Find a comfortable seat.
One where your posture can be alert,
Awake,
But relaxed.
Once you've found your seat,
Allow your lower body to settle.
Your legs to relax out of your hips.
Your arms to relax out of your shoulders.
Allow yourself to truly arrive in the here and now.
Let your eyes settle back and wide.
Away from any screens.
Away from seeing,
From doing.
Let your lower jaw be separate from your upper jaw.
Let the tongue relax in the bed of the mouth.
Let your heart space settle like a pendant hanging down on a necklace.
As you let go of doing and relax into being,
Can you notice where you feel your breath most easily?
Where is the breath coming to you?
It might be the belly,
The chest,
The rib cage,
Or the openings of the nose.
Where does the breath feel easeful?
Where does it feel easy?
For just a few moments,
Sit with that and be with that,
With the ease of the breath.
Today,
For your meditation practice,
You might ask yourself,
What is my state of being?
What is the quality of my state of being?
What's in my heart?
It might be joy,
Sadness,
Frustration,
Peace,
Fear.
You might feel content.
What's in my heart?
Whatever is there,
Can you allow it?
Can you breathe with it?
Can you relax with it and sit with yourself exactly as you are?
Wherever you feel this state of being,
Can you hold it gently and breathe with it?
You might sense it in your heart,
In your belly,
In your brow,
In your hands,
In your hands.
Wherever you feel your state of being,
Can you hold it gently,
Be with it and breathe with it.
For the next few moments in silence,
Let your attention settle upon where your breath feels easeful,
Allowing your state of being.
And when the mind leaves the breath with care,
Gently guide it back.
Gentle with your mind.
Gentle with your state of being.
Gentle with your state of being.
Gentle with your state of being.
Gentle with your state of being.
Gentle with your state of being.
A few words by Pema Chodron.
Having compassion starts and ends with having compassion for all those unwanted parts of ourselves.
The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen.
Begin to deepen your breath.
And when you're ready,
You may open your eyes.
