Good morning,
Good afternoon,
Good evening,
I'm going to start off by a short reading.
This is from a guy called Tony Parsons,
Called The Open Secret.
We seem not to see that as we march towards the next anticipated spiritual high,
The treasure that we seek is to be discovered not in where we are going,
But within the simple nature of the very footsteps that we take.
In our rush to find a better situation in time,
We trample over the flower of beingness that presents itself in every single moment.
It seems to me that our attachment to purpose is born from the need to prove something to ourselves,
But life is simply life and is not trying to prove anything at all.
This springtime will not try to be better than last springtime and neither will an ash tree try to become an oak tree.
By letting go of our fascination with the extraordinary and spectacular,
We can allow ourselves to recognise the simple wonder that lies within the ordinary every day.
For life is its own purpose and doesn't need a reason to be,
That is its beauty.
So how often even when we're sitting in meditation,
Is there an actual racing forward to get somewhere?
Want to have a different experience,
Have a better experience,
Want to be a good meditator,
Give that one up,
What about being a good meditator?
It's none of those things.
We believe that we have to do all the heavy lifting,
We have to change ourselves and that's what gets in the way.
Awareness or presence does the heavy lifting for us,
But we don't trust it.
Or we don't trust it fully.
That's why we keep busy trying to change ourselves.
If you are,
Notice it,
Relax,
Just feel the texture of this moment,
Feel the texture of the breath,
Feel the texture of the tension in the chest,
Feel the texture of the sense of ease of being.
Just keep feeling the texture.
We're not feeling the texture to name it and to know it,
Just feel it,
Then give up everything else.
That takes a trust,
Because we deeply believe that we have to keep at it,
We've got to keep chipping away,
We've got to keep working hard.
It's just a belief that has no foundation.
So bearing in mind the reading,
You can take one or two deeper breaths,
And you relax into presence,
Relax into that ocean.
The body is really a network of sensations,
Just feel them.
Don't worry about getting caught in thought,
Just say to yourself,
Thinking or having a thought,
Or just drop them.
The breath is there if you want to rest the attention on it,
It can help too.
Just steady the attention.
If your attention is around the eyes,
Drop that attention down into the body,
Relax it.
Kind of staring into the future.
Relax.
Where are you now?
Just checking that you're not tense in the shoulders or the belly.
It can be an indication that you're forcing.
If you are,
Just take a deep breath.
There ain't anywhere to get.
There's only this moment.
And try not to be in this moment,
It's impossible.
So we may as well relax into it.
Where's your attention right now?
You lose your way,
It's okay,
Don't worry.
Take a deep breath.
Drop back down into the body and feel the breath for a while.
Where are you right now?
Just feeling the body.
Take your attention to the face.
Just feel around there.
Drop down to the belly.
Just feel that.
Okay.
Open your eyes for the close and have a little stretch,
A little movement.
And have a good day.
Thank you guys.
See you tomorrow.
Bye.
