Our thinking minds are always so busy looking outside ourselves, there seems to be no end to the ways our minds can show us what is wrong. Unless we’ve learned some kind of practice to help us see, or think differently, we might never see beyond determining what is wrong. And sometimes even when we have a practice, external conditions appearing in the world can be so abrasive and distracting, it can feel impossible to reframe our experience.
What makes you angry?
What do you find unacceptable?
What pushes you to your limits?
What in the world is screaming out at you, demanding change?
Is there anyone who had any trouble coming up with at least one answer for the above questions? This week, below the fold, we will try playing with a different set of questions.
Good evening and welcome to Monday Group Meditation. We will be sitting from 7:30 to 10:00 PM EST. It is not necessary to sit for the entire extended time, which is set up to make it convenient for people in four North American Time Zones; sit for as long as you like and when it is most convenient for you. Monday Group Meditation is open to everyone, believers and non-believers, who are interested in gathering in silence. If you are new to meditation and would like to try it for yourself, Mindful Nature gave a good description of one way to meditate in an earlier diary, copied and pasted below:
"It is a matter of focusing attention mostly. In many traditions, the idea is to sit and focus on the rising and falling of the breath. Not controlling it, but sitting in a relaxed fashion and merely observing experiences of breathing, sounds, etc. Be aware of your thoughts, but don't engage in them. When your mind wanders (it will, often), then return to focus on breath and repeat."
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What if, just for the space of one breath, we just let it all go, for just this moment?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we noticed where our shirts are touching our shoulders, just for this moment?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we noticed the rise and fall of our in breath…and our out breath?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we noticed the sensation of our seats on our chairs?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we noticed sounds arising and falling away and were neither attracted nor averse to them?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we noticed a spot in our body where we feel tension and let it be without resisting it?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we turned the corners of our mouths up, just a bit and let in some happiness?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we looked inside our hearts and found peace, for just this moment?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we looked deeper inside our hearts and found tenderness, just for this moment? What if we found tenderness for the way we try to do our best, ...tenderness for the ways we try so hard and still miss the mark, just for this moment?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we let go of all our judgments about ourselves, and just accepted ourselves exactly as we are, for just one moment? If there is resistance to letting judgments go, just remember we can pick them up again after the space of just one breath. But for just this moment, just for the space of one breath, what if we accepted ourselves in all our glory and all our weakness and just let all of it be OK? Breathe.
What if, just for the space of one breath, we opened up and experienced the ripeness of the present moment beneath all the external stimuli, just for this moment?
What if, just for the space of one breath, we allowed that ripeness to expand, just for this moment?
And what if, breath by breath, moment by moment we allowed ourselves to rest in that ripeness, that perfection …for a moment…for a minute…for an hour?