Friday Night Guided Meditation

0:00 Just one of those stories which came to my mind when those two monks made the announcement they're going to be walking over in Switzerland. I think this happened in Switzerland or it could have been some other places with mountains but you should still be very careful these two monks because once when a couple They were walking in mountains very high up. They were walking, it's beautiful territory. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:37 But they thought it's about time just to have a bit of a rest. So they went and found a nice little place. It was like a cave in the mountains. And so she sat in front of the cave and her boyfriend sat on top. Nice ledge on top of the cave. There's no one around. So it sounded safe. And when she was sitting in the front of the cave, that was when a bear came. Report an error in the passage at 0:37 Highlight the passage at 0:37

1:14 And the bear saw this practitioner meditating in front of his cave. What do you think he did? The bear ran towards her and attacked her. She wasn't in brown, she was in white, and started biting her on the head. It was really life-threatening. Report an error in the passage at 1:14 Highlight the passage at 1:14

1:40 But then what she did, please excuse me, but as far as the guys were concerned, they were pretty hopeless. He just sat there and wondered what to do next, because it was a big bear. And what she said, it did actually Report an error in the passage at 1:40 Highlight the passage at 1:40

2:02 He cut her a scalp when he was biting her. But she said the pain of being bitten was nowhere near as gross as the bad breath the bear had. Because bears don't brush their teeth, if you didn't know that. So it was a disgusting smell. And what she decided to do was to chant. Report an error in the passage at 2:02 Highlight the passage at 2:02

2:28 So she started chanting and that was enough. To scare the bear away. And the bear went running off. She did lose a bit of blood but she survived okay. And later on that soul woman became a nun. She's been here before. I come and visited the nuns over in Perth. And because now she's a nun, she has to shave her hair. Report an error in the passage at 2:28 Highlight the passage at 2:28

2:58 You can actually see the scar. know, of around her face. But the fantastic thing, strange thing, that when she was being bitten, it wasn't just a bite wound, because afterwards she started having headaches, more and more headaches. Report an error in the passage at 2:58 Highlight the passage at 2:58

3:24 And then eventually she went to a top doctor and they did a CT scan of her brain. You know what had happened? When the bear was biting into her head, it actually injected through the scalp into the brain a seed. Report an error in the passage at 3:24 Highlight the passage at 3:24

3:47 This is true story. And that seed started growing in her head. There was a little tree growing in her head. Fortunately, it wasn't that big yet, but it was causing her a headache. So if any of you ever get bitten by a bear, Make sure it doesn't leave any seeds in your brain and they can start growing and cause you headaches. Report an error in the passage at 3:47 Highlight the passage at 3:47

4:18 But that's a true story for her. Of course she survived okay. Anyway, I thought I'd introduce that story. It's something to... Interesting information you get to know after years as a monk. So now we can do some meditation. For those of you who haven't got any... Trees growing in your brain. You don't have any headaches. Let's do some nice meditation. Report an error in the passage at 4:18 Highlight the passage at 4:18

4:53 So if you close your eyes, and Report an error in the passage at 4:53 Highlight the passage at 4:53

5:05 with your eyes closed, first thing to do is to bring attention to your body. This body is the only one you have, so you better look after it. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:22 And I look after my body very well. I was just asking somebody a few minutes ago. Now I'm getting very old. Can't I have one of those old age stickers so I can park in places reserved for disabled people? Sounds okay to me, but apparently I'm too fit and healthy. Report an error in the passage at 5:22 Highlight the passage at 5:22

5:54 So I start with becoming aware of the feelings in my toes. One of the other reasons why I like to do this, because too often if you want to have deep success in meditation, Sometimes we need to feel more rather than think more. It's that feeling, understanding just how even your feet are right now. Report an error in the passage at 5:54 Highlight the passage at 5:54

6:21 If they are not well positioned they will have pain and discomfort and that is sufficient to disturb the meditation so you can never get that quiet and peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 6:21 Highlight the passage at 6:21

6:37 So I check my feet and as I feel the sensations in my feet It always feels very pleasant. No aches, no pain. There's no stress. Stress is where two parts of my feet are actually pressing against each other and causing a discomfort. Report an error in the passage at 6:37 Highlight the passage at 6:37

7:07 I make sure that both feet are kind of free. Nothing is pressing too hard against another part. You know what stress is like in life? Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:22 When two people, your boss and a worker, are pressing too hard against each other, it's lovely when we feel free, free from that pressure, that pressing, that compulsion. Report an error in the passage at 7:22 Highlight the passage at 7:22

7:41 Everything is nice and loose and at ease. Report an error in the passage at 7:41 Highlight the passage at 7:41

7:49 And I go from my feet to my ankles. You Report an error in the passage at 7:49 Highlight the passage at 7:49

7:56 know, one of the advantages of doing this for so many years, that I can just look at my ankles. They get relaxed almost immediately. My mind knows what to do. And then I scan my attention up my legs inch by inch. Report an error in the passage at 7:56 Highlight the passage at 7:56

8:22 Because my legs are relaxed, they do feel comfortable. They do feel at ease. They do feel very pleasant. I enjoy doing this. It's happy. Because I'm sitting, I don't fall asleep, just with my full awareness on my legs, they relax to the max and I am left with a beautiful feeling. My lower legs so deeply relaxed, perfectly relaxed. I get to my knees. Report an error in the passage at 8:22 Highlight the passage at 8:22

9:10 I was surprised how many people have injuries on their knees. They can't comfortably sit on the ground. Even on chairs they find it difficult to relax their knees. So sometimes I imagine my knees kind of expanding. Report an error in the passage at 9:10 Highlight the passage at 9:10

