Good morning,
Afternoon,
Good evening guys.
So as you can start off with something from Charlotte Joko Beck,
Our usual contributors.
Meditation,
This is from Charlotte Joko Beck,
If you've just joined.
Meditation is not about some state,
But about the meditator.
And when I say meditation is about the meditator,
I do not mean that we engage in self-analysis.
That's not it.
So what do we do?
Once we have assumed our best posture,
We should just be relaxed and balanced,
Easy.
We just sit there.
We do zazen.
What do I mean by just sit there?
Because sometimes people get confused by that,
Because it's actually quite a demanding activity at first.
But usually meditation,
We don't always shut our eyes.
But right now,
I invite you to shut your eyes and just sit.
What's going on?
All sorts of things.
A twitch in your shoulder,
A pressure in your side.
Notice your face for a moment.
Just feel it.
Is it tense anywhere?
Around the mouth,
Around the forehead?
Move down.
Notice your neck,
Shoulders,
Abdominal area.
How about your arms and thighs?
Seems quite boring,
Doesn't it?
Keep feeling whatever you find.
And feel your breath as it comes and goes.
Don't control it.
Just feel it.
Our first instinct is to try to control the breath.
Just let everything be as it is.
Maybe high in your chest,
In the middle,
Maybe low.
Maybe feel tense.
Just experience it as it is.
Now,
Just feel all of that.
If a car goes by outside,
Hear it.
If a plane flies overhead,
Just hear that.
You might hear a refrigerator going off and on.
Just be that.
Let me tell you now,
That's all you have to do.
Absolutely all you have to do.
Just experience that.
Now,
A lot of people find that difficult because we want to do something.
We're purpose-driven,
Outcome-driven.
That's why a lot of people turn away from meditation because what happens is they don't get what they're expecting,
When they're expecting it.
Because I've got my ideas of what meditation is.
I've got good luck with it.
It doesn't work.
And that's what leads to what I call the undoing,
The unravelling.
Because you're not engaging with the stories,
You're not engaging with mind.
You'll be active for a while.
You'll get lost in them for a while,
But you just come back to what's actually happening.
And you can pick up the flow of the breath,
If things are a little bit stormy,
Or the mantra for a few minutes.
They're just there to help us settle when we need settling.
Just tools to pick up.
Now,
If you've hurt your leg,
You might use a walking stick for a few days.
When you're better,
You throw it away.
That's all you have to do.
That's why,
You know,
I tend to say less and less,
But I think I still say too much.
It's difficult not to.
It's not in what I say.
It's not in what's said.
It's the silence that does the work.
It's that experiencing.
We just need to get out of the way.
Just let the natural intelligence take over.
Intuitive intelligence,
Whatever you want to call it.
Okay,
So we can have your eyes open or closed,
Or both.
It's totally up to you.
We may just ask ourselves,
What's going on?
Not making a list,
A mental list.
Just feeling what's going on.
It's just relax into the body.
Where's the attention right now?
Just feeling what you find.
Includes hearing.
And other senses.
You lose your way,
It's okay.
You're just in thought.
Just take a breath.
Come back to a sense of balance again.
Balance and ease.
Just check you're not straining.
Meditation is not about what you do.
It's more about what you don't do.
The less you try to do,
The more we experience what's actually here.
So just feel the breath.
What's going on right now?
Just checking that your posture is balanced and at ease.
You've not gone tense.
What's happening right now?
Put your trust in the simplicity of this practice,
Not in your efforts,
The ambitions.
Okay,
That's this morning's sessions ended.
A little stretch.
Thank you guys.
See you tomorrow.
See you tomorrow.
Bye.
Bye-bye.
