They say in Zen Buddhism,
There are three stages on the path to enlightenment.
The first stage is the camel.
Wandering around the world,
Around the earth,
Collecting and collecting more information and more information as much as I can get.
Sometimes it's good to be the camel.
The second stage of enlightenment is the tiger.
I've got the information and now I just want to roar and spread it everywhere.
Listen to this new information I have,
Listen to this new experience,
Listen to this wisdom.
Sometimes it's good to be the tiger.
The third stage to enlightenment is the newborn child.
This innocent,
Awe-filled creature.
Only in the present moment,
Just witnessing,
Laughing.
Doesn't matter what's happening.
So for this meditation today,
Let's try to be the child.
And let's see if that energy can move into our day as we receive everything.
With laughter,
In awe.
Ah,
What's happening next?
Ah,
Okay.
We'll look at the gifts that the universe sends us today and we'll try to reprogram our brain to receive these gifts wholeheartedly,
Like the child.
So let's find a comfortable and seated position.
If you'd like to lay down,
You can lay down.
The hips are maybe above the knees to allow a gentle circulation happening through the legs and the torso.
The spine elongates,
Shoulders broaden,
Neck broadens.
The body is sitting upright like you belong on this planet,
You belong in this world.
Because you do.
You've been invited here during this time.
And there's a reason that you're here.
That you are a gift,
You are the gift.
You're a piece of the puzzle.
So we'll sit in the knowing.
The knowing that I have been invited here.
And I'm welcome.
I heard a wonderful breath practice the other day that we'll move into.
With each inhale,
We'll squeeze our fists tightly,
Creating tension.
With each exhale we release them fully and find a deep relaxation.
Inhale squeeze.
Exhale release.
Continue this rhythm in your own time.
Exploring tension and fluidity.
Restriction and freedom.
As the hands tighten we feel tension in the entire body,
Maybe even in the mind.
As we release we become a vessel for higher wisdom.
Noticing the changes in the body and the mind just as we squeeze the fists.
What changes?
Just observe.
Wherever you are we'll take a full breath cycle and release.
Deep inhale squeeze.
And on the release together audibly we exhale.
Release everything out.
We are the child witnessing the phenomena that happen within the body.
The inner world that lies within the confines of our molecular structure witness what's different now.
As if it was the first time you've ever witnessed anything.
And I want you now to imagine.
Imagine that you're sitting at home in your house.
Perhaps you're sitting in the place that you're sitting.
You hear a knock at the door.
Curiosity comes.
I wasn't expecting anybody.
And you gently in your mind walk to the door.
As you open it up nobody is there but you see a little package wrapped in gift wrap.
What color is it?
How big is it?
You pick up the package and start to feel what could it be?
Who's it from?
What is this?
And you walk back inside.
To the very spot you're sitting and you sit down and place the package,
The gift down.
You look at the corner of the gift and you see that it's from the universe.
Delivered to you.
There's something special in here.
And you gently unwrap and open the gift excited.
And as you open it up you see something that you weren't expecting.
One of the greatest challenges in your life.
And thoughts start to pour in.
I didn't order this.
I didn't want this.
Not right now.
Maybe thoughts of unfairness or disappointment.
And then you find a note underneath.
And before you read the note you just take a moment to sit with this challenge.
Maybe something related to a job or material items,
Relationships.
Feeling stuck in emotion.
Let the first arrow hit.
Let that emotion come up.
Let this experience be as it is as we just observe.
No need to change anything.
Just observe.
Look what's coming up.
And once the experiences started to lose fuel,
We decide to open the note.
And that came with our package.
We look at the note and written something very simple.
It's written to you and just says,
Trust me.
From the universe.
And suddenly a rush of deep okayness,
Of understanding and love soften the face.
Deep relaxation pours through the body as we start to understand that there's something greater here.
I just can't see it.
And then our child comes out.
Another challenge,
Another beautiful gift from the universe.
Let's see what happens next.
It's like we're watching a movie of our own lives.
Don't forget it's just a movie.
It's just a movie.
And as we pick up this gift with love now,
With a deep gratitude and a strong awareness that there's something here to learn.
There's something here for me within this gift.
We walk it over to our bookshelf where we have our other gifts that the universe has sent us,
Many packages.
And as we start to look at this bookshelf that as we look up and up,
It seems like it never ends.
It just goes and goes.
We start to see how our entire life has just been a stream of gifts,
Of new experiences,
Delights and challenges that have all had one thing in common or many things.
They've all come and gone.
They've all led to our growth.
And we go back and sit down as we deposit the gift on the bookshelf and finding our place back into a subtle awareness for the last few moments of meditation.
Checking in with the body and the mind.
Allowing the practice to wash through us.
How would it feel in my body to receive everything in front of me as a gift?
Today is a gift.
The moment is a gift.
This air that I'm breathing,
This body that I have.
We receive the moments perfectly in our life.
For us to grow and reach our highest self.
It's how we receive these moments that determines the direction that we grow.
Let's bring our hands to heart center,
The palms meet the palms.
A gentle bow comes.
Deep remembering,
Yeah,
I am so blessed.
And the forgetting comes and then the remembering comes.
It's just the process.
The enlightened in me sees and honors the enlightened in each and every one of you.
May today be a day of many gifts.
It will be.
Let's receive them in awe and joy and love together.
Let's receive them in awe and joy and love together.
Let's receive them in awe and love together.
Let's receive them in awe and love together.
Let's receive them in awe and love together.
