Hello,
Kimberly Johnson here.
I am so honored you will be sitting with me today,
Exploring your inner world and your outer world.
I have been meditating since 2007 and am currently under the mentorship of the lovely Jack Kornfeld and Tara Brach.
My hope is leading you through meditations that give you access on the cushion and off of the cushion in day to day life to really develop and feel true peace,
True joy,
And true presence.
Today's meditation is to begin helping us get more and more comfortable with the changing nature of our world,
Our life,
And our own body and existence here.
So go ahead and just take a moment to find your seat,
Maybe making micro movements in the hips or the shoulders or the neck just to get comfortable so that you can sit still for an extended amount of time.
And as the body begins to settle,
Just notice for a moment right where the bum is touching the cushion,
Whether you're in a chair or on the floor or on a bed,
Just noticing right where that point of contact is from the bum to the seat.
And I want you to just feel this point of contact bringing the awareness right here into the body,
Beginning to notice sensation.
Maybe it's soft,
Maybe it's hard,
Maybe it's warm or cool.
And see if you can feel the sensation that's happening right in this area of the body.
Maybe it's pulsing or tingly,
Or maybe you just feel a slight sensation.
Whatever's here,
Just notice.
And you might even begin noticing the changing nature of the sensation.
And as your body settles in the seat and your awareness comes more and more into the body,
Gently bring the awareness up through the body and notice where you might be holding any tension.
And notice if this tension is habitual tension,
Tension that you notice often,
Like for me,
I hold tension in the right arm and hand.
And it arises often throughout my day.
So just noticing your own body.
Where does your body tend to tense up to hold patterns?
And see if just in this moment if you can begin to trust your seat,
Trust the support of your seat,
And let the body begin to relax,
Letting go of these little tensions.
Knowing good and well that the body will pick back up the tension as we sit and as we walk through life.
And knowing how normal that is and okay that is.
And the more awareness we have of it,
Of kind of the changing nature of tense,
Relaxed,
Tensed,
Relaxed.
The more awareness we have,
The more that we can practice relaxing the body,
Letting go.
And as the body lets go,
Gently now bring the awareness,
The attention to begin observing the body breathing.
Noticing how the body moves with the inhale.
Noticing how the body moves with the exhale.
And knowing that this is one of our superpowers in life is to begin to understand that we have the power to direct our attention at each moment.
We can choose where the attention will go.
And we can notice where the attention is and redirect it however we choose to.
And so keeping the attention on the breath,
Feeling and experiencing this miraculous breath in the body.
And you might even begin noticing how the breath is constantly changing.
How it arrives in existence and then it peaks at the top of the inhale.
And then it begins to leave,
To be let go.
And how every breath is slightly different.
Sometimes it's deep,
Sometimes it's shallow.
Sometimes it's labored,
Other times it's smooth.
Sometimes it's forced,
Other times it's natural.
Just beginning to pay close attention to the changing nature of the breath.
Circulation.
And almost like a magnifying glass,
See if you can put your full attention on observing the breath,
Distinctly trying to watch and discover the subtle changes of the breath.
You'll also begin to notice that as you focus in on the breath,
The breathing,
That the mind's attention will change.
The mind will wander.
It might wander to a body sensation.
It might wander to a noise.
It might wander to imaginings in the mind.
And wherever the mind wanders,
Just notice that it's wandered and changed.
And then begin to contemplate the change of where it wandered.
So if it's in the body,
Maybe it's a knee pain,
You begin to wonder,
Was this sensation here when I was five years old?
If not,
Why?
What happened?
Will this sensation be here an hour from now?
If not,
Why?
What will happen?
If the mind wanders to imaginings or past ponderings,
Asking the same sorts of questions,
Is this what I was thinking about when I was five years old?
If not,
What happened?
Will this be what I am thinking about an hour from now or five years from now?
If not,
Why?
What happens?
Contemplating the change of where the mind wanders,
Staying in that contemplation for a few breaths,
And then gently guiding your attention,
Redirecting the attention right back to the next changing breath.
Notice if you're tense or taking the practice too seriously and see if you can relax the body as you keep observing the changing nature of whatever is arising.
Or notice if you're sleepy and see if you can straighten your spine and really turn up the dial of effort,
Being curious about the changing nature of all things,
Including your sleepiness or including your tension.
Continuing to observe wherever the mind wanders and curiously asking,
How will this change with time or how has it changed in time?
Go ahead and gently drop the breath or the inquiry and just get really still.
Well,
Gently begin exploring just a few aspects of life and begin noticing the changing nature of these things.
So letting my voice guide you.
Bring to mind your life challenges and just notice and trust what arises and then begin noticing the changing nature of your life's challenges.
How similar to the breath the challenge arises,
It may be peaks,
And then it changes,
Really contemplating the changing nature of some of your challenges in life.
You might even ask,
Did this challenge change?
Will this challenge be here in 30 years?
Gently letting that go.
Now bring to mind the joys of life,
The joys that you've experienced thus far in life.
And begin noticing the changing nature of your joys,
How they arise,
They peak,
And then they change or go away.
Gently letting that go.
Now begin thinking about your moods or emotions or feelings.
And think about the life,
The world of your feelings or emotions or moods over your lifetime.
And begin contemplating their changing nature,
How they come,
They peak,
And then they change and go away.
They might come back and peak and then gently go away again.
And in its replacement is a new mood or emotion or feeling.
Really contemplating the changing nature of your moods,
Emotions,
And feelings.
Gently letting that go.
We've got two more staying with me.
Next,
Begin contemplating the body.
And how the body has changed over your lifetime.
Not judging the changes,
But observing the nature of all things,
Including the body.
Do you have the same body as you did when you were five years old?
If not,
What happened?
Will you have the same body in 10,
20,
30 years?
If not,
What will happen?
Thinking about how our hair has changed and will change.
How our teeth have changed and will change.
How our skin has changed and will change.
Gently letting that go.
Now bringing to mind the earth and how the earth is in constant change.
How the grass grows in the spring and dies in the winter.
How some days are sunny and bright and others are dark and stormy.
How the temperature in a day changes about 20 to 30 degrees depending upon where you live.
How trees grow flowers or plants grow fruit and then those flowers die or the fruit falls off.
Contemplating the constant change of our natural earth environment.
I'll end with a quote.
Why cling to something that you know is going to change?
Why get upset about something that you know is going to change?
All things will change.
This too will change.
This too will change.
This too will change.
You might take a moment.
And maybe just see how you feel.
See what's most present for you right now.
Not looking for anything grandiose or judging what's here just noticing.
And maybe you gently begin to move the body.
Maybe you begin to take in and notice the sounds around you.
Maybe the eyes open and you notice what you can see the colors,
The textures,
The lighting.
Today as you walk through your life,
I want to offer the suggestion of taking this meditation with you.
Begin noticing the changing nature of all things.
And maybe if something gets sticky or you feel caught or stuck.
Contemplate the changing nature of this thing and maybe whisper to yourself.
This will change.
This will change.
This will change.
Thank you so much for sitting with me.
To learn more about my work,
You can go to the Insight Timer,
Kimberly Elise Johnson homepage.
Thank you so much.
