So I've come across a few words about masks,
The masks we wear.
So I thought what we'd do is,
I'll read it,
And we'll do a 10 minute meditation on taking off the masks.
Okay,
You can also call them the roles we play.
It can be quite an interesting one to see which masks we are attached to most.
I'm not giving that one away.
We learn the art of wearing faces early,
Long before we know their names,
The good one,
The strong one,
The one who doesn't need too much.
We shape them carefully,
Polish them with approval,
Hold them in place with habit and fear,
Calling the effort who I am.
Each mask promises safety,
Be this and you'll be long.
So we trade the ache of honesty for the comfort of being understood,
Or at least not questioned.
Yet beneath the weight of all that keeping up,
Something patient waits.
Not improved,
Not damaged,
Not performing.
In quiet moments,
A breath,
A pause,
The soft undoing of thought,
The masks grow tired of pretending,
They loosen,
They slip.
And what remains isn't exposed or lacking,
But simple,
Open,
Honesty,
And strangely familiar.
Not a better version of the self,
Just the end of pretending to be one.
So if you've just joined us,
Lindy,
You may want to just go back and listen to the start of it.
So we all have our favourite masks,
Our favourite roles that we play.
So we're going to take off some of those masks and see what's behind them.
Then we're going to finish with the usual open,
Open sitting,
Open awareness,
Just sitting.
Which is the fundamental,
Essential practice in most Buddhist monasteries around the world,
Particularly in Zen and some of Tibetan Buddhism.
It's just basically just that sitting.
Letting everything come and go.
Okay.
Just have a few moments.
Settling in.
Just feeling the breath.
Okay,
So firstly,
I'd like to take off the mask or even peel off the label of your name.
Your name doesn't define you.
It's often best to close your eyes with this one.
Peel it off and put it to one side.
Don't think about it,
Just put it to one side.
Next,
Peel off the label of your age.
It doesn't define you,
It's not who you are.
Put that to one side.
So you are nameless and ageless.
Take off the mask of your political beliefs.
Even the mask of I'm not political.
Take it off,
Put it to one side.
Take off the mask of your religious beliefs.
I'm not a believer,
Take that mask off too.
Put it to one side.
Good.
Now take a few more personal masks.
The I'm okay mask or the smiley mask.
Which mask do you present to the world?
I can do it all mask.
Could be the I'm not good enough mask.
Now take all your beliefs,
Gather them up.
And put them to one side.
You are nameless,
Ageless.
A mask of religious beliefs.
Political beliefs.
Even your professional,
A professional mask.
That's going to go as well.
That job title.
No space for it here.
What's left?
What's left?
I find space,
Openness.
Freedom.
To not have to be X,
Y,
Z.
And how about resting in this open space,
Just sitting here.
No mask.
No social face.
Where are you now?
Drop into the body.
The body has no masks.
It just bears the scars of the masks.
I have to be.
This is where the healing takes place.
Just in being here.
Feeling what you find.
As your attention.
The thought you believe.
Is the experience you will get.
Just checking that you're not tensed up.
Absolutely no reason to.
Take a deep breath.
And relax.
Show the body how to relax.
How to soften.
Listen to the silence.
Sound comes out of it.
Really listen.
Okay.
Bring this session to an end.
Open your eyes.
If they were closed.
We were a little.
So if you joined us a little late guys,
You might want to just listen to the beginning.
There was a reading about masks.
And the faces we put on.
Okay.
Thank you.
See you tomorrow.
Bye.
Have a good day guys.
Thank you.
Bye.
Thank you.
Bye.
