And today I would like to talk about an acronym that I've used over the last few years that I've found to be helpful for me.
And that is ABC as a means to quickly be a reminder to come to this moment when we find ourselves lost in thought or emotion.
So the A stands for accept,
The B stands for breathe and just be with the body.
And the C is compassion and contentment.
So accept doesn't mean that you like it.
It means that you acknowledge whatever is happening right now in the space around you in your internal world and thoughts and emotions.
Acknowledge what is there,
Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant or neutral,
Reality check and meet it with a sense of kindness and care for yourself and extending that sense of care around you.
And with the B,
Once you acknowledge the reality,
Breathe and just be coming to awareness in the body and be still and meeting whatever is here with a sense of compassion for yourself and for whoever is around you in the space around you or whoever or whatever is in your thoughts,
Having a sense of wanting any reduction of suffering that might be needed,
Having that desire for yourself and for others.
And then practicing contentment,
Which requires gratitude.
So it's a sense of being grateful in the midst of whatever is happening,
In the midst of whatever pain might be happening or unpleasantness.
That's the time when it's most important to practice gratitude.
So finding that in that moment,
Something.
So let's begin with arriving here and we'll just kind of play with this acronym right now in this space.
So settle in.
I might,
You might close the eyes if that feels good and protected or soften the gaze.
Maybe looking at something on the floor or soften the gaze fixed on the floor right in front of you.
And allow yourself to receive what is here right now.
Noticing what is here right now.
Noticing the sounds nearby or in a distance.
Notice if any sounds resonate as pleasant or unpleasant.
Noticing the light in the room,
The colors if your eyes are open or the dance of light as it enters through the eyelids.
Just acknowledging whatever state of mind you may be in right now,
Accepting and allowing it to be just as it is,
Whether the mind is active or dull or still.
Acknowledging the felt sense of things in the body.
Acknowledging the felt sense of things in the body and allowing whatever sense you have in the body to be and meeting it with care.
And this brings us to the be,
Noticing the breath,
Maybe the cool sensations at the tip of the nose or the throat,
The warmth as you exhale,
The rise and fall of the chest,
The expanding and contracting of the belly.
You might notice a sense of the whole body receiving the breath and letting it go,
Allowing the breath to be a gateway to bring you home to this moment.
And notice at times getting lost in thought,
That moment when you notice,
It's a moment of presence and allow the breath to bring you back home to this body,
This space,
Noticing the body and how it receives everything in this present moment,
How the body receives the sound waves that are moving through the walls,
Through the air,
Through the body,
The body receives the light.
And if there are any thoughts or emotions,
Noticing the felt sense of it in the body and bringing awareness to that,
Allowing those emotions to be there,
Meeting it with care and softly letting go of the stories attached,
Again,
Allowing the breath to bring you back home over and over again.
Breathe and just be here right now.
And you might notice the flow of sound and light and the flow of life within the body,
The heartbeat,
The breath,
Electricity,
Allowing the movement within and around,
Allowing the movement within and around,
Allowing yourself to float in this flow of life.
And if thinking arises,
You might notice it and label it as thinking and come right back home.
Meeting every moment of noticing,
Of returning as a celebration,
Welcoming yourself back over and over again.
Now,
Softly coming to the C in our acronym here,
Remembering compassion,
Meeting yourself with a wish for your own wellbeing,
Your own sense of ease,
And happiness.
You might softly say to yourself,
May I be well,
May I be happy,
May I be free from suffering,
May I live with ease.
And with this wish for yourself,
Allowing yourself to rest in this loving awareness.
Extend your awareness to those nearby,
Maybe in this room.
You might repeat these wishes for others.
May you be well,
May you be happy,
May you be free from suffering,
May you live with ease.
And as you hold yourself,
And these may be nearby others in mind,
Extend that awareness to those nearby.
Sense of care and well-wishing even further out into the neighborhood,
City,
And expanding across the whole world and resting in this kind and loving awareness.
And as you hold yourself,
You may be well,
May I be happy,
May I live with ease.
And as you allow yourself to be in this moment,
Just as it is,
Breathing,
And as you hold yourself,
Acknowledging and accepting whatever is here with care.
Smiters here with care.
Of care.
And if you might,
In the midst of this,
Consider something that you are grateful for right now.
Notice how it feels in the body when you bring to mind.
Notice something that you're grateful for.
What does gratitude feel like in the body?
And still allowing whatever is to be.
And if there's any resistance to this idea of gratitude,
Relating that to with kindness.
Notice.
And I'll close with a poem,
The Guest House by Rumi.
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival,
A joy,
A depression,
A meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all.
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture,
Still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought,
The shame,
The malice,
Meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
