Hello,
Welcome.
Today's meditation is entitled,
The Way of the Baklava.
Now,
If you can call to mind an image of a Baklava,
Slice of dessert,
Famous Greek dessert,
You'll notice it is comprised of several layers of filo dough,
Separated by chopped up pistachio nuts,
And drizzled with honey,
In between all the layers.
And such is life.
We have layers of responsibility,
Layers of personality,
Layers of stress,
Layers of experiences,
Calendars,
Relationships,
Projects,
Processes.
Everything could feel like it's pressing down on us,
Crushing and squishing our layers.
Together,
Into one big mush.
But,
This is where the beauty of meditation comes in.
Meditation is meant to fluff up and find space between the layers,
And provide the sweetness of life.
So,
Come to a comfortable seat.
And rest your body with great ease,
Slumping back in your chair,
Allow your limbs to hang heavily,
And your arms and hands to rest in your lap.
If you feel safe,
You're welcome to close your eyes.
And as we begin,
We go through the process of arrival.
Allowing all the snowflakes in the snow globe,
Jittery and bouncing about,
To find their rightful home,
Slowly landing on the floor.
And therefore,
Allowing more light to shine through,
Offering visibility,
Clarity,
And brilliance to pervade.
Allow your body to get very heavy.
Feel your eyes resting in their sockets,
Quiet and still.
Relax the muscles of the face,
Noticing if you're holding tension in your forehead,
Jaw,
Lips and tongue.
And consider for a moment your many layers in life.
A relationship in a dialogue,
Back and forth a communication exchange,
When we introduce pause between the words.
Pause between one person speaking and another.
Pause between our thoughts and our voice.
This is the sweetness of life.
The space between.
Notice for yourself any tension you're holding in your body that may be related to these thoughts.
Notice and release.
Notice if you feel crowding on your calendar,
Crowding on your list of responsibilities.
Breathe some space in between the items.
Giving each item a life of its own.
So that you may taste the sweetness of your actions.
Experiencing in more detail.
A more enriching experience in the moment.
Taking your time to drop into your body.
Again,
Noticing where you feel crowding,
Crushing,
And the world pressing down on you.
Breathe life,
Fill up your body,
Lift up,
Press out,
Expand and get large.
And remain large even through the exhale,
Softening within.
Where did you go?
Come back to your body.
Come back to your breathing and find space.
Space between one action and another.
Space between reaction versus response.
Feel your body pausing so that you may act intelligently and not habitually.
Take a big belly breath in and a long and peaceful breath out.
The music is the space between the notes.
Finding harmony in your life.
Take another breath in and a longer breath out.
Thank you.
