Focus From The Heart

My name is Jimmy Mearn with The Spiritual Skinny Dip and this is a centering meditation.

There is no wrong way to meditate.

We sit still and pay attention.

That is it.

It is a practice which grows especially with daily effort.

Even the smallest effort goes the longest way and I encourage you to have fun and play.

It can be an art and you'll have to see for yourself,

But my experience is that meditation can be a timeless unparalleled adventure.

Meditation is really so simple and once you get the hang of it,

So satisfying to be present in the moment.

This is a centering meditation.

You may think of your center as the center of your body,

Your heart.

It is residing and abiding in the present moment,

Here,

Now,

Communing with that which is and doing so from that place inside you where you feel most you,

Most yourself.

The place inside where you are whole,

Where sticks,

Stones,

Names,

Slings,

Arrows,

Accolades,

All the comings and goings can't touch.

Perhaps you could think of being centered as accessing your best available self in any given moment.

Whereas the ego or your sense of I separate from the whole is interested in polarity,

Duplicity and multiplicity,

The self with a capital S is empowered by connection to the whole,

The universe,

The one,

The center.

This meditation is meant for both beginners and seasoned meditators to set the body still and the mind awake.

To set aside distractions,

Worries,

The past and the future,

And to follow the busy bee of attention into the heart in the present moment.

So let's get centered.

Let's meditate together.

Begin by noticing the energy in the room.

Begin to let go.

Begin to let go of the accumulated energy of the day.

Physically letting go,

Emotionally letting go,

Mentally letting go,

And let's allow the body its natural process of calming down.

Start to get comfortable.

If you choose to lie down,

Please completely let go of any tension and let gravity do the work,

Relaxing you.

If you are sitting up,

I encourage you to sit with the spine straight,

Using only the muscles it takes to hold the spine straight.

There is a physiological signal being sent to the brain from our posture to be at attention,

So the mindset mirrors our body and vice versa.

Let us be alert and engaged,

Focused but not rigid.

Herein is the art and it just takes practice.

You can do it.

And if you haven't already done so,

Gently close your eyes.

Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Relax.

Everything is okay.

This is time for self-care,

Time to just be.

Let's summon some gratitude.

Gratitude is a wise approach to begin any endeavor.

Grateful that we showed up for ourselves for this meditation.

Appreciate that you have endeavored to follow this path to get in touch with your essential self.

If we do not feel grateful,

That is okay.

We can list the things that are good in our life.

If even in the smallest way we can feel the vibration of gratitude,

This is an inroad.

And go ahead and smile.

Let's engage the sense of hearing.

Notice the sounds,

If you will,

In and out of your immediate space.

Try to do so without the mind labeling the sounds.

And then notice the sounds outside your immediate space.

Perhaps an airplane overhead,

A distant voice.

And what sounds would you not have heard were you not paying attention?

We are cuing an awareness here with which we can sense not just the outer world but the inner world as well.

Register the time of day.

And next,

Register the nature of the land that surrounds you.

Are you in a city?

Are you near a river or lake or the ocean?

Are you high up in the mountains or do you live amidst peaceful farm fields?

Be where you are with the vibrations of your here and now.

Let's continue our centering journey with a body scan.

We will bring the body into a great resting stillness.

This process may feel like a series of turning analog switches off while the mind stays on.

We will start with the feet.

Put your attention on the feet.

You may wiggle your toes if you wish.

And as you scan the feet,

See if there is any tense muscles or tension of any kind and simply do your best to relax the feet.

Let's take a conscious breath in and as we do so,

Let's picture the in-breath as carrying a soft healing light into the body part and the out-breath carrying the tension and stress away.

I like to picture the in-breath as a soft healing light and I like to picture the healing light on the in-breath as the color of a candle light.

Thus,

Breathing in that healing light and breathing out the tension.

Now,

Putting your attention on the ankles if you wish to slightly roll your ankles,

Do so.

And let's breathe in that soft healing light into the ankles and breathing out any tension.

Now,

To the lower legs.

Relax.

Breathing in soft healing light.

Breathing out any tension.

