Begin by gathering in the quiet,
Coming into and being embraced by stillness,
Feeling the gentle and steady tug of gravity that holds you in and embraces you to the earth,
And diminishing the effort you put forth to resist gravity when standing,
Sitting,
Or even lying down.
Letting yourself give in to the earth's gentle embrace.
Coming into a quieter,
More profound space.
Sitting in the paradox of reverence and irreverence.
Embracing all that is with a light-hearted smile.
Breathing deeper.
Coming into your body,
Both its joys and delights,
And its aches and pains,
All to the good.
All a part of living life,
Being successful at living.
Notice where you are.
Sounds and gentle sussurises of noise and birds and winds.
Notice your spine,
Length,
Rigidity,
Contortion,
Tension,
Extension.
However it is right now,
It's cool.
Give it the gift of accepting it,
And accepting your body as you enter into this meditation.
Honor yourself that way.
Bring your inhale deeper down,
And see if you can make your exhale intentionally slower.
Breathing deeper and slower.
Longer and steadier breaths.
Using them to fill and release muscles.
Grateful for the agency you have over your own body,
And your presence within it,
And part of it.
There's probably something out there you want.
Something material that you'd like to acquire.
Perhaps you're not even aware of what it is yet.
It's being built,
Held in the ethers of the internet,
Or distantly arriving.
Those kind of toys are fun,
But we don't need them.
And some such things are better off given away.
Before you grasp to acquire,
Think about letting go,
And the possibility that you might not need it.
Breathing in,
And perhaps while you breathe out,
You might release this product back to its potential warehouse,
Beyond your sight.
Returning this thing you want,
But may not need.
Letting go,
And letting your circle of possessions become a little smaller,
And you can become a little lighter.
Breathing in,
And breathing out,
Unencumbered.
Returning to your body,
Carrying slightly fewer things.
Perhaps your muscles are lighter,
Your posture less rigid,
And you notice what's around you,
And within you,
Getting simpler.
Maybe there's something you've seen,
And you experience jealousy.
A kitchen appliance,
An article of clothing,
A new car,
Owned by a friend or a relative,
Or just observed at a distance.
Consider this discrete item in its finality and utility.
As you breathe,
You may realize you want it,
But don't need it.
You may want to use your breath to begin the process of letting go,
Of grasping.
This item that sparked jealousy or excitement,
Maybe you're tempted to let it go.
That's okay.
You probably didn't need it anyway.
A new car,
Or fancy shoes,
Bigger TV.
You may let it go,
If you're ready,
And as you breathe out,
You let yourself become smaller and lighter,
By holding fewer things,
Giving them away.
Continuing to breathe,
Settle into gravity,
Slow down,
Become quieter and more still.
Noticing your body,
Easing into your posture,
Just relaxing,
Knowing that you can carry fewer things.
You are lighter,
Smaller,
And unencumbered.
There may be something in your house that you can't let go of,
But you know,
You never wear it anymore.
A toy you don't play with anymore,
Jewelry that no longer suits your lifestyle.
Something hard to let go of,
But you know would be better in someone else's hands and care.
Let your awareness drift around and see if there's something that you're holding onto unnecessarily.
What would it be like to let it go,
To give it away?
Would you feel joy in giving?
Would you be fearful about not possessing it?
It's good to notice those things,
Without judgment.
As you breathe in deeply,
Out slowly,
You may come to the conclusion that you don't need this thing.
That it is just material and not essential to your life.
Breathing in to relaxation,
And out just a little lighter,
As you consider all the things you don't need to carry.
Maybe there's even something on your body right now.
Something in your wallet or purse,
An article of clothing,
Jewelry or makeup,
A set of shoes.
This has outlived its usefulness to me,
And someone else could have it and be happy.
Is that possible?
That you no longer need even this thing so close to your body and self?
Maybe.
Breathe in and open-mindedly consider that possibility.
That you have,
Or want,
More than you need.
And you would be safe with less.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Just allow that idea to be considered and observed and toyed with.
For the remainder of the time in our meditation,
As you breathe,
Wonder if there's a pattern among these objects.
Are they all of a shared type?
Do they all come from a similar period in your life,
Or represent a similar desire?
Do you notice a pattern in the subject of these objects?
That is,
You.
Is there a pattern within you,
Represented in the things you acquire?
As you continue to breathe and sit and rest in this meditation,
Just be open to any patterns you might notice.
