The following meditation is led by Tara Brach,
Meditation teacher,
Psychologist and author.
As you come into stillness you might begin with an inquiry that we invite each time we gather which is to sense what really brings you here to practice and take your time just feel your heart,
Feel your presence and sense from the most sincere place in you what most matters,
What is it that you long for,
That you really that longing that this practice will awaken whether it is the longing for being more present or perhaps more open-hearted to touch a deeper realization or truth,
To live with more ease or peace or it might be all of that,
To just sense what matters.
The power of touching into your aspiration is that it brings you to a more receptive and present place that allows your aspiration to actually manifest,
Just to feel what you care about.
Be aware of simply sitting here this breathing body and taking some moments to scan through the body with awareness,
Softening,
Relaxing,
Wherever there might be habitual tightening.
And you might begin with the eyes,
Scanning the eyes and letting the brow be smooth,
Letting the jaw relax open some,
Tongue fill the lower jaw so you can relax right down to the root of the tongue.
And you might sense a slight smile at the mouth.
This helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system,
Brings more ease,
Well-being to the whole system.
You might sense if the shoulders might fall away from the nexum,
Relaxing them back and down.
And bring the awareness to fill the shoulders so you can feel from the inside out.
And if there is areas of tightness or clenching,
Any knots,
See if they can just float a bit in awareness.
And the more you feel from the inside out,
The more you might be able to detect the movement of energy,
Motion dissolving of tightness,
Kind of melting from ice to water and then water to gas.
Let the hands rest in a very easy and effortless way.
And softening the hands.
And again,
Feel the life from the inside out in the hands.
Notice as you soften that there is more receptivity,
You can feel the tingling and vibrating that is there.
You might sense an openness to the chest.
And again,
Let the awareness fill the heart,
Feeling that region from the inside out.
Very receptive to the energy and the aliveness that is right here in the heart area.
Relaxing down the torso,
Letting this next breath be received in a softening belly.
This breath.
And now this one.
And again,
Letting the awareness fill the belly.
And again,
Feeling from the inside out the play of energy,
Places of tightness,
Places of flow,
Warm.
Just letting the life be just as it is,
Received in awareness.
And continuing to scan down,
Let the pelvic region be filled with awareness.
And that same receptivity,
Aware of the dance of sensation,
Energy,
Movement.
And feel where your bottom touches the cushion,
The chair,
Just a sense of weight and pressure,
The weight and pressure where your feet or ankles touch the floor,
Feeling inside the feet the aliveness that is there.
Feeling the feet,
Feeling inside the hands.
You might sense this whole earth that is under you and around you,
This whole field of energy that is flowing through you,
Through the feet,
Filling the torso,
Filling the body.
You can feel the whole body as a field of sensation,
A dance of energy.
And just let everything happen.
Along with sensations,
The aliveness of sensations,
Aware of the sounds that appear and disappear,
Listen sounds,
The more distant sounds.
You are listening in a global way with your whole body,
Listening to and feeling the whole moment.
Listening to and feeling.
Listening to and feeling the whole moment.
Just let everything be just as it is.
So you can sense in the foreground the changing sounds and sensations and feelings,
Perhaps thoughts.
You can sense in the background this open,
Awake awareness,
The stillness that experiences movement and aliveness.
And the silence that is listening to sounds.
Just inhabiting that awareness,
That openness that is including everything that is happening.
Just let everything be just as it is.
It is the habit of mind to contract and leave the openness of awareness,
Go off in thoughts.
And it is also… There is this natural remembering.
You will notice at some point that the mind is drifting.
When that happens,
Just simply pause and re-open,
Relax back into presence again,
Just listening to the sounds right here.
Listening to and feeling this changing dance of sensation.
Listening to and feeling this tender-heartedness that is here,
Whatever movement of emotion might be appearing.
The practice is again and again to notice when there is a contraction of mind into thought and relax back,
Listening to and feeling the life that is right here.
No matter how many times the mind gets lost,
Each is an opportunity to experience this pathway home of relaxing back,
Re-opening the attention to the sounds that are right here,
Re-opening in the body to feel the life,
Perhaps softening the shoulders,
Feel the energy there,
Softening the hands,
Relaxing the heart to feel the realness,
The energy,
The feelings that are there.
And if what is arising is challenging,
Then you can deepen that relaxing back with that intention in some way to say yes,
To allow with gentleness and tenderness the life that is here to be just as it is.
So you can practice that mentally whispering yes to whatever is difficult.
That yes is a very honest acknowledgement of this is what is here in this moment.
Let it be.
In these last few moments,
Exploring what it means to unconditionally say yes to the life that is here.
In the moments when that yes becomes full,
Our hearts awaken in love.
Just letting go into that loving,
Being the loving.
Thank you.