The attention comes to the knees,

Often hard workers.

See if you can relax the knees and literally picture the in-breath carrying soft healing light.

Breathe all the way through the body into the knees and breathing out that tension and stress.

That tension and stress.

Now,

To the upper legs.

Scanning,

Noticing,

Letting go.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Relaxing the body ever deeper.

Now,

The attention goes to the butt and hips and the lower chakra or energy center at the end of the spine.

Let's just relax.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Next,

The attention comes to the lower stomach,

The spot where we often register the gut feeling.

Science is pointing out the intelligence in the gut.

Breathing in that soft warm healing light and breathing out.

Relax.

Now,

To the upper stomach,

Solar plexus,

Where the third chakra is often associated with the inner decision maker.

As in hatha yoga,

We will breathe in to expand and breathe out to let go.

Let the flow flow.

Now,

Let's take a deep breath into the space behind the heart.

This is an effort in support.

Breathing in,

Filling the lungs and chest into the space behind the heart and breathing out.

Relaxing ever deeper.

And then wiggle the fingers if you wish.

I like to take pause and breathe out.

And then wiggle the fingers if you wish.

I like to take pause here to thank the hands,

However silly it might sound,

For their hard work.

Really amazing to contemplate the many functions of the hands throughout each day.

Breathing in and breathing out.

Completely relaxing the hands.

To the forearms and elbows.

Breathing in.

Breathing in.

And breathing out.

To the upper arms,

Biceps and triceps.

Scanning.

Letting the tension go.

Breathing in that healing soft white candlelight.

And breathing out.

Tension dissipates.

Now the place often of so much tension,

The shoulders,

A good litmus test for bodily relaxation is if the shoulders are dropped.

Scan the shoulders mentally to relax.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

And moving to the neck.

Relaxing.

Breathing in healing light.

Breathing out any stress.

We are garnering ease and letting the flow flow.

And now to the jawline,

Another spot of tension.

Opening and closing the jaw some if you wish.

And then we're going to the back of the neck.

And now to the jawline,

Another spot of tension.

Opening and closing the jaw some if you wish.

And now the muscles around the mouth and cheeks.

Relax them.

Wiggle your nose and ears if you wish.

And relax the eyes and eye sockets.

Feel the forehead as porous,

Almost as if it could breathe.

And now the attention goes to the crown and scalp.

We'll breathe in to the whole face and head and brain.

Breathing in.

Breathing out.

Relax.

The body is now set still while the mind stays awake.

You may feel both an increased sense of peace and calm and an increased sense of awareness,

Of being alive.

Now let's work with what will be our anchor for our practice in this centering meditation,

The breath.

The masters say the breath is the link between body and soul.

If at any time big emotions come up or the mind wanders or the ego negs at you,

Just simply come back to the breath.

Let's practice two rounds of square breathing.

We will breathe in to the count of five,

Hold to the count of five,

Breathe out to the count of five,

And hold to the count of five.

Let's breathe in.

Hold.

Breathing out.

Hold.

Breathing out.

Hold.

Breathing in.

Hold.

Breathing out.

Hold.

Hold.

Now,

Let the natural rhythm of the breath hold sway.

Let the breath breathe.

So much of the art of meditation is surrendering,

Allowing.

It's not adding unto,

It's subtracting from.

So we are in process of subtracting control.

In the safest way there can be,

Sitting still.

Allow the breath to breathe in and out of its own accord.

This process should really feel natural and right.

Our anchor at all times for our meditation as we go deeper is the breath.

Just the simple in and out.

Let's practice mentally repeating in on the in breath and out on the out breath.

This creates some separation between the noticer and the actor.

In.

Out.

I can see it.

In.

Out.

As you let the breath breathe,

Spy on your breath.

And again,

We have fun with it.

Can you spy on your own breath with the focus of a ninja or an assassin?

As if spying on someone else's breath.

Letting go of control and working that muscle of awareness.

I invite you to disidentify with the thinking mind.

And identify with meditative mind.

Where is that part of you that notices?

That doesn't need to control?

This is the observer.

Non-judgmental observation,

Our goal.

This is our goal.

