Today's practice is to prepare you for being present in your life,
Alive here now,
And increasing your attentional flexibility,
Your capacity to attend to what is good,
What is wonderful.
You can begin in a seated position or lying down or even walking for this meditation.
And we'll begin with three sounds of the bell.
I'm gonna wake up the bell before we get started.
And waking up the bell is like waking up yourself a little bit before you get started in your meditation.
It's a short sound,
A gentle sound to invite you to pay attention to the sound of the bell.
And we can think of the sound of the bell as a calling,
A reminder to come back home to yourself,
Back to the present moment,
Back to what is here.
So I'll wake up the bell with a short sound.
And then when I ring the bell,
I encourage you to take a slow,
Long breath and let the sound of the ringing really enter into your whole body,
To every cell of your body.
And listening to the sound of the bell for as long as you can hear it,
Bring your attention to the here and now.
And you can begin to notice your body in this moment,
Feeling where you make contact with the ground,
Noticing where you make contact with air,
The air on your skin.
Opening your ears to sound.
Waking up your senses here to the outer world.
And then you can also climb inside your body.
Climbing inside,
You can bring attention to your heart.
And with an intention for this practice to benefit you,
Your healing,
Your wellbeing,
But also all beings that you encounter.
We're gonna be repeating a mantra that comes from Thich Nhat Hanh.
And it's a mantra that is designed to help you come back to yourself in the present moment,
But also to focus your mind.
On what is real and here and now.
Sometimes our mind can get so caught up in what is not real and not here and not now.
What is real in here and now is that you are alive.
You are at home within yourself.
And this is a precious moment,
A wonderful moment.
So let's seal that into our body and our being with our practice.
As I repeat the mantra,
You can say it silently to yourself or you can just receive the words.
And I'll ring the bell with each round.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am alive.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am here.
Breathing in,
I'm aware that I am alive.
Feel the alivening of your face,
The alivening of your spine,
The alivening of your heart,
The alivening of your whole being when you breathe in.
Breathe in,
I'm aware that I am alive.
And breathing out,
I'm aware that I'm here.
Feel the here-ness,
The grounded-ness,
The presence,
The here-ness of your feet,
The here-ness of your shoulders,
The here-ness of your whole body.
You are here.
Breathing in,
I'm aware that I am alive.
Breathing out,
I'm aware that I am here.
Alive.
Here.
You can repeat this mantra with yourself for a few rounds or you can just feel the aliveness.
Be in the here-ness with your breath.
Breathing in,
I'm alive.
Breathing out,
I'm here.
And breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I am home.
Breathing in,
I have arrived.
Feel yourself fully arriving with that in-breath,
Arriving into your body,
Into this moment,
Into your heart.
Breathing out,
I am home.
Feel yourself at home in your body,
At home in this moment,
At home in this moment.
At home in your own heart.
It's a homecoming,
Arriving home.
Breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I am home.
And you can repeat these words with your breath.
Feel that it is true.
Feel it in your body,
That arriving.
Feel in your body that homecoming.
Breathing in,
I have arrived.
Breathing out,
I am home.
And breathing in,
This is a precious moment.
Breathing out,
This is a wonderful moment.
Breathing in,
Feel the preciousness of this moment,
This minute,
This second of your life.
So precious.
Breathing out,
Feel how wonderful it is to be in this moment,
This wonderful moment.
Breathing in,
This truly is a precious moment.
Can you feel its preciousness in your cells,
In your face,
In your heart?
Breathing out,
This is a wonderful moment.
Allow for the gladdening of the mind,
The gladdening of your heart,
Opening to this wonderful moment.
Precious moment.
Knowing that there'll be no moment like this again.
Wonderful moment.
Knowing that because you've known suffering and pain,
You also know what's so wonderful,
What's so beautiful.
Repeat this mantra to yourself for as long as you like,
Until you feel it is true for you.
And then sit in this precious moment,
This wonderful moment,
Breathing in and out.
So here you are,
Alive,
Here,
Arriving with every breath.
At home with every breath.
In this precious moment,
This wonderful moment.
And by practicing your training,
Your mind and your body and your heart and your whole being to remember that you are alive,
To remember that you are here,
Arriving home.
And to remember that this moment is precious and wonderful,
Available for you to wake up to.
And I'm gonna close with a short poem by Rosemary Trotter,
And it's called Idea.
I will enjoy this life.
I will open it like a peach in season,
Suck the juice from every finger,
Run my tongue over my chin.
I will not worry about cliches or uninvited guests appearing in my windows.
I will love and be loved,
Save and be saved,
A thousand times.
I will let the want into my body,
Bless the heat under my skin.
My life,
I will not waste it.
I will enjoy this life.
And we can close our practice with three bows.
Bring your hands together,
Palms joined at your heart.
Our first bow is to our teachers.
Thank you to our teachers and to the teachings.
We bow.
And the second bow is to ourselves.
Thank you to me for showing up,
For being here,
For taking the time to practice.
I bow to me.
And the third bow is to our sangha,
Our community,
All of us that are practicing together.
That are on this path of awakening and presence and wise effort.
We bow to our sangha,
Our community.
Lokas amastah sukhino bhavantu.
May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts,
Words,
And actions of my own life contribute in some way to the happiness and freedom for all.
Shanti,
Shanti,
Shanti.
