What we're going to do today is some practice cultivating the supportive states of our hearts and minds.
The nature of our mind is to be always there and always settled and always receptive.
But it takes some practice and then it takes some time before we feel this.
With practice,
The veils which come from all of our lives' events,
The veils of worry and anxiety and loss,
These veils,
They just waft away.
Practice does this for us.
There's nothing more we have to do.
So let's try this.
Let's do some practice which leads us to this.
We will start by settling,
Feeling our bodies on our seats.
Any adjustment you need to make,
Include that in your practice.
It's not something unwanted that you need to push away.
So feeling your feet,
These solid bones on the ground,
Feeling that connection,
Bones and earth,
The resting and solidity of your shins,
Upper legs and sit bones.
Take in the sensations of this solid resting,
Of the support,
The support and being held,
This ability to rest as a result.
This is the context in which we live.
This support,
It's the nature of our lives.
See how that feels for you just now.
The bones of your spine and the ribs off of them.
Again,
Feel the solidity,
Feel the grounding,
Head,
Neck and jaw,
Here too,
Solid,
Weighty,
Supportive.
And now we get to feel the soft tissue that supports the bones.
This will give us an experience in addition to the solidity of some ease from this softness.
Feeling the muscles all around your eyes,
Let them soften and rest.
You may want to do this with your eyes closed,
The muscles of your cheek and all around your mouth.
Softening,
Easing,
And let that softening come to you.
Soft throat,
Soft across your shoulders,
Down your back,
Torso and belly,
Soft muscles.
Feel into it,
Is there both the support of your solid body and the ease of your soft tissues.
See what is true for you,
See what form it takes.
Just receive the experience,
You don't have to create it.
It will support you.
Soft resting hands,
Legs and feet.
See this context of soft grounding.
Move your attention now to your breath.
See where is it most comfortable and clear.
Let your attention rest on your breath,
One half breath at a time,
No more than that.
Receiving the experience of the in-breath,
Receiving the experience of the out-breath.
Your attention lands on the next in-breath,
It rests there.
Your attention lands on the next out-breath,
It rests there.
And your mind just receives the experience of how it feels.
Each one fresh,
No more than that.
Half a breath,
Just land and receive the experience.
This is right effort,
Resting and receiving.
Again feeling where your breath is most clear and most pleasant.
And this experience of pleasant breath is the doorway to the mind state underneath.
Let that experience of the mind state underneath come as well.
So it's not the breath itself that's there,
It's just happening,
It's how your body is.
It's not your experience or reaction to your breath that's also there and just happening.
But just see,
It's subtle at first and it becomes clear,
Just see if there's an experience of well-being.
It appears in different ways,
Different people at different times.
Well-being,
Contentment,
Satisfaction.
So just landing your attention on a half-breath,
On an out-breath,
And seeing does that let you also see this well-being,
This ease.
So with each half-breath,
Receiving any subtle and true mind state.
You don't have to create it,
It will come to you.
That's the sense of receiving.
And with all that is true,
Whatever it is in your life,
Just for these few minutes,
Don't struggle with it.
You don't have to push it away,
But you also get to choose gently to turn to the next half-breath.
Just for this breath,
Let it be an experiment.
See if your mind,
If your heart would like to do that.
With all that's true,
I'd gently like to rest my attention on this next incoming breath.
Each time you make the choice to gently turn to your breath and to receive any pleasant experience of breath,
Any pleasant experience of heart or mind,
That becomes stronger,
The results become more clear.
There's nothing more you have to do,
It's just the natural way of things.
So choose this next pleasant breath,
And then let that process take its natural course of the pleasant,
Becoming more clear and strong.
Not constructing it,
Not having any burden.
Just resting on this next pleasant breath.
What is the experience of mind state?
What form does it take for you just now?
Rest and receive.
Feel the contentment of this practice,
The simplicity of having done this.
Just this,
Just for these few minutes,
Contentment,
Simplicity,
Feeling this is enough,
Feeling well-being.
We wish this contentment,
This clarity and simplicity for ourselves,
And we dedicate the merit,
We share this.
We know that we can share these experiences,
These feelings,
And it only grows.
We share it by wishing it for others.
We have the wish,
May all others feel this contentment and satisfaction.
May all others feel right now they have enough.
And may all others know the happiness from sharing it as well.
We take this in,
Our own well-being and the wish for others.
And so I thank you for your practice today.