No agenda.

Reside mentally in this space.

And lend your consciousness to the observer.

Like an eagle perched high above with incredibly clear eyesight,

We are viewing the inner landscape present in the moment and this eagle has no agenda.

Can you be like the hunter?

Collecting information without anything to hunt,

To manipulate,

To devour,

To desire or to fear.

The eagle of awareness.

The observer with which we are identifying,

It sees,

It registers,

It notices,

It watches.

Again,

We're rooted in and anchored in the simple breath.

Returning at any time if you feel inclined to do a fun experiment here with me.

I sometimes picture the watcher at the back of the skull by the medulla.

And I like to see if I can watch the watcher.

I picture that viewpoint or focal point about two feet up and behind the skull.

Almost as if watching in third person.

And so forth if you wish.

Watching the watcher,

Watching the watcher who watches.

We're creating space.

And notice your own energy.

What is your presence now?

It isn't intellectual.

Remember,

We are in meditative mind,

Not thinking mind.

Fear is the mind.

Feel your presence.

Feel that sense of aliveness seeming to generate from within.

Getting in touch with your energy,

Whatever is going on with you,

It's okay.

Let flow flow.

Allow things naturally to occur.

Meditation is incredibly natural.

It's not just a meditation.

It's a meditation that is not just a meditation.

Meditation is incredibly natural.

Not forced,

Not feigned.

Allow yourself to just be.

Now let's connect our presence with the presence.

We've already begun this connection when we were very simply listening to and hearing the sounds in your immediate space.

This is the inroad,

The access.

Sometimes it may take courage or trust.

My words are only pointers and words can fall short.

These words point the way for you to have your own experience.

It is so immediate.

It is before words.

It doesn't need words,

This awareness.

Anchored in the simple in and out breath.

I'd like you to picture a shelf.

And on this shelf,

Let's put all the worries of yesterday,

The follies and victories of the past,

Equally temporary and usually misleading.

Any resentments,

Just put these on that shelf.

They can wait for you.

And let's also set on the shelf items representing the future tomorrow.

Even plans and dreams,

Especially the to-do list,

Just set it on the shelf.

And now we have created more space and lo and behold,

It's the time it's always been,

The present.

This is always the inroad.

The ego is very tricky in wanting to get what it wants through notions of resolving the past or future.

As we start to get the hang of being in the present moment,

Sometimes it can feel timeless.

Let's surf the wave of the present.

The wave is the present moment.

The surfboard is meditation.

And the surfer is your attention.

And here now,

And here now,

Stay with it.

With childlike wonder,

With intuition.

And here now,

And here now,

Here now,

Now.

Stay on that wave,

Balanced and free.

Thoughts may arise,

And that's okay.

This is par for the course for all of us.

Let them do their thing.

Do not identify with them.

They come and go.

Do not identify with the thinking mind.

Do your best to identify with the meditative mind,

The watcher.

And remember our anchor,

The natural breath.

In and out.

Now surf.

If the ego continues to nag,

Trying to hijack the moment,

Just put your arm around it and say,

Thank you.

Thank you for protecting me.

Come,

Sit here next to me and rest.

Check out the view.

What you truly seek is here.

It's not in the fight,

It's in the surrender.

Just sit next to me.

Let's watch.

So we've stilled the body.

We have anchored in the breath.

We have identified with the watcher.

We have connected our presence with the presence.

We've done away with the distractions of past and future,

And we find ourselves surfing the wave of the present moment.

And now we come into our center.

Bring the attention to the heart.

Other cultures have the heart as our center,

Not our mind.

And though it may seem long forgotten,

In this moment we can remember.

Put your attention on the physical heart.

And see if you can sense or feel your heartbeat.

Stay with it.

We don't just meditate with the mind.

We meditate with our whole being.

We also meditate from the heart.

Now,

Physiologically,

We have sent a message to the figurative or proverbial heart,

That which is loved and loves within us.

Go ahead and be curious and explore here.

Reacquaint yourself with your heart.

Recalling when the sixth sense was fully alive.

And sense was made from the creative intelligence inside the center of the body.

