The I Am Not practice,
As you recall,
This is one that I came up with in my own practice about 25 years ago,
And I found it's been really beneficial for folks to practice and begin to loosen the markers of me,
The places that we invest in identity and see ourselves solely as a separate entity,
A separate being,
Rather than a wave on the ocean.
We think we're a standalone wave with no ocean,
Or at least that's the belief.
Just repeat after me,
I am not this appearance,
I am not this body,
I am not these thoughts,
I am not this life history,
I am not these behaviors,
I am not these emotions,
I am not these memories,
I am not this identity,
I am not anything.
So start with about three nice big belly breaths,
Really filling your lungs,
Abdomen,
All the way down to genitals with nice fresh oxygen,
And then exhaling as much of the oxygen as you can,
Really letting your body be oxygenated and settled into this moment,
Feel your contact with the floor and the building you're in,
Let yourself rest in the safety and security of the building you're in,
If you can sense our Mother Earth beneath,
Holding us in this moment,
Offering us support and nourishment,
And this very breath,
Bring your awareness to the hara,
It's two finger widths below the navel and two finger widths in from the surface of the skin,
When you make contact with the hara,
You'll know because it'll give you a sense of seatedness,
Of groundedness,
This is where we ground consciousness and also contact with the absolute grounds in the hara,
Using your in-breath,
Invite awareness into the heart area,
When we make contact with innate goodness,
This is a goodness function of the absolute,
So that means it's unconditioned,
We don't need to create it,
We don't need to earn it,
And we can't lose it,
It's always here,
You'll notice it by its qualities of buoyancy and lightness,
Kind of uplifting,
And also a warm radiant flow,
Like a summer breeze on a cool day,
When innate goodness is here,
Just let awareness relax into it,
There's nothing to do,
We're just being with innate goodness,
That quality of goodness just emanates through your body,
Through your consciousness,
Soothing,
Lightening,
Whatever it makes contact with,
Using the in-breath,
Invite awareness into the center of the forehead,
What's called the wisdom eye in Theravada Buddhism,
And the Dharma eye in the Zen tradition,
It's the location of inner sight,
And the wisdom eye helps us develop intuitive knowing,
And just see if you can breathe in and out through the center of your forehead,
Relaxing into it,
Being curious without knowing exactly how it works,
Using your in-breath,
Invite awareness to the top of your head,
The crown chakra and the chakra system,
If you can breathe in and out through the crown chakra,
Just being open,
Curious without knowing,
You may feel the crown chakra with a kind of energetic movement,
Flow,
A kind of swirling of energy,
For some people it feels like a pressure,
Like a thumb pressing down on the crown chakra,
And for others there's no sensation at all,
Any of these are just fine,
We practice with the crown chakra,
This is the typical way that our awareness journeys to other realms or universes,
You may be noticing a blackness here in your visual perception,
A rich,
Dark,
Luminous blackness,
Almost has the feeling of being a mystery,
We first encounter the absence quality,
What traditionally is called emptiness in Buddhism,
It's a kind of nothingness,
But a nothingness that also has a quality,
A flavor of something,
So nothing,
There's a something here,
I can't quite put my finger on or name,
But I can sense,
Let yourself relax into the blackness,
Feel the warmth,
The soothing quality,
If we were to brush our hand across this blackness,
It would give us a tactile sense of soothing,
Smoothness,
Like black velvet,
Let yourself relax into the blackness,
The absence,
The starless and planetless space,
Let your awareness be drawn a little deeper into the black absence,
Making contact with the quality of stillness,
A pristine quiet,
That's embedded in all sound,
Relax into the stillness,
Noticing that whatever it touches becomes still,
Take the stillness a little deeper into your experience,
Relaxing a little more,
Welcoming this luminous black stillness,
And you may be noticing the quality of peace,
Of peacefulness,
Peacefulness lets you fully relax,
Let go of any concerns,
Any life issues that are pressing,
Can be released here,
Welcome the peace and stillness a little more deeply into your experience,
Opening,
Releasing,
Letting go of any need to control,
Direct or make sense,
Just be right here,
Let your awareness be drawn a little deeper,
To the black absence,
The luminous nothingness,
The absence,
The deep peace,
And penetrating stillness,
Surrender any activity that's happening in your experience,
There's no need to do anything,
But just be right here,
In this very breath,
Let the stillness draw your awareness deeper,
Feeling the soothing quality of peace,
Settling and letting go of any place you feel held,
This is a returning home,
This is what we are,
This is the deepest truth,
We're going to just abide here for about 30 minutes in silence,
And then I'll ring the bell.
