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It's holiday time.
And that means it's strong, powerful emotion time.
Big expectations because of the connections we make at
times like this with family, and often disappointment, and
all of the friction-- a particular,
specific, kind of friction--
that comes because we are with people we love very much, but
often the very roots of our sense of self grew up in
relationship to people that we both love, but can easily push
our buttons.
And at the same time, we're being just pounded with
advertisement, and purchase, and buying, and what to do,
and the busyness of the holidays.
And then the news, constantly the things happening in the
world that are so difficult very often.
So what I want to offer us is a practice.
A practice for starting over in the present moment.
First of all, starting with our bodies, very specifically
with your breath.
Try to remind yourself that it's always now.
Try to remind yourself that everyone you're with for all
of the memory you carry of the past and how that enriches you
in positive ways and sometimes sets you
in a defensive posture.
Then everything starts again right now.
And yet, in a certain sense, the breath you're breathing
right now--
like a wave of light coming from the sun, that's never
left the sun--
depending on the experiment, we either see light as these
little packets called quanta or a wave that's continuous
and uninterrupted.
This breath can either be seen as now a new breath and then
the old breath that went before, or something that's
never stopped from the moment of birth and will not stop.
In, out, in.
So slow your breath down for a moment.
Feel the sensation of the breath in your body.
As you let the breath become present, we're going to do
this for five breaths.
Oh yes, it's good to have a meditation practice of 20
minutes a day or 30 minutes a day, but, oh, in a season like
this, it's really hard to find the time.
But for five breaths now, and 10 minutes from now another
five breaths, and five minutes after that or 20 minutes later
another five very conscious breaths.
And what does it mean to be in the present moment?
It means that our minds are very, very attuned, focused.
Your perception is vivid.
And at the same time, we're not narrowing.
We're not doing what we learned in school-- focus,
focus, focus, get smaller, smaller, smaller, specialize,
specialize.
Stay big.
So use images of vastness to help you
find the inner vastness--
the ocean.
A mountaintop view in all directions.
The night sky filled with stars and the hazy arc of the
Milky Way--
images like that that communicate
almost limitless space.
Almost limitless space.
Ultimately, limitless awareness, limitless mind, and
a very specific sensation of this breath.
Deeper into your body.
Even more vivid perception of the breaths, of the sensation
in your nose, in your chest, in your ribs, your belly.
Vastness.
Vastness.
Five breaths.
There's five breaths.
And everything got more still.
Things quieted down.
You can start all over from this position.
You never have to argue with its truth.
This breath, this sensation, what's actually
happening right now.
Not psychological interpretation, not reaction,
not evaluation, not judgment.
Sensation.
Perception.
Five breaths to calm you down.
Cleaning the kitchen, five breaths right in the middle of
what you're doing.
Listening to someone else and finding
yourself being five breaths.
Driving in the car.
Traffic.
Trying to make an appointment.
Five breaths.
It's a really simple practice.
Focused, spacious awareness anchored to five breaths.
Practice and go through these holidays with the biggest open
heart you can have.
God bless.
So, I'm wishing you wonderful holidays.
And now, this is a quiet time for me for the next few weeks.
But in January, I'll be starting my work again.
I'll be in Southern California at the Good Life Academy.
You can find out their information at
www.goodlifeacademy.net and it'll be on the 26th of
January from 7:00 to 10:00 PM, an experiential workshop.
I look forward to being with many of you there.
Have wonderful holidays and see you in the New Year.