MA 45L Spreading The Light Of Hope (Live)

So now that we feel ready to meditate,

We can start by adjusting our sitting position to be as comfortable as possible.

It doesn't matter whether you're sitting on the floor or on a chair,

As long as you find yourself settling down into the most comfortable possible position.

If you're sitting on the floor,

Then make sure that neither of your legs are tense as you cross them.

Make sure there's nothing to impede the smooth circulation of your blood throughout your legs.

You can place both of your hands palm upwards in your lap.

And if you're sitting on a chair,

Then it's probably best to have both feet flat on the floor and your back extended to its full height,

With your chin horizontal,

And both hands resting in your lap as comfortably as possible.

Ensure that your blood circulates freely all the way from the top of your head down to the tips of your toes.

And breathe deeply to yourself two or three times.

And with each breath,

Allow your attention to be drawn back within yourself,

Breathing in until your awareness is located down at the deepest point of your abdomen.

As you breathe out,

Then breathe as slowly as you can.

Allow your breath to embody your awareness and bring it back to the present moment.

Allow your shoulders to drop to their natural height as you follow the breath a few more times,

Also confirming that your sitting posture is as comfortable as possible,

Allowing your mind to remain in place for the longest possible time,

With no physical discomfort to bother it.

And if at any time later on any discomfort should return,

We can just feel free to gently adjust ourselves at any time.

So we adjust our sitting posture to be as comfortable as possible,

While bringing our awareness back to become aware of our bodily sensations,

Relieving any remaining tension starting from the top of our head,

Scanning gently down through our body,

Relaxing the muscles of our forehead,

Down through our face and cheeks,

Allowing the relaxation to scan down through our neck and shoulders,

Letting the flow of relaxation move down through our arms to our hands,

All the way to the tips of our fingers,

Feeling the relaxation in our chest,

And letting it flow all the way down through our abdomen,

To our legs,

Our feet,

And all the way to the tips of our toes,

Until we feel that all the remaining tension is flushed out from our whole body,

Especially in the muscles of our face or our shoulders,

Allowing them to be completely relaxed,

At ease and comfortable.

Because when our body is comfortable,

It's very easy for our mind to become still and remain undistracted.

So take as much time as you need to make sure the whole of your body feels at ease.

And if your mind wanders or begins to become distracted,

There's no real need to fight those thoughts.

Just bring the attention back gently to the relaxation of the body,

Conjuring up a feeling as if you were going on holiday,

Taking a vacation,

Picturing yourself sitting alone in serene and natural surroundings,

Might be on a beach,

On the top of a mountain,

In the middle of a forest,

Or even in the desert,

Anywhere that you'd like to be,

Where you'd feel the most contented.

Imagine yourself in the middle of that place,

At its center,

As if you were becoming one with those serene and natural surroundings,

As if right here were your personal corner of paradise,

Where you can take a step back from the busy world outside,

As a place where you can rest and re-energize your mind,

Taking a moment to observe your surrounding space and feel as if it slowly expands outwards,

All the way to the horizon.

You might notice the way at the center of this space,

Your entire body is embraced by a sense of peace and tranquility,

Allowing your awareness to come to a standstill within this sensation of peace.

By a standstill I mean that the thoughts die down into silence,

Allowing us slowly to decompress,

Let go of any remaining thoughts,

Feelings,

Or residual emotions,

Any frustrations or worries that still clutter the mind.

You might allow yourself to feel as if those worries and frustrations are gently blowing away like thistle down,

Or the seeds on a dandelion clock,

Freeing up our mind from all the burdens we've been carrying inside us,

Because whatever they may be,

This is the time for us to rest,

To just be.

And that begins with unburdening our own mind from all sorts of mental clutter,

Letting them go,

One by one,

Little by little,

Until our mind feels as comfortable as our body,

Feeling free,

Almost liberated,

As if everything inside us has become light in weight,

Spacious,

Expanding,

Becoming wider,

Unburdened,

And the feeling when our mind breaks free from negativity,

Almost like clouds floating free in the sky,

Free of control,

Free of any kind of force,

Defying gravity,

Free and unconstrained.

Take as long as you need to free up your mind until the body merges with the space that surrounds you.

And at this point you might slowly bring your attention back inside the center of yourself,

Somewhere around the middle of your abdomen,

The place that your mind feels the most comfortable to rest.

And here at the center we can connect with our true self deeper inside.

We gently place the mind,

Place the awareness at the center of ourself,

Somewhere around about the middle of our abdomen,

Observing the gradual increasing sense of peace that slowly immerses our mind,

Continuously and gently,

Because here at the center our mind finally feels that it has returned home after a long journey to a place where it can just rest,

Be still and re-energize.

It doesn't need to do anything,

To engage with anyone or anything outside itself.

