Welcome.
This is a practice in open awareness and noticing what exists not only in front of you,
But all around you and in between.
Go ahead and find a comfortable position sitting or lying down.
Let your shoulders drop,
Let your jaw soften,
Let your breath deepen just slightly.
Take a slow breath in,
Hold it gently,
And exhale with a sigh.
We spend so much of our lives focused on objects,
Tasks,
Goals,
And people.
But today we will explore what happens when we soften that focus,
When we notice not just what is,
But what surrounds it,
The quiet spaces in between.
Close your eyes if you haven't already,
And begin by letting go of the idea that you need to concentrate.
There's nothing to solve here,
Nothing to get right.
Just imagine your attention as a wide,
Gentle light.
Instead of a flashlight aimed at one thing,
Let it become the glow of the sunrise,
Touching everything without needing to land.
Notice how sound rise and fall around you without needing to label them.
Let them come and let them pass.
Feel your breath,
But don't try to control it.
Just let it move naturally as it already is.
If a thought comes in,
Let it be.
There is no need to push it away,
But no need to follow it either.
You are not trying to stop your thoughts.
You're simply noticing that you are the awareness behind them,
Like watching clouds pass through the sky.
Now imagine you are standing or sitting beneath a tall tree.
The branches stretch high above you,
Wide,
Ancient,
Rooted in the earth.
You see the leaves,
Some still,
Some fluttering softly in the wind.
But instead of focusing on the leaves,
Allow your gaze,
Your inner vision,
To soften.
Notice the space between the leaves,
The gaps where the light pours through,
Sunlight filtering in like a golden mist.
Feel what it's like to rest in the in-between,
To not need a thing to look at,
To simply notice the light,
The space,
The movement that flows through it all.
If the mind drifts,
That's okay.
Gently return to the spaces,
The light between the leaves,
The stillness between sounds,
The breath between thoughts.
Now imagine a mountain stream,
Cool,
Clear water,
Trickling and trembling over smooth stone.
You hear the soft music of the currents.
You see how the water glides,
Twisting and swirling with effortless grace.
Let your awareness shift again,
Not to the rocks,
Not to the water,
But to the space between the stones.
The pathways the water finds,
The openings that invite movement.
Notice how the water doesn't force itself through.
It simply follows the space,
Soft,
Unresisting,
And wise.
Let your awareness be like water now,
Flowing through,
Around,
Between,
Not clinging to anything,
Just moving freely.
Let yourself rest here in this flow of openness,
The space between form,
Effortless,
And expansive.
The sky stretches above you,
Open,
Vast,
Unending.
White clouds drift lazily across the blue.
As you watch,
Shift again.
From the clouds to the space between them.
The openness that holds their shape,
The stillness that allows them to move.
Notice how the sky doesn't chase the clouds,
Doesn't need to hold them,
They just pass through.
And in the same way,
Let your thoughts pass.
Let your feelings arise and fall.
You are the sky,
The awareness in which everything unfolds.
Gently bring that spacious awareness inward.
Feel the space within your body.
The open cavity of your chest as you breathe.
The subtle vibrations behind your closed eyes.
The deep,
Quiet center of you,
Still and vast.
You are not just your thoughts.
You are the space that holds it all.
The awareness that watches gently,
Patiently,
Without judgment.
Rest in that space now.
No need to do anything,
Just be.
Begin to gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Feel the soft rise and fall of your chest.
Wiggle your fingers and your toes.
Notice the feeling of the air on your skin.
The support of the ground beneath you.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And exhale slowly through your mouth.
You can carry this open awareness with you.
Noticing the spaces,
The stillness,
The beauty of what exists between.
Whenever the world feels too loud or too heavy,
Come back to the space.
It is always here.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes.
Namaste.
