So let's jump into a little bit of a practice,
Just a guided meditation here to be with what we are showing up with.
Find whatever seat is comfortable for you,
Preferably with your feet planted on the floor.
If you're in a chair or maybe you're seated on the floor,
Find a long spine and just feel the pressure of your seat against the earth,
Feel the support of the earth against you.
And when we're witnessing,
One of the easiest ways to come to presence,
To come to this present moment is by tuning into the breath.
It's by coming to our senses.
And the breath is something that's always with us.
It's a tool we can always use.
And as we use our senses,
We can use our sense of listening,
Our sense of hearing to hear the breath,
To hear the sounds around us,
To hear the sound of the bowl resonating,
To hear the voices in our minds,
The stories,
To feel our bodies,
To feel the breath moving in and to feel the breath flowing out,
To hear the breath moving in,
To hear the breath flowing out,
To taste the breath moving in and to taste the breath moving out,
To smell the air as it breathes and to let it go,
Bringing it back to the present moment.
Bringing all of our senses to bear here,
To this present moment.
And then drawing that same awareness down deeper,
Deeper within us,
Following that breath to the inside spaces of ourselves,
To our inner psyches,
To the world of emotions,
Of thoughts,
Of dreams,
Of hopes.
Just noticing what comes here.
Just sitting with whatever it is that comes up in this space.
It's so easy to wanna run away,
To wanna avoid,
To wanna rush ahead to the point where we get it,
Where we feel better.
But one of the things we learn is that we need to be heard in order to heal,
We must be fully with all that is,
With all that is,
Not saying no,
Not locking our judgments into ourselves,
Stuffing them away,
Opening up,
Opening our hearts,
Opening our minds,
Opening all of our senses to be gracious,
To receive what's here.
And perhaps there's a headline,
A bit of news,
The election,
Our current president,
And all the feelings that we have around the politics,
Around the world,
Around us,
With our families.
Can we say yes to what is?
Can we say yes to the painful headlines?
Can we see the fear in the broadcasters?
Can we see the outrage and hold it without running away?
Can we let love in?
Can we let the tension crack us open?
Welcoming each breath as it comes.
And letting each breath go as it leaves.
To witness is not to hold on.
It's simply to see.
Let's take a deep inhale through the nose.
Let it flow out the mouth.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Last time,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just letting the eyes come open slowly.
Witnessing the shift as your senses bring in the world around you.
Noticing what there is to see.
Noticing that even in the midst of all that goes on during your day,
You can come to a place of peace,
Of spaciousness,
And of receptivity.
