Introduction To Chanting Meditation Session #13 Insight Long

Well,

Hello everyone.

Thanks for coming.

Today is session 13 of our 30-session Introduction to Meditation course.

Last session in our Insight Meditation module,

We explored simply observing what is going on in and around us without judging,

Criticizing,

Deciding whether something is good or bad or whether we like it or don't like it.

And in any journey,

The first step is always to start from where you are now.

And so like healing and transformation,

It's starting with,

Well,

What's going on in and around us?

And just simply sitting with that,

Observing and watching it without trying to make it into something else.

And that's really the essence of Insight Meditation.

In today's session,

We're going to conclude our Insight Meditation module with an extended Insight Meditation.

So what that means is our first period is going to be only five minutes or so,

And then chanting will be short five minutes or so.

And then we'll spend the bulk of the time doing a prolonged Insight Meditation.

Now,

As we've been saying with the last few sessions about Insight Meditation,

That sometimes sitting with our thoughts and feelings can be intense and a lot of things can arise that are strong.

If at any point in the meditation,

Things get a little too intense,

Come back to your breath,

Come back to your body,

Settle yourself,

Stabilize yourself.

And then when you feel calm again,

You can come,

You know,

Start again if you want to.

Okay.

Thanks for coming.

Let's go ahead and begin.

Sitting.

Coming now to sit.

Entering into our meditation.

Setting your intention to be here,

Present and alert.

Settling into your favorite meditation posture.

Sitting as tall as you can,

With the least amount of effort.

Upright,

Aligned,

Relaxed,

Resilient.

The perfect balance between effort and ease.

Beginning with three deep,

Calming breaths.

In through your nose and out through your mouth.

Softening your forehead,

Eyes,

Cheeks,

Jaw,

Mouth,

Tongue,

Neck,

And shoulders.

Hands,

Chest,

Lower back,

Belly,

Pelvis,

Groin,

Legs,

And feet.

With each out breath,

Releasing any tension in your body,

Wherever you may find it,

Layer by layer,

Breath by breath.

Gently ease your awareness to the sensations of breathing.

Breathing in,

I know I am breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I am breathing out.

In between each breath,

A pause,

A peaceful sense of rest,

Stillness.

YAMU MYO RENGE KYO MYO RENGE KYO Returning to breath,

Noticing the cool sensation in your nose as the breath comes in.

Perhaps,

A slight tickle or tingle way in the back of your nose.

The warm air as it passes back out.

Following the breath all the way down,

Down,

Down,

Into the lower belly.

Just below the navel.

Awareness of the sensations of the belly rising on the in breath,

And falling away again on the out breath.

Following the breath down into your belly for the whole duration of the in breath,

And the whole duration of the out breath.

Allowing yourself to be open to all the sensations that are here in the belly as you breathe in and out.

The slight stretching of the abdomen wall on the in breath.

The relaxing of the abdomen wall on the out breath.

The touch of your clothes across your belly.

In touch with this breath coming in.

In touch with this breath going out.

Moment by moment.

Sensations may be very subtle.

Zooming in,

Exploring what's here right now.

Allowing yourself to be aware of the sensations from both the in breath and the out breath.

And perhaps the pauses in between each breath.

Following the whole breath all the way in,

And all the way out.

As it moves down into the belly.

From time to time,

You may find your mind wanders away from the breath.

Thinking about other things.

Maybe thinking about something from the past.

Something you've been doing today.

Maybe worrying about the future or planning.

Sometimes,

Simply fantasies and daydreams running through your mind.

And one thought or image may lead to another.

And you find yourself very quickly far away from where you had intended to be.

Whenever you notice that your mind has wandered,

Simply acknowledging where your mind went as best you can.

And then returning to the breath.

To this in breath.

Or this out breath.

Without giving yourself a hard time.

Without blaming yourself in any way.

Or criticizing yourself.

For the mind will wander.

And the practice is not about stilling the mind or keeping it fixed in one place.

But noticing its tendency to wander.

And then,

As soon as we become aware of it,

Noticing and acknowledging where it went.

And very gently bringing it back.

And doing this over and over and over again with a feeling of gentleness and compassion.

So,

If the mind goes off a hundred times,

Simply bring it back a hundred times.

If it goes away for a moment or goes away for several moments or minutes,

The task is still the same.

Without any sense of judgment or criticism.

Very gently escorting the mind back to the belly.

Back to the abdomen.

Back to where you had intended it to be.

On the breath.

Using the breath as an anchor to bring you back to the here and now.

To this moment.

Just this breath coming in.

Just this breath going out.

Focusing in on all the sensations down in the belly.

As each breath follows the other in a constant cycle of renewing energy and flow.

Each breath unique.

Each in-breath a new beginning.

Each out-breath a letting go.

A letting be.

Allowing things to be just as you find them.

Not trying to make anything different.

Not even trying to relax.

Simply sitting.

Breathing.

Being.

Here.

Now.

Now at a certain point.

Expanding the focus of your awareness around the breathing.

To include your whole body as you sit here.

Awareness of all the sensations coming from your body.

You may be aware of the sensations of your feet on the floor.

Hands on your lap or thighs.

Your rear on the seat or cushion.

There may be other sensations.

Holding all these sensations in awareness.

From wherever they come in your body.

Allowing them to be as they are.

Aware of the space that your body takes up as it sits here.

And the space all around your body.

Your presence in the room.

And the boundary between these two spaces.

The inner and the outer.

Your skin.

Checking in from time to time to see if your posture is as you intended it to be.

Aligned.

Relaxed.

Resilient.

The mind may wander away from awareness of the body as a whole.

And when you notice it,

Acknowledging where it went.

And very gently bringing it back to this sense of sitting here now.

In this posture.

With nowhere to go.

Nothing to do.

Simply tuning in to how things are in this moment.

Tuning in to whatever is arising in your body.

In this moment.

Being with it.

Sitting as if your whole body was breathing.

In this moment.

And this moment.

Now,

When you're ready,

Letting the focus of your awareness shift away from the body as a whole.

To the awareness of sounds.

Hearing.

Allowing the sounds to come to you.

Whatever they are.

And from wherever they come.

Allowing them to be.

Aware of the pitch.

Loudness.

Intensity.

Aware of the gaps between sounds.

Silence.

Allowing them to come as they are.

Without having to label them.

Or decide whether you like them or dislike them.

Almost as if your body as it sat here is like a microphone.

Just receiving the sounds.

From wherever they come.

Now,

Letting the sounds fade into the background.

Shifting your awareness to your thinking.

So far,

We have focused on the breath.

The body.

And sounds.

Now,

Allowing yourself to be aware of your thoughts.

As they arise.

As they stay around for a short time.

Sometimes longer.

And then,

As they exit.

You might find it helpful to imagine yourself sitting in a movie theater.

Looking at the screen.

And seeing the thoughts appear on the screen.

Hanging around for a while.

And then move off screen.

With you as observer.

Simply sitting.

Watching.

Being aware of thinking.

As best you can.

Not trying to do anything with the thoughts.

Simply allowing them to be as they are.

As they arise.

Stay around for a while.

And then go.

From time to time,

You may be aware that you have gotten involved with the thinking.

It's as if you left your chair in the movie theater.

And are on the screen with the thinking.

That you've entered into their drama.

Sucked into whatever the thoughts are.

The memories.

Or the plans.

Or the worries.

And when you notice that this has happened.

Acknowledging what has happened.

And returning to your breath.

Some thoughts and images that cross your mind may come with intense feelings.

Some intense emotions.

Sadnesses.

Worries.

Fears.

And joys.

When that happens,

Seeing if it's possible to remain aware of whatever is coming up.

Letting them come.

Stay around a little while.

And then go.

Rather like clouds crossing the sky.

Sometimes high.

Sometimes low.

Sometimes small.

Sometimes large and dark.

Sometimes covering the entire sky.

But then eventually dispersing in their own time.

When you feel ready.

Letting go of awareness of your thoughts.

And allowing your awareness to be the awareness of whatever arises in this moment.

Sometimes focusing on your breath.

Body.

Sensation.

Sound.

Emotions.

Thoughts.

Letting go of any particular intention to focus on any of it.

Allowing things in each moment to be just as they are.

Holding all of it in awareness.

In a very loving,

Gentle,

And compassionate way.

Whatever arises in each moment.

Holding it all in awareness.

If you find that your mind has wandered away.

Remembering you can always come back to breath as the anchor to steady yourself.

Ground yourself in the moment.

In the here and now.

Before returning again to simply sitting with whatever comes up in each moment.

For the last few moments of our meditation.

Bringing the focus of your awareness back to your breathing.

Back to the sensations of the breath moving into the body.

Down into the belly.

Moving in close to the sensations of breathing.

As you breathe in.

And as you breathe out.

Allowing the breath to bring you back into this present moment.

In touch with stillness.

Remembering that your breath is always available at any time.

To bring you back into the present moment.

To gather your mind when it feels scattered and dispersed.

To ground yourself when you feel off balance and under pressure.

To help you focus and steady when you feel unfocused and unsteady.

To bring you back in touch with a sense of yourself as complete and whole.

And as our meditation comes to a close.

Reminding yourself that the deep stillness we seek.

Does not arise because the world is still or the mind is quiet.

Stillness is nourished when we allow things to be just as they are for now.

In this moment.

Moment by moment.

And breath by breath.

Slowly and gradually beginning to emerge from your meditation.

Relaxing and releasing your meditation posture.

Wiggling your toes and your fingers.

Rubbing your legs.

Rocking side to side.

Back and forth.

Bringing a bit of motion back into your body.

Waking it up slowly.

Taking a deep breath in and stretching your arms up high in a nice big stretch.

And as you lower your arms letting out a sigh.

Reaching behind to your lower back.

Giving your lower back a massage.

Bringing your hands around to your lower belly.

And gently holding your lower belly as you repeat to yourself.

I am well.

Hands over your heart.

Repeating to yourself.

I am happy.

Loved and loving.

Crossing your arms.

Putting your hands on your opposite shoulders.

Giving yourself a hug.

As you lightly stroke down your arm from shoulder to elbow a few times.

As you repeat to yourself.

I am safe.

At home.

In my body.

With my breath.

And caressing your face.

Your forehead.

Your eyes.

Your nose.

Your cheeks.

Your mouth.

And jaw.

Through your hair over your head.

Around to the back of your neck.

Pausing to give your neck and shoulders a massage.

Hands back to your heart.

And back to your belly.

Repeating.

I am peaceful.

And at ease.

And taking a deep breath in.

Take a moment.

To appreciate.

Coming today.

Giving yourself this gift of relaxation and insight.

And coming together as a group.

Sharing it with each other as community.

Rubbing the palms of your hands together.

Warming them.

Lightly cupping them over your eyes.

Feeling the warmth of your hands on your face.

With the next in breath.

Opening your eyes.

Into your palms.

And as you breathe out.

Lowering your hands.

Returning your awareness to the room around you.

Thank you everybody.