyguard,
The pericardium that it's okay to relax and let the walls down,
To let the walls down,
Shields down,
And the heart itself,
A very powerful generator of electric energy,
Electricity.
Every time it pumps,
There's a coherent pulse of electrical energy through the nerves which cause the muscles to fire and that pulse of electric energy creates an electric field which radiates out through the body and through the space around the body.
So our heart energy is actually something tangible,
Something physical.
So I wonder what would happen if we made the intention for every being that comes into contact with our heart energy field,
For every being to feel safe and happy,
Well,
Content.
I wonder how that would be,
To let the pericardium,
The heart protector,
Bodyguard,
To let that soften to the point where the field of our heart,
This electric field that comes from the beating of our heart,
To carry the message with it.
That whoever it comes into contact with,
Our intention is for them to feel well,
Safe,
Happy,
Content in themselves.
So in the physics world,
The electric field around your heart is strongest,
Strongest,
Nearest to your heart and then becomes gradually diminishing as it moves further away.
But even in the physics world,
There is no point in which it becomes zero.
So all fields extend to infinity.
So the energy of your heart already is pervading the entire universe.
But I wonder what would be also if we intended our heart energy to be stronger in certain directions.
So perhaps we could bring to mind right now,
Anyone or anything that might need a bit more of your love,
Your attention,
Your kindness,
Your energy,
And just strengthen that intention in their direction.
Sending out this wish for them to feel safe.
I really wish that you feel safe,
That you feel well.
I really would like you to feel well and happy,
Content,
Peace.
I wish that for you.
And that wish originates from a heart which is sitting on a very firm foundation.
It's not just a fanciful whim or a blow of the wind.
Our heart is strong and it's grounded.
That makes it a very powerful intention.
So I wonder who else might benefit.
From this intentional wish,
Your heart energy radiating out towards them.
Anyone or anything.
I'll just leave us some space for us all to do that.
Sometimes it's enough just to send these intentions out there.
To radiate out on the pulsing of your heart,
A wish for any beings that come into contact with that.
But sometimes we need more,
We need an action.
And that's where this grounded heart energy is even more powerful.
And that's why I think it's so important for us all to do that.
We need an action.
And that's where this grounded heart energy is even more important.
The heart fire resting on a solid foundation,
Burning from the belly upwards.
Heart fire coming down into the belly,
Connecting with the earth.
So that then our fire can be of real use,
Rather than just singeing our head.
So sometimes an action becomes obvious when we listen deeply.
Something we need to do sometimes.
Maybe it's not an action we make now,
But the more we listen,
The stronger that impulse becomes.
And the clearer the message is,
We need to do this.
And the more spacious our heart can become.
Open and released.
And the more grounded and strong our foundation can become.
The guts,
Small intestine and connection to the earth.
Small intestine and connection to the earth.
The more capacity we have for,
As they say in Zen,
They say listening to the cries of the world.
More capacity we have for opening ourselves to the great deal of suffering that exists all around us.
That we quite habitually and probably very sensibly ignore or block out most of the time.
But now we're in this safe space.
We feel grounded,
Stable,
Spacious.
There might be an opportunity for just opening,
Becoming aware of that dimension of the world.
Hearing the cries of the world.
We don't necessarily need to make anything happen here.
Sometimes it's,
Sometimes nothing happens.
Sometimes a whole flood of stuff comes in.
Then it's important to know,
Okay,
We can also close the door or partially close the door again.
You can just ask the pericardium,
This bodyguard,
Actually that's too much.
Just for now,
I'm not ready for all of that.
It's okay,
That's what he's there for.
He or she.
I'll also just leave some space here to embody what in Zen they call Kannon.
Kannon,
The bodhisattva of compassion.
The embodiment of this listening to the cries of the world.
I remember a time in my early Zen practice when my teacher was asking,
How many directions does this eye of compassion look?
I remember saying to him,
Well,
Every direction,
All directions.
And then he asked me to show him,
So I pointed all around and he wouldn't accept that.
It took me some time to realize that I'd forgotten a really important direction.
And that was the direction of myself.
How many directions does this eye or this ear of compassion listen to?
Well,
It's every direction including it.
Compassion listen to,
Well,
It's every direction including yourself.
So within this listening to the cries of the world,
We're here listening within ourselves too.
Again,
We don't need to conjure anything up or dig anything up.
We just open listening.
Open with an open heart.
Knowing the more we can do this,
The more we can invite our bodyguard to relax.
The more we can let our heart energy radiate out and become sensitive to the energies of other people's hearts.
And the more we can let this energy descend and round itself in the belly,
In the earth,
The more capacity we have for doing this kind of stuff.
The more capacity we have for doing this kind of stuff,
The more we can be in highly charged,
Difficult,
Painful situations.
And then that energy just finds the ground like a lightning conductor.
Boom!
We stay grounded in it.
We can keep our open heart instead of closing it off and shutting down.
It's a practice.
So we'll just finish this meditation by facing our bodyguard,
This element of ourselves,
Which puts the guards up,
The walls,
The protective shield or whatever it is around your emotional being.
And just say thank you.
Thanks for doing what you do.
Thanks for being there.
Thanks for being there.
And then very gently swaying your body from side to side.
Maybe take a deeper breath if you like.
And letting your fingers and toes wriggle and letting your eyes lift when you're ready.
