So,
Before closing your eyes,
If you'd like to take some time just to adjust your body,
Extending your neck and shoulders and arms if you like,
Just so that you feel really comfortable.
We slowly bring our awareness back to our body,
Becoming aware of the way we are sitting on our cushion or our seat,
Taking a little bit of time to adjust our legs,
Our hands,
The whole of our back and our neck,
Until we feel our circulation is smooth and unimpeded,
Right the way from the top of our head to the tips of our toes.
We may wish to adjust the way we're sitting to make sure we're really comfortable,
Because if we get our balance right,
It'll spread our body weight,
Giving us a good posture and we won't have to use any artificial effort to maintain our posture,
But can just settle naturally.
And having found the right posture for ourselves,
We can close our eyes really gently,
Just enough so that our upper and lower eyelashes touch gently against one another,
Without at the corners of our eyes,
Allowing the sense of relaxation to spread slowly outwards through the muscles of our face,
Through our forehead,
Our temples and cheeks,
Until all of our muscles are relaxed,
Relaxing down through our jaw,
Through our neck and shoulders,
Relaxing both arms,
Through our body and our legs,
Right the way to the tips of our fingers and our toes,
Leaving us with the feeling that we could sit for a long,
Long time without needing to worry about our body anymore,
Simply taking a moment to let go of any residual matters in our mind,
Merely enjoying the moment,
And relaxing every muscle,
Especially around our face,
The joints in our body,
Allowing ourselves to get truly comfortable.
And we may notice that there's a feeling as if our entire body has become empty and hollow,
As if it's been converted into a sort of bubble,
As if it's ready to float away at a moment's notice,
Without any thoughts or worries about methodology in our mind,
Just allowing things to be as they should be within us,
And allowing our thoughts to come back to our inner attention,
Where we feel we are resting our awareness,
Where the sense of relaxation becomes a part of the fabric of our body,
So comfortable that our mind can slowly unwind.
So,
As our body becomes more comfortable,
We may notice the way we're breathing in,
Feeling the longest,
Deepest breath coming down to a point somewhere round about our solar plexus,
Place where the breath pauses just for a moment between breathing in and breathing out.
We may feel the sensation at the place where the breath turns deep inside,
While allowing our mind to be released from all the mundane matters in our mind,
Just feeling the movement of the breath against that central point,
As the mind becomes lighter,
Feels more liberated,
Until our entire body seems to disappear,
Leaving us with nothing but an awareness of our inner sensations,
As if we are withdrawing from our surroundings,
With a deep sense of silence within us,
A sense of space inside our body,
The touch of the air passing the center of our body,
Which comes with a sense of contentment.
We might imagine that we're sitting alone in an empty place,
With nothing and no one to interrupt us,
A place where we feel secure enough to rest the mind,
As if we were taking a vacation,
Where we can rest for as long as we want,
With no one to bother us.
We feel ourselves at the center of this sense of tranquility,
The center of a great empty space,
With nothing to worry about,
With no cares in the world.
If we find our mind wanders away from where we are,
We gently bring our awareness back again within the space of the body,
To reconnect with the sense of tranquility on the inside,
Whatever form that might take,
Even if it's just the place where the breath touches within us between the in-breath and the out-breath.
For everything else,
We can just let go for now,
Letting nothing else be of concern to us,
So we're just taking a rest within our own space.
If we're distracted,
We bring the mind back,
Just letting our body relax as we reconnect.
If we find ourselves wanting for some sort of anchor for the mind,
We can always conjure up one of our own,
Possibly something visual within us,
Just as a point of reference for the mind to return to when it wanders.
And later we may find that that inner object changes,
In which case we just follow,
With no need to make any adjustments,
Becoming nothing more than the observer,
All the while applying the mind with a light and gentle attention,
Without letting the awareness slip away anywhere else,
If we can help it.
So,
If thoughts return,
We do our best to ignore them,
Or at least not to encourage them,
Letting them die down into silence.
Only if we have more thoughts than we bargained for would we make use of that recommended mantra,
Hearing the sound of the words Sammah Arahang,
Coming up as if from within us,
Over and over again,
Until we come to a point where the mind settles more deeply,
More steadfastly,
At the center of ourselves,
Or at any point within ourselves,
Which just feels comfortable for us.
We can continue in this way,
Lightly and gently,
Engaging with that inner sense of awareness and tranquility within ourselves,
Each to our own practice,
Just for a few more moments now in silence,
Until we come to the appropriate time.
If we find our mind wandering away onto other things,
Each time we realize,
We simply bring our awareness back again to the center of the body as before,
Or to the place within us that feels comfortable,
Feels relaxed,
Seems to connect with that sense of silence and solitude within us,
A place which seems to generate a sense of space and lightness,
A place that seems to generate a sense of joy or bliss within us,
Or a sense of happiness that seems to arise from that point of stillness.
Simply turning our attention within,
Maintaining it in place,
With that sense of comfort,
Coziness and ease,
Which often within Thai culture is known as a sense of sabai,
A sort of ease that doesn't need any effort,
Which leads to a sense of profundity in the mind,
Helping the mind to go deeper,
Helping engage with the sense of wisdom that lies within.
So we gently cultivate our mind at that place within us,
The focal point within ourselves,
Just for a few more moments in silence,
Until we come to time for some loving-kindness meditation.
And as we reach the final few moments of our meditation together,
We can re-engage with that sense of ease,
Peace,
Comfort and a sense of sabai within ourselves,
Whether it be a feeling or a sense of light or inner imagery,
Touching gently with our awareness at the very center of that,
Within our body,
With nothing more than a feather-light touch,
Allowing that sense of inner energy,
That peace energy from the inside,
To extend outwards from the central point,
Throughout the whole of our body,
Extending into every cell,
Every molecule of our being,
Together with a compassionate intention towards ourselves,
That we be well and happy,
Free from suffering,
That we love ourselves completely enough to want to work on ourselves,
Not to be complacent,
And to love and value ourselves enough to work on ourselves in a way that paves the way toward enlightenment,
Extending the same good wishes,
That peace energy,
Now beyond ourselves,
Almost like an aura or a halo around us,
We extend the same emotion,
The same energy outwards around us,
Reaching outward to all the living beings in our midst,
Without exception,
Wishing that they too be well and happy,
Free from suffering,
Live together in peace and harmony,
We see just how far we can extend that loving-kindness,
That it can be extended without boundaries,
Without limits,
Infinitely throughout the universe,
Reaching to all living beings wherever they may be found,
Extending the same good wishes and compassion to all of them,
That they too be well and happy,
Free from suffering,
Live together in peace and harmony,
That true peace become a reality within our own lifetimes.
We can extend our loving-kindness in this way,
Just for the last few moments of our practice together in silence.
