With this crisis,
We have to build two new habits,
One of washing our hands and the other of not touching our face.
Both involve our hands and touch.
In this meditation,
We'll practice being more mindful of what we touch and engage awareness while touching.
The other day,
As I was walking out of my house,
I set an intention to notice everything I touched.
After I came back home,
I was surprised by how many things I had touched.
My dog's leash,
The pedestrian crossing sign,
My phone,
My earbuds,
Doggy treats,
The doorknob,
The garage pad,
And so on.
When we pay attention to what we touch,
We engage our awareness of touching.
Today's meditation is about engaging your awareness while touching.
Start in a seated position.
Now open your palms wide and look at them.
Be grateful for the work they do for you and set an intention to yourself that you will notice them more often.
Now place the back of your right hand on the palm of your left hand and join the two thumbs together to make a seal referred to as the mystic triangle.
This is called the Dhyan Mudra or the meditative gesture.
It is said that the Buddha used this mudra when he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
You might have seen many Buddha statues with this gesture.
Now close your eyes and just start to sense the rhythm of your breathing.
In,
Out,
In,
Out,
Or whatever your rhythm might be.
Keep noticing the breath and there's no need for you to change it.
And just allow the body to settle.
Now start to notice the sense of touch.
This is one of our five physical senses.
Our sense of touch helps us to interact with the world around us.
Now allow your awareness to rest on the sense of touch.
Maybe you will notice your hand resting on each other,
The thumbs touching and maybe pulsing energy or warmth.
Your feet resting comfortably on the floor.
You're sitting on a chair,
Your back resting against the chair.
The sitting bones touching the ground or the chair.
The fabric of your clothes touching the skin.
Let's stay here for a minute or so,
Holding all the sensations of touch.
Let's stay here for a minute or so,
Holding all the sensations of touch.
You might have noticed that each part of the body has a different ability to detect touch.
Areas of the body with more touch receptors are able to better discriminate touch such as your fingertips or the sole of the foot.
And maybe you're feeling a sense of gratitude for you to be able to sense all this.
Now imagine that you're going on your walk and your close friend calls you.
You pick up the phone and answer.
Notice in your mind that you touch the phone.
You're continuing on the walk and you see a couple that you know well.
You hit the pause button on your ear buds and talk to them while maintaining a safe distance.
Notice in your mind you touch the ear buds and remind yourself that you need to sanitize both of them after you get back home.
Now take a deep breath in and breathe it all out.
Another deep breath in and just let it go.
Notice how you feel after this meditation.
Thank you for joining me.
This is Suresh.
Now I want you to join your palms together by the chest with your fingers pointing upward and your thumb on the inside near the chest.
And take a bow forward and say the word Namaste.
Namaste.
This Sanskrit phrase is formed from namaha meaning bow and the pronoun te meaning to you.
In the Hindu spiritual tradition,
Each being is also said to have the divine in them.
It also symbolizes I bow to the divine light in you.
Until next time,
Namaste.