9:38 If they're expanding, just an imagination, a fantasy, then all those things which should be going through the knees, the blood, the lymph, other stuff, I'm not a doctor. It all can go flow through easily, regenerating, easing, healing, all the parts in that part of my body, in my knees. Report an error in the passage at 9:38 Highlight the passage at 9:38

10:08 So my knees feel so soft and at ease, not a problem at all. Report an error in the passage at 10:08 Highlight the passage at 10:08

10:18 When I go past my knees up my thighs, when I go through my thighs, they are big muscles, they do a lot of work. Now make sure that Totally relaxed and I sometimes feel like my two thighs just sinking deeper into the mat underneath them. Report an error in the passage at 10:18 Highlight the passage at 10:18

10:50 It's one of my ways of relaxing to the max. Not just short, a small amount of relaxation, a big amount. And then I get to one of the first difficulties I feel which is the butt. I am heavy. So that weight is transferred through my buttocks onto the cushion and I can feel that pressure. Report an error in the passage at 10:50 Highlight the passage at 10:50

11:22 One thing I notice, when that pressure is equally spread of the left buttock and the right buttock, it's not intense and after a few seconds the whole feeling vanishes. It's what I learn. Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:45 That anything which is not a danger, the mind can easily turn off. And soon that feeling in the buttocks disappears. Now go to my waist. Many people have difficulties with their back. I learn how to first of all adjust the waist. It's usually pulling the back of the waist. Inwards towards the front, not very well explained, but I know what I mean. Then it feels a strong position. Report an error in the passage at 11:45 Highlight the passage at 11:45

12:30 Then my back can be well curved, curved backwards a little bit. And all those parts of the spine seem to be really, really comfortable. When I get into that good position of my back, I can sit like that for hours comfortably and Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

13:02 I go back down to my waist again and go up inch by inch but this time on the inside go up through my digestive tract as Report an error in the passage at 13:02 Highlight the passage at 13:02

13:22 I go up my digestive tract if there's any part of it which is not at ease not peaceful and Report an error in the passage at 13:22 Highlight the passage at 13:22

13:38 I pause I will pounce on my body to relax. I give them ease and Report an error in the passage at 13:38 Highlight the passage at 13:38

13:52 they do relax. The feelings in my digestive tracts change and get more easeful, more relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 13:52 Highlight the passage at 13:52

14:08 When I do this I learn how to ease off any feelings of indigestion, any feelings of stress, any feelings of tightness. As I scan my body upwards, and this is especially important if you come across a part of your body which has a cancer or has some sort of injury or old wound, it's where you can heal it just Report an error in the passage at 14:08 Highlight the passage at 14:08

14:47 by having kindness. That kindness can be so strong. As I was saying to some visitors earlier, it's like you zap. Your body with kindness and it relaxes. It comes at ease. Eventually I get up to my stomach and relax that to the max. Report an error in the passage at 14:47 Highlight the passage at 14:47

15:26 Remember that case of having food Report an error in the passage at 15:26 Highlight the passage at 15:26

15:33 poisoning. That was very painful. It took me half an hour to relax until it disappeared totally. It was amazing you could do that to your own body just with kindness. Report an error in the passage at 15:33 Highlight the passage at 15:33

15:52 No tension, no fear, no medications. I go up from my stomach to my lungs and Report an error in the passage at 15:52 Highlight the passage at 15:52

16:12 make sure that that is soft and easy. The air comes into my lungs, stays a little while, and then at its own rate just leaves my lungs. This Report an error in the passage at 16:12 Highlight the passage at 16:12

16:32 is just for relaxation at first. I'll do the breath meditation later. Report an error in the passage at 16:32 Highlight the passage at 16:32

16:41 When I go to my heart region, relax that too. So Report an error in the passage at 16:41 Highlight the passage at 16:41

16:51 I go inch by inch upwards and I get to my shoulders. When I reach the shoulders, sometimes I've found that they're tense already. Report an error in the passage at 16:51 Highlight the passage at 16:51

17:09 So what I do to relax my own shoulders is go the opposite direction first. Scrunch them up as tight as I can. And then when they can't get any tighter, let go. When I say and do that letting go, the scrunch muscles in my shoulders relax more than when I started. Report an error in the passage at 17:09 Highlight the passage at 17:09

17:41 It's like moving a ball up a hill, letting it go, and it goes even deeper down the hill, further down the hill. So my shoulders are now relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 17:41 Highlight the passage at 17:41

17:54 I've also reminded myself what letting go is. Report an error in the passage at 17:54 Highlight the passage at 17:54

18:01 And allow my attention to go further down my arms, down to my elbows, and relax them immensely, down my forearms, past my wrists, and now to my hands themselves. Report an error in the passage at 18:01 Highlight the passage at 18:01

18:27 I feel how my hands are. It's like I ask a question. Please, if you can ask this question too, it's great. Ask your fingers, how are you? Do you want to be moved? Report an error in the passage at 18:27 Highlight the passage at 18:27

18:42 You're being mindful of your own body parts and you're asking them, can their position be improved, more relaxed. Now I actually move my fingers to relax them some more. Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

19:00 Then I look at my body from the neck down, fully relaxed. I go up to my neck again, feel Report an error in the passage at 19:00 Highlight the passage at 19:00

19:15 the air passage in my neck. Report an error in the passage at 19:15 Highlight the passage at 19:15

19:23 Relax it as best I can. I go to the front of my face. I'm actually doing this as I'm talking, feeling the sensations around the eyes and the mouth, or anywhere where there's a kind of a strong feeling, and relaxing it. How do you relax it? Sometimes I move the eyes, open them slightly, or close them, find out which is the best. Report an error in the passage at 19:23 Highlight the passage at 19:23

20:01 You learn how to keep the eyes closed. So you're not disturbed, but not screwed down tight. The whole front of my face is really at ease. My Report an error