So thank you for being here with me today.
So this morning,
A video about near-death experiences appeared in my feed,
And it brought me back to a time when I was deeply fascinated by them.
I've listened to countless stories from people all over the world,
From different cultures and different belief systems,
And while the details vary,
There's a thread that runs through so many of them.
When the body is near death or has briefly died,
There's often a profound sense of detachment from the body.
People describe floating above the body,
Seeing it lying there,
Recognizing it as their body,
And yet knowing unmistakably,
This is not who I am.
And then other people have spoken to this sort of effortless letting go,
Not becoming something new,
But resting fully as what they already were,
Which is just pure source,
An infinite being,
And consciousness itself.
And nearly all of them describe the same thing,
And it's just an indescribable peace,
A sense of deep relief,
A sense of finally coming home.
Many say that they didn't want to come back.
And here's what feels,
I guess,
How it all kind of ties into this is,
We don't have to die to rest in that peace.
It isn't waiting for us later.
It's what we already are right now.
And true healing isn't about fixing the self.
It's about remembering and consciously becoming aware of our eternal nature again and again.
So today we're not trying to have any type of experience,
We're just simply creating space to notice what's already here.
That's all.
So if you'd like,
You can close your eyes,
You can keep them open,
But just let your body be as it is,
Seated or resting or lying back.
Just notice you are here.
Notice that experiencing is already happening.
There are sounds and sensations,
Thoughts.
And yet something is quietly aware of it all,
Effortlessly.
Very gently notice the body,
Not as you,
But as something being perceived.
Sensations may be present.
You may feel the weight of the body.
Movement of the breath,
The chest.
Just notice the body is appearing within the experience.
The body is known.
If thoughts arise about the body,
That's okay.
Those thoughts are also being noticed.
What notices them?
Just notice the simple sense of being.
Not being someone,
Just being.
No shape.
No edge.
No story or memory.
Just being the eternal nature that you are.
You may notice a sense of peace or openness or nothing in particular.
And all of that is welcome.
What you are does not require a feeling.
What remains when identification falls away?
Without leaving this room or leaving the body.
Just notice what remains present.
Even as experience changes.
Thoughts may be coming and going still.
Memories may arise.
Stories about the past or the future might be appearing.
And yet this.
This.
What is quietly always here.
Doesn't move.
Doesn't change.
If there is emotional or physical pain.
Let it be included.
Not as something to heal or fix or change.
Just as an experience.
An experience that's appearing in something much larger.
Just resting as this.
This presence.
This being.
Before identity.
Before memory.
And time.
As we begin to gently close our session.
Slowly coming back to the room.
Noticing that nothing needs to change.
When you return to movement or conversation.
Or the things that lie ahead in your day.
This.
What we touched here.
Doesn't ever leave.
While it can seem like it.
We don't go in and out of it.
We live as it.
If you had your eyes closed.
Feel free to open them.
Thank you for resting here with me today.
For remembering.
Not with the mind.
But with being.
Namaste.
