Okay,
It's just,
It's so easy to just go about your,
Go about your day,
Momentarily just do one task and then another task and then another task.
And even if we stop for a moment,
It's hard to get a sense of that,
That bigger picture that we all kind of long for,
Or that we're all at some point in your life,
I know you've become aware of that just,
That something more,
That something bigger,
That we all kind of long to be a part of.
And the thought occurred to me today about how it's already here.
That something bigger,
That something more is already,
It's already here.
And it's always been here.
It's just a matter of our awareness of it.
There's a wonderful affirmation that I'm going to include toward the end for us that I'll tell you now by Paramahansa Yogananda.
So if you want to just,
If your eyes aren't already closed,
Just close them for a minute so you can just get a sense of this.
I live,
Move and have my being in spirit.
As a fish lives in the water and a bird in the air,
I will consciously draw strength,
Health and happiness from this all enveloping presence.
Anytime we feel like we're just kind of lost in one task and the next task and the next task,
If we think of the,
At least the feeling behind this affirmation,
Certainly if you learn it,
You can certainly use it and apply it.
But if we take that apart,
This idea that that's something more is always here and it just takes some practice to be in tune with it.
So let's just relax with that in mind.
Let's just relax the breath and focus the mind a bit.
Take a normal breath in and out and let the breath go.
Just let it flow naturally in and out through the nose.
Check in with your posture.
Make sure you're sitting up nice and straight.
Relax your face.
Relax your jaw.
Allow your tongue to fall away from the roof of your mouth.
Relax your eyes behind your eyelids.
Soften your eyelids.
See if you can begin to notice your breath.
Utilizing this classic technique of watching the breath.
You may just feel it mechanically in your belly or your chest at first.
That's good.
See if you can notice it in your nostrils.
Sometimes the edges of the nostrils are the easiest place to feel it first.
Cool on the inhale,
Warm on the exhale.
See if you can notice it a little bit higher in the nose.
And then see how high in your nose you can feel it.
Maybe you can even feel it at the very top.
You may be able to feel it at the point between your eyebrows.
Behind your closed eyelids,
Gently draw your gaze upward toward the point between your eyebrows.
You're not crossing your eyes,
And there's no straining.
It's just a gentle upward gaze.
As if you're looking off at distant treetops.
This point between the eyebrows is,
In yogic science,
It's your spiritual eye.
In modern physiology,
It's also your prefrontal lobe,
The brain.
It's where all your higher functions are.
It's your center of peace,
Of wisdom.
It's your center of higher awareness.
Orient to that point with this gentle upward gaze as you continue to watch the breath.
And now add the Hong-So mantra.
As you notice yourself inhale,
Just in your mind say Hong,
H-O-N-G,
Hong.
And as you notice yourself exhale,
Say in your mind Saw.
Like a saw that you use to cut wood.
This is an ancient,
Powerful mantra.
It translates to,
I am he,
Or I am spirit.
But you don't need to focus on the meaning.
Just repeating the mantra will allow you to send a peaceful vibration throughout your being.
And help you concentrate.
Don't use the mantra to control your breath.
Just allow your breath to flow naturally and accompany the natural breath with Hong-So.
You notice your mind wandering,
Which it often does,
To various thoughts,
Thoughts of the future or the past,
Where you find yourself lost in a train of thought.
Simply notice and then gently but firmly come back to your breath and your mantra.
You can concentrate.
Good.
Check in with your gaze.
See if your gaze has fallen.
Gently lift it up once again toward the point between your eyebrows.
You may notice that just after a few minutes your breath begins to slow down.
Or maybe it grows more shallow.
That's good.
As the breath slows down,
The mind can begin to slow down.
And as the mind begins to slow down,
The breath slows down more and grows quiet.
It's a virtuous cycle.
Enjoy that growing sense of quiet in the breath and mind.
Good.
Take an intentional inhale through your nose and an exhale through your mouth.
Let the breath stay out for as long as it wants to.
When it wants to return,
Allow it to do so.
And then forget about the breath.
You don't need to watch it anymore.
You don't need to repeat the mantra anymore.
Once again,
Draw your gaze gently upward toward the point between your eyebrows.
And tune in to this affirmation.
An affirmation is a statement of higher truth.
I live,
Move,
And have my being in spirit.
As a fish lives in the water and a bird in the air,
I will consciously draw strength,
Health,
And happiness from this all-enveloping presence.
I live,
Move,
And have my being in spirit.
As a fish lives in the water and a bird in the air,
I will consciously draw strength,
Health,
And happiness from this all-enveloping presence.
I invite you to follow along just in your mind as I repeat this once or twice more.
I live,
Move,
And have my being in spirit.
As a fish lives in the water and a bird in the air,
I will consciously draw strength,
Health,
And happiness from this all-enveloping presence.
I live,
Move,
And have my being in spirit.
As a fish lives in the water and a bird in the air,
I will consciously draw strength,
Health,
And happiness from this all-enveloping presence.
Let the affirmation go.
Spend just a few more moments here,
Quietly.
Let yourself feel the presence,
The presence within you,
As peace,
As joy,
As love.
Good.
Take a normal breath in and out.
Prepare to come back to the space where you are.
And when you're ready,
You can flutter open your eyes.