You could feel when a situation was negative.

You could feel when to go after something.

It just feels right.

This is gut,

But it's also heart.

We're sinking deep in past layers of should be,

Could be,

Would be.

We've sunk in past layers of filters of perception based on selfishness.

We've sunk in past the ought to be.

Past the time bound self.

To the part of us which is loved and loves.

Feel into the physical heart and chest as you consider these questions.

See what comes up for you.

How do you love?

What do you love?

Whom do you love?

What does it feel like to be loved?

With each sensation,

Each series of words or images that arises in response,

Notice the vibration.

Though the images and words may fall away,

Keep that vibration.

Stay with it.

Meditating on,

Meditating with,

Meditating from.

This is the center and we are now centered.

Surf the wave of the present moment from center.

With each curious inquiry into the heart,

We can unlock the stuck parts and become whole.

It's like seeing everything fresh,

Fresh color,

Yet so familiar.

It may have a quality of wholesomeness just simply forgotten.

It may have a quality of rawness or the primordial spark.

All the while we are rooted in the natural breath.

From center,

Peace and joy,

Natural byproducts of meditation come forth.

And again,

We have no agenda.

Agendas fall away.

The end is the means and we commune with silence from the center.

Let's complete our centering meditation with a little visualization using what is my favorite tool,

The imagination.

Put your attention on your stomach.

You may even place your left hand on your stomach to that place where you get that gut feeling.

At this spot,

This energy center,

I invite you to picture a ball of red glowing light.

It is rotating and spinning at the rate of health.

This energy ball represents a part of your essence.

Picture it as conscious,

Almost like a mix between a ball of energy and a transcendent lightning bug stamped with your DNA.

Let's picture a similar yellow energy ball in the solar plexus.

Solar,

Sun.

And let this yellow energy ball have the qualities of the sun,

Warm,

Bright and illuminating.

Picture it as a mix between a conscious ball of energy and a little sun,

Your sun.

And at your center,

The heart.

Here picture a kelly green ball of light rotating at the rate of perfection and beauty in your heart.

Green is the color of new life and you feel so connected to the life force here from your center.

This ball of light,

Like an emerald reflecting love.

Further,

Let us put the attention on the center of the forehead and picture a dark blue light representing vision and presence.

This conscious ball of energy is pitched perfectly in its spin and appears not unlike a brilliant moon.

Picture these energies,

These balls of light,

Our red lightning bug,

Our yellow sun,

Our green emerald and our blue moon.

Picture them.

Meeting just in front of your heart,

About a foot outside the body.

Picture them coming together,

Sparking different colors.

Perhaps a cadre of energy lightning bugs hums in a chorus before you.

Perhaps the emerald has born new gems.

Perhaps the yellow sun and blue moon dance together.

They fly away and you notice a blackness.

And then they come back together.

And when they come back together,

You notice a white shining light.

That soft healing candlelight,

White light that we summoned on the in-breath at the beginning of our journey.

Each ball of light in turn returns back behind the forehead,

Back into the heart,

Into the solar plexus,

Then into the gut.

And you feel them line up in your spine.

You are loved and you are love and it's okay to be human.

Being centered,

We are whole.

We don't need a printed report.

We don't need a grade.

We don't need someone else's approval or disapproval.

We don't need lifetimes.

By daily meditation,

We wake up.

Everything is okay.

Rooted in the breath,

Very gently we begin our return.

Always applying that wisdom to interface back with the relational state in a very gentle way.

With a steady concentration of carrying a pail of water across a field,

Careful not to spill.

Back across the threshold,

Feeling back into the body.

Notice now again the energy of the immediate space,

Allowing the positive vibrations,

Thoughts,

Feelings from meditation to integrate into the system.

If you'd like to make a little prayer here,

A prayer of healing perhaps for someone,

Perhaps a prayer of gratitude to a teacher or ancestor.

And feeling back into the body,

Coming back into a relational state.

Wiggle your toes,

Roll your shoulders,

Any movements your body needs it will know,

Start to make them.

Thank you for being with me today.

And together,

Let's finish our meditation with a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.

.