Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
For this premium series,
I've taken my three most popular meditations and expanded on their content.
It's my hope that this series will provide you with helpful insights into meditation and mindfulness.
I began my path in meditation in 1970 when I was 20 years old.
That was 53 years ago.
But even before that,
I had read texts like the Baha'u'llah Gita,
The Upanishads,
And many more.
My path through meditation has spanned nearly my entire adult life,
And it's a part of me,
Just like breathing.
When I was 14,
I read the book Siddhartha by Herman Hesse,
And it had a tremendous impact on me.
Reading that book prompted me to look at the world and my life in a different way.
It caused me to think about myself and others in new ways.
In retrospect,
I realized that this one book and what it showed me was the beginning of my lifelong quest,
A quest that would have twists and turns,
And it would be a quest that would change my life forever.
This book,
Siddhartha,
Is basically a simple story,
And I would like to share some of that story with you now.
In the book,
Siddhartha is a young Brahmin,
A member of the priestly caste.
He is on a quest for enlightenment.
He has revelations and disappointments,
But through it all,
He persists.
At one point in the story,
Siddhartha has come to live with a ferryman on the edge of a great river,
And in this place,
He has a revelation from studying the river,
From looking at the water as it flows by.
And he says,
But out of all the secrets of the river,
Today he only saw one,
And this one touched his soul.
He saw this water.
It ran and ran.
Incessantly it ran and was nevertheless always there,
Was always at all times the same,
And yet new in every moment.
Like be he who would grasp this,
Understand this,
And this idea that the river flows on and on,
Always different,
Yet always the same,
Made me see that our lives are very much like a river.
I even have that phrase as a tagline in my profile here on Insight Timer.
We flow along in our lives,
And in each moment,
We are different,
And yet in a very real sense,
We are constantly the same.
Imagine yourself by a river,
Or a creek,
Or a stream,
Watching it flow by.
You could even imagine water coming out of a tap or a pump.
As it flows past you,
When you gaze upon,
Is always the river,
But in every second,
The water that makes up the river is different.
It's constantly changing,
And yet it is always the river,
Always the same.
Just like a river,
We have a current that is propelled by the circumstances of our lives,
Our family,
Our friends,
Our education,
Our work,
The area we grow up in.
Other people become a part of our river as well.
Co-workers,
Neighborhood friends,
Teachers,
Ministers,
And more.
And some people will flow along with us all of our lives,
While others are only with us for a short time,
Before they flow off in their own direction,
Flow off on their own,
And in many cases,
Never to be seen again.
And so,
Our life,
Our river,
Is forever altered by all the people and events that have been a part of our journey,
Even if just for a little while.
Our river is forever changed,
Even if only minutely,
By everything and everyone we come in contact with.
And we can control the current of our river by getting in touch with our breath.
Yes,
Just by getting in touch with your breath.
It seems like such a simple thing,
Breathing.
We do it from the moment we're born,
And do it until the moment we die.
Constant stream of life,
A river of calm,
If we can just learn to get in touch with it on a regular basis.
By just mastering this one thing,
You can conquer pain and anxiety and sleep problems and so much more.
Close your eyes now,
And let's get in touch with our breath.
It doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Lying down,
Or standing.
What does matter is that you're comfortable.
This is your time,
And it is your practice,
And you don't need to sit like I sit.
You need to be in any position where you are comfortable and alert.
First,
Let's scan our body and begin to relax.
Unfurl your brow,
Unclench your jaw,
Relax your neck and your shoulders.
These are places where people often have tension in today's world.
Relax your arms and your hands.
Let go of any tension in your chest or belly,
And feel yourself getting heavier with each and every breath.
Relax your legs and feet,
And as you begin to relax,
Let's start to focus on our breath.
Our breath is also a river as it flows in and flows out.
Inhale slowly,
And then gently exhale.
Notice your breath as it flows in.
Notice where you feel it in your body,
A cool sensation as it comes in through your nose,
The movement of your chest and belly as the breath flows in and out.
Continue to breathe at your normal pace,
And don't force anything.
Just let your breath move in and out.
Let your breath flow like a river,
Sure and tranquil and calm.
Control your breath,
Just let it be natural,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
One breath at a time.
Thoughts are a part of us,
A constant part of our world,
But you needn't concern yourself with them when you meditate.
Just as a river pays no attention to the leaves and other debris floating on its surface,
So too we shouldn't concern ourselves with our random thoughts.
Just focus on your breath and let thoughts pass across your mind and out again.
We're only concerned with our breath as it flows in and flows out,
One breath at a time.
If you hear sounds in the room,
Just let them go as well.
Barking dogs and meowing cats can't affect your river of calm.
Your breath moving slowly in and slowly out is a powerful river of calm,
A river of peace,
A stream of tranquility.
And this river of breath can have a powerful effect on your life.
Being able to get in touch with this current can transform your life,
Its transformed mine.
It can help you to deal with tension and insecurities following the river of your breath,
Can help you to deal better with the problems in your day,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Just one breath at a time.
Quoting from Sidhartha again,
He says,
Have you learned that secret from the river that there is no such thing as time,
That the river is everywhere at the same time?
At the source and at the mouth,
At the waterfall and at the ferry,
At the current and in the ocean and in the mountains,
Everywhere,
And that the present only exists for it,
Not the shadow of the past or the shadow of the future.
Essentially,
All humans are calmed by the sound of water,
By the sight of water flowing.
Think about how many of us spend time in or on water.
We have fountains because we find peace in the sound of moving water.
So too,
Following our breath on a regular basis leads to a sense of peace.
Following the flow of your breath,
Moving in and moving out,
Guides the flow and the course of your river.
The river of our lives will have stretches of peacefulness and calm,
But it will also have periods of rapids,
Turmoil in your life.
But I found that through it all,
Your breath can serve as a way to calm yourself in peaceful times and in times of turmoil.
I can't emphasize this so much in all my teachings.
By getting in touch with your breath multiple times a day,
You can guide the current of your life.
The breath is everything,
My breath and your breath,
Breathing in and breathing out,
One breath at a time.
I want you to all think about that,
That if you could just learn to get in touch with your breath multiple times a day,
If only for two or three minutes,
That over time,
It will have a great impact on your life.
It will change everything.
Now,
As we get ready to come to a close,
Take in one long,
Deep breath and exhale through your mouth,
Letting out a sigh,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
You're ready to resume your day feeling more calm and more tranquil.
I hope,
I sincerely hope that this has been a beneficial and calming practice.
All of you are now a part of my river and I am a part of yours.
And I hope that we continue to flow along together.
Thank you for joining me in this moment.
I hope that each and every one of you may find peace within yourself.
Till next time.
