And we begin this meditation by allowing the awareness first of all to settle into the body.
First of all right down to the ground where we are in contact with the cushion,
The floor,
The seat.
Without visualizing the body or thinking about the body,
Simply being aware of the tactile sensations of the earth element.
And then allowing the awareness to fill the entire space of the body from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet.
And fully aware of any and all tactile sensations arising in the body.
And while maintaining this mindful presence in the body,
Start to set the body at ease,
Relaxing into this posture,
Relaxing the muscles of the shoulders,
Of the back.
Relaxing the muscles around the face,
Especially the jaw,
The eyebrows,
The eyes.
And with every exhalation,
Relax the body more and more.
Let every out-breath almost be like a full body sigh.
Fully releasing any tension,
Any tightness,
Fully relaxing and fully allowing the breath to release all the way to the end.
Not pushing it out,
But not holding any breath in reserve.
And also with every out-breath,
Release any thoughts which may have captivated your attention.
Relaxing your body and mind,
Bringing them into balance with these three qualities of relaxation,
Complete stillness and a posture of vigilance.
So if you are seated,
Be seated upright with a straight spine.
And if you are lying down,
Lie completely flat,
But psychologically adopt this posture of vigilance.
And to the best of your ability,
Maintain stillness for this meditation.
It will help to maintain that continuity of focus.
And to the best of your ability,
Maintain a deepening sense of relaxation.
Stillness in meditation is brought not through tensing,
Tightening,
Sheer effort,
But by releasing and relaxing.
And now bring your awareness to those movements in the body that are related to the respiration.
Just noticing from moment to moment any movements,
Vibration,
Tingling,
That are quite clearly associated with the in and the outflow of the breath.
And now imagine your mind as being just like the sky.
Completely clear,
Spacious,
Vast and without end.
Simply try to get a sense for this experience,
Identify with this experience,
This clarity,
Spaciousness.
Our minds are completely clear just as the sky is completely clear.
And just like the light of the sun shines down on us through the clear sky,
So our awareness and wisdom shines through the clarity of our minds.
Sometimes clouds fill the sky and obscure the sunshine,
But the sky does not become upset.
The sky does not identify with the clouds and the sky does not judge.
The clouds just pass through the spaciousness of the sky,
They come and they go.
So the clarity and spaciousness of the sky isn't compromised by the clouds,
They just arise and pass.
Our minds are clear and aware,
Spacious just like the sky.
When a thought or an emotion or an idea or an image or memory arises in your mind,
Just observe it.
Let it arise and let it pass.
Each thought,
Each mental event,
Just like a cloud and your mind like the sky.
Allow your awareness to be carried off into the future or the past.
Don't follow after the reference of the thought or the memory,
But simply observe the mental event arising just like the cloud passing in the sky.
Let it pass.
Whenever we identify with and are carried away uncontrollably by a thought or a feeling,
We actually lose any awareness of the spacious clarity of our mind,
Of the vast clear and knowing nature of the mind within which each thought or feeling occurs.
So our perspective becomes small and constricted,
As if all there is are clouds.
We've lost the sky.
But when we can simply observe thoughts and other mental events arising without getting involved,
When we can identify with the sky instead of with the clouds,
Then we can reside in that spacious openness of our basic clarity of mind,
This calm,
Clear,
Peaceful nature without any agitation,
Without the anxiety,
The affliction.
So just remain with this sky-like mind,
Simply observing the clouds of mental events as they arise and pass.
Namaste.
Courageous.
If you find that you have become distracted and you're following after one of these mental events Simply become aware instead of that mental event Separate your awareness from the event And observe it as like a cloud once more in the vast sky of mind If at any time your thoughts go quiet Do not purposefully generate any thoughts but simply observe the sky like mind instead Observe that spaciousness,
That clarity,
The peace between thoughts,
Between mental events And observe it as a cloud once more in the vast sky of mind If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet If at any time your thoughts go quiet