It's the time for the mind to rest,

To sit back and relax,

Allowing the mind finally to shed all its ingrained negativity.

And here at the center to keep the mind in place,

If we like we can imagine an image by visualizing something as a point of reference for the mind or as an anchor to allow it to settle.

In this respect you can visualize a bright full moon,

Perhaps the sun shining,

A twinkling star,

Perhaps a sparkling diamond,

Allowing the image slowly to emerge at the center of ourself with its own sense of radiance,

A radiance that expands outwards from that central point.

Even if we don't see it we can probably feel the presence of the object,

Feel the way in which it radiates a sense of well-being from that central point outwards.

We continue to train the mind in this way lightly and gently,

Keeping our mind on track at the center of the body in this way for a few more moments in silence until we come to the appropriate time.

We continue to keep our mind on track at the center of the body the whole of the time.

If we find our attention wandering off onto other things,

Each time we realize we just bring our attention back again to the center of the body as before.

If the object disappears we can think of a new one,

If it changes we can just follow it in its new form.

There's no need for us to change it back again.

If thoughts recur in the mind then we do our best to ignore them,

But if they're too persistent to ignore we may make use of that traditional mantra,

Hearing the sound of the words Samma Araham,

Samma Araham,

Samma Araham,

Coming up from the center of our inner object for as long as it takes for the thoughts in the mind to settle down into silence.

We continue in this way for a few more moments in silence until we come to time for some loving-kindness meditation.

So we continue to maintain our awareness in the center of the inner experience we have built up for ourselves as a result of the meditation so far.

Sometimes that inner experience is like a form of peace energy which remains motionless at the center of ourselves with a little bit of encouragement as we touch gently with our awareness at the center of that inner experience,

Whether it be a sense of well-being,

A sense of inner illumination or inner imagery,

Then that peace energy becomes more fluid,

Extending outwards from the central point.

In fact the energy is always there but it becomes more noticeable whenever the mind is pure and free from mental impurities.

Such as greed,

Hatred or delusion,

That sense of peace inside will transform into loving-kindness,

Compassion,

Good wishes and positive intention that we can extend towards ourselves or others.

And extending that peace energy outwards is extended with a sense of hope that begins within our own minds as we are able to reach out and share this light,

This inner energy,

A sense of hope beyond ourselves in a way that hope becomes more than just an idea,

But something that can be shared through the practice of meditation.

The starting point of a sense of hope within our own mind starts when the mind becomes free of thought,

Generates that inner sense of illumination or well-being.

And we allow this to generate further,

Expanding outwards from the central point with no need to push very hard,

Just allowing it to flow,

Never leaving behind that sense of comfort that we have already built up from our meditation so far,

Keeping the mind steady,

Calm,

Relaxed,

Almost as if we were nothing more than the observer in our meditation,

With no real need to interfere in the process,

Almost as if we're taking a step back and just observing what's going on,

So gently placing our awareness at the center of the inner experience,

Allowing the peace energy,

That sense of loving kindness to radiate outwards in all directions,

Covering and infusing our entire body and our being,

The sense of love and the affirmation that we be well and happy,

Free from suffering,

Before letting it continue to expand outwards beyond ourselves into the whole room around us and all the living beings in the room,

Outwards to the whole of the building,

To all the living beings in the building,

To the whole neighborhood and all of the beings in the neighborhood,

The same token to the whole city,

Country,

The whole continent and the rest of the world,

Sharing this light,

Love and peace energy to whoever or whatever is within our reach,

With the affirmation that may our loving kindness reach out to all people,

All sentient beings without exception,

May they live free from danger,

From sadness,

From suffering of all kinds,

May they live in happiness and peace,

May all those with misfortune become free from sadness and sorrow,

May joy,

Bliss and happiness spread in the heart of every person and we extend our loving kindness,

Our compassionate intention,

Further outwards,

Almost like the full moon spreading its light across the sky,

But in our case extending that peace energy to every living being,

Regardless of race,

Religion or creed,

Simply sharing universal love and wishing them all to be free from harm,

To be established in joy and happiness,

And through the tiny good intentions of meditators everywhere,

Extending loving kindness together,

Then a tide of goodness and peace will extend across the whole of the face of this planet,

Beyond borders,

Beyond boundaries,

Reaching every sentient being,

And we can also extend loving kindness to particular friends,

Family or loved ones,

Whether they are living or have passed on,

Embracing them within our peace energy,

With this loving kindness,

Whether they are here or elsewhere,

With the affirmation that they find comfort,

Loving kindness,

Hope,

And may the seeds of compassion be planted in their hearts,

Minds and souls,

So in this way we extend the light and energy without limits for a few more moments now in silence until we come to the appropriate time.