We're gonna meditate probably for around 20 minutes and for that you might sense what posture will most help you.
And you might close your eyes or lower your gaze when you are ready.
If any gentle body movements are helpful for you to relax as you come into your posture,
You may also take a minute or two for that.
You might sense into what helps you arrive,
What helps you come into an embodied presence right now.
You might be taking some deep breaths,
Relaxing any tense body parts.
Might be a quick body scan or a hard practice.
Finding your way into connecting to the present moment awareness with kindness.
And within the name of some imaginative play,
You might imagine a big lake.
And you might picture how this big body of water might have movement here and there.
There might be creatures living in it,
Just like you have thoughts and feelings.
There might be movement on the surface,
Like waves or ripples.
And you might imagine how the lake is as a general body,
Vast and calm and stable.
And so you might embody a lake.
You might imagine you are one.
And how as you sit,
There might be things that come up on the surface or things that arise.
And you continue to be present.
And maybe the attention settles and deepens.
You get more connected and more attuned.
And just like a lake would care for all the animals living in it or around it,
All the trees and plants and flowers.
You also care for anything that may be coming up,
Any thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations.
You allow it,
You welcome it and let it belong.
And if this image of a lake doesn't feel so helpful,
You might imagine you are a big mountain up in the clouds but also rooted down to the earth.
You might imagine you are a big and strong tree.
So with a playful attitude,
You might look for something,
Some image that helps you connect to this presence you are cultivating.
I am happy to answer any questions.
And from here,
From this embodied presence,
You might also begin to scan your life for moments when you experienced a true sense of play.
So you might find yourself going back to your childhood,
Really young years,
Or you might be going to yesterday or a week ago.
And you might gently,
With curiosity,
Search for any moment or any memory where you were having some purposeless fun.
What you were doing felt inherently attractive.
You were doing it because it felt good.
Maybe you were experiencing a disconnection from time.
It felt flowing.
Maybe it felt improvisational,
Spontaneous.
Maybe there was this desire to continue to do it again and again.
It doesn't have to satisfy all of these criteria or properties.
You might just listen to your body because,
As Stuart Brown says,
The body remembers what the mind has forgotten.
So for about a minute here,
You might allow these different play memories to come to the surface.
Each time,
You might pay attention to your body.
You might pay attention to the sensations that are arising.
And you might also notice what other emotions and thoughts are present.
And if,
As you reflect,
You experience any grief or nostalgia or frustration,
You might see a sense of dedication or maybe a sense of detachment.
It's okay.
You might see if it's possible to welcome or tolerate these emotions and to also let them belong.
So having this playful attitude of not searching for any specific memory or feeling and rather just noticing what comes up,
If anything.
And if you do remember a moment of this true play,
You might linger with this specific memory or moment.
You might prolong it.
You might let it become more intense.
You might let this emotion or sensation in the body be as big as it is.
So allowing it to take up some space.
And when you feel ready,
You can let go of this scanning.
You can let go of these memories or moments of play.
And you can come back to the presence.
You can come back to your anchor.
And for the next five to eight minutes here,
You might ask yourself,
Which practice feels good?
Now that you have,
Maybe you have this memory of a playful moment in your life,
You might ask yourself,
What would your meditation practice look like right now?
If you wanted to feel this way,
If you wanted to feel this sense of true play.
Maybe this means that you tune out my voice and you do your own thing.
Maybe it means you get up and put some meditation music and then sit back down again to meditate.
Maybe it is about noticing the playfulness of presence.
Just how these thoughts and feelings and sensations and emptiness is constantly interacting in a very playful way.
Maybe it's about letting yourself smile.
What does it mean for you to meditate in a playful way for the next few minutes here?
No?
And when you feel ready you can gently come back to your anchor and notice the qualities of your presence right now.
You can now come back to your anchor and notice the qualities of your presence right now.
