Welcome to this time sitting together.
My name is David.
Tending gently to your posture.
Sitting.
Lying.
Standing.
Making whatever adjustments you need to respect the limits and boundaries of your body.
Perhaps even,
Can I ask you,
Before we begin,
To let go of the idea of meditating just now.
Simply,
Gently,
Asking yourself what does it feel like to be here before meditation may begin.
Ease.
Tension.
Softness.
Openness or possibly a numbness from whatever you carry from your day into this moment.
What does it feel like to be you in this moment before we meditate?
How does your world present itself to you?
Sensations.
Images.
Thoughts.
What subtle responses do you notice now you're about to meditate?
Expectation.
Hope.
Irritation.
A subtle tension.
A movement towards a goal.
An unspoken need.
A desire even,
Perhaps.
You may notice your mind shifting with a thought.
You are about to meditate towards.
A leaning into.
A bracing against.
What you think you know.
Perhaps the less we see.
Invite you to find your breath.
Wherever it reveals itself to you most.
Awareness falling onto this place.
The rise and fall of the ribs.
The coolness of air moving across the lips.
The sound of breath generously pouring into lungs.
Falling back out.
A personal gift to the world.
Awareness to settle here.
This place where your breath moves most through you.
Slowly opening,
Deepening this breath.
Saying to yourself,
Here,
As you breathe.
Saying to yourself,
Now,
Here,
Gently.
Letting these words fade away.
Leaving just this body.
Breathing.
Noticing the contact of the body with the earth beneath you.
Noticing too,
The shape of this contact.
Where earth meets body.
Shoulders.
The backs of calves,
Possibly.
The small points of contact beneath crossed legs,
Ankles and knees.
Or the print of weighted body pushing down into your chair.
Notice the shape of this gentle touch of you to earth.
How it subtly speaks to you in whispers of contact.
Perhaps as you breathe,
You may notice how this shape of contact,
You to earth,
Slowly,
Almost imperceptibly grows and falls back again as you breathe.
Just a little as you breathe in.
How it pulls back,
Just a little as you breathe out.
Even this space and small voids held beneath you in folds.
Where there is no contact,
Can you feel into that space?
Its quality as you breathe,
Even if you cannot feel there.
What does that feel like?
Can you allow your awareness to escape out a little from you?
Just a little distance beyond the skin.
The space between skin and cloth.
How does this space change as you breathe?
Awareness falling open a little further into the ground,
Even slightly reaching into the earth beneath you,
Feeling beyond the boundary of you,
Towards coolness of earth as it spins.
Earth's gravity kindly reciprocating,
Reaching and searching into you,
To bone and muscle and blood.
Let me leave you here to taking a few minutes,
Just to be here.
Mindfulness of breathing.
If your mind has turned towards a cascade of thoughts,
Leading to more thoughts,
Smile to yourself for noticing.
This is a good thing to be aware,
Allowing awareness once more to fall back onto the flow of the breath.
Now set yourself free from the idea you are meditating,
Not needing to do or to know.
If your eyes were closed,
Gently open them.
Just sit where you are for several minutes more.
I will let you know in time,
But no need to meditate now,
Or to do anything.
Please to move around the space where you are,
In a gentle way,
Taking a break,
Taking in colour,
Space,
Texture,
Unwind and unfurl into what is around you,
How it presents itself to you for the next few minutes.
Don't worry about your thoughts,
As you will soon be meditating again.
Just allow the space you are in to wash into you,
Allowing your gaze to move gently around the room,
Grasping nothing,
Allowing everything.
Perhaps now you can bring your awareness to rest again,
Full awareness of the flow of breath,
As we return to meditating.
Attention following the full movement of the breath,
Possibly a crispness,
A freshness,
Again paying attention to the breath.
Eyes closed or open as you wish,
Following the breath as it moves through you,
For a little more time on your own now,
There is your mind,
Perhaps you have drifted,
Gentle.
Thank yourself for this moment of mindfulness,
With a glimmer of a smile at the edge of your lips,
Being aware once more that the breath is always here,
Flowing,
Opening,
Rising,
Falling.
How does it feel to be meditating?
Rise again,
If they were closed,
Let go of the idea of meditating again,
Let go of effort,
And just rest back for now.
More minutes of no thing to do,
Let your eyes move freely around your space,
Light beaming into eyes,
Sounds pressing against ears,
Sensations caressing skin,
No resistance,
Leaning into nothing,
Bracing against nothing.
Allow it all as you just sit here,
Taking in the landscape of where you are,
Aware of what you are feeling,
Listening to soundscape,
Feeling into space and time that is waiting for,
A focus that you do not need to give it,
Notice what it feels like to release the idea of meditating,
Not trying to meditate,
Thoughts may have blossomed into more thoughts.
It's okay,
Just ease back into being here,
Eyes open,
Allowing the space where you are to unmask itself to you,
A cascade of colours,
Shifting sounds,
Sweeping sensations,
Just be open,
Not meditating,
Absorbing,
Allowing,
Gently,
Eyes closing once more if you wish,
Returning to meditating,
Awareness of breath,
Flowing,
Moving,
Noticing what moves through you,
How meditating feels now.
This time I will leave you on your own for a while,
I will gently let you know and once again,
You can soon rest,
You can soon rest,
Slowly,
For these next few minutes,
Opening your eyes if they were closed,
Allowing your gaze to take in the space where you are,
Eyes may move gently around this space,
Softly shifting from one thing to another,
Colour,
Space,
Texture,
Allowing it all to reveal itself to you,
With no need to engage further or add more story,
Is it possible to ask yourself how you feel now,
What is present for you,
Thoughts,
Sensation,
Images,
The shadow of memory,
How you might carry a thought tangled in,
Twined around heart,
What shows itself to you as you sit here,
Not meditating,
Rest here,
There will be no more meditating or not meditating,
Just fall back into your body sat here,
Held by gravity,
Contact with the ground,
Surrounded by space,
Open receptivity to what is,
Where is the cosmic boundary between meditating and this word,
Meditation,
Worn smooth by a thousand tongues,
Is it possible,
As a bud gives way to blossom,
We can never really know where one ends and the other begins,
The flower,
The less we see,
Practice,
As all practice does not really end,
You will know when to move into your day from this moment,
Perhaps even into your day is simply the turning of a page,
Opening into blossom,
For light and time are a river,
Constant in motion,
Always flowing change carried on the breeze of your day,
The less we see.
