Return to your favourite sitting position as before,
Whether it's on your cushion or a seated bench or a chair.
Find the position that you are most comfortable in.
In this last vipassana session we introduce strong determination.
This is a particular challenge because before we start our meditation we determine to sit completely still for the entire duration of the meditation session.
This is particularly challenging because usually our bodies move,
Sometimes unknowingly,
As we jockey with ourselves to find comfort,
Whether it's a shirt that gives us an itch or trousers that are too tight or wiping sweat from our brows,
It just goes on and on and on.
It's endless.
So strong determination gives us an insight into our bodies and allows us to experience ourselves as we really are.
So when we are sitting completely still and we are doing our body scans,
Focus only on the area that you are selected in front of you,
Whether it's your arms,
Your legs,
Whatever.
If any other sensations arise in the body,
Ignore them,
Bring your attention back to your focus area and after you complete a full body scan,
Spend some time in full body awareness before completing a second or a third body scan.
You may find initially that particular parts of your body are very difficult and challenging,
Have many areas of tension.
If you come across such an area,
Slow down,
Give yourself plenty of time and when sensations arise,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Let them bubble up to the surface,
Let them dissipate and move on.
With strong determination,
It is often the case that gross,
Unpleasant sensations arise in the body.
When this happens,
View the experience with equanimity,
Objectivity,
Be non-judgmental,
Allow the experience to arise and then move on to the next part of your body to scan.
You may find when you come back to scan that particular same part of the body in the second or third scan,
That the experience is different,
Changed,
Maybe there is less pain,
Maybe there is less heat,
Maybe it has changed in a subtle way.
Open yourself to this kind of observation,
This kind of experience.
During this meditation there will be very little,
If any,
Guidance.
This allows you to set your own pace.
If you know what to do already,
Begin with being aware of your environment,
Drawing your attention into yourself,
Spending some time on breathing meditation.
When you're settled,
Start your head scan,
Your neck,
Your shoulders,
Your torso,
Your arms,
Your hip area,
Your legs,
Feet and then return for a time to full body awareness before repeating the cycle again until the time is up.
Let us begin.
Slowly come out of your mind,
Let your mind simply wonder as it will,
You have done very well to get here,
Let your mind play,
Sit back and watch the show,
See what kind of things come up for you,
Even just relax your legs,
Stretch out,
Stretch your body but keep your eyes closed and remain sitting until the full time is over.
Just watch,
Be curious as to what comes up,
Is there a general peace now in your mind?
Is there a reduction of anxiety,
Are you feeling less stressed or now that you've given some opportunity to return to normal,
Is it full on mind activity again?
See what happens.
Vipassana meditation is a great tool to show us ourselves,
To show us the many stories that we occupy ourselves with,
Sometimes our entire lives go by us without us really knowing who we are,
We are not our bodies,
They come and they go,
They change before us,
Nothing stays the same,
We are not our thoughts,
They come and they go,
We present different personalities to different people,
To different places,
To different environments,
We are never the same person,
Our emotions come and our emotions go,
Nothing remains the same except the stillness,
The presence at the core of our beings,
That is us truly,
At the core of our beings we are stillness,
Presence,
Awareness,
Thank you for your time,
Blessings to you.
