Calmness - A Mindful Jewish Moment

A Mindful Jewish Moment For Calmness. This short meditation is a perfect way to start the day, take a quick break during work, or do a quick reset. This practice can also be used at the beginning of a longer silent sit.

This practice begins with a very short teaching from Jewish mystical sources and continues with brief instruction.

Transcript

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev,

Seeing someone in a great hurry,

Asked,

Why are you running?

The person replied,

I'm pursuing my livelihood.

Levi Yitzchak responded,

How do you know that your livelihood goes in front of you?

Perhaps it is somewhere behind and now you are running from it.

Let's take note of what it is we are pursuing and slow down,

Noticing our intended path and noticing we can bring a sense of calm into the mind-body,

Letting go of striving and chasing.

Rest your eyes,

Relaxing body and breath.

As you breathe,

Allow the breath to stop running and chasing.

Breathe in,

Inviting calm.

Breathe out,

Inviting calm.

Notice the chest area into which you have just breathed.

If there is a grasping or clutching sensation in the chest area,

See if you can just allow it to melt.

Breathe in and breathe out with a sigh,

Inviting calm.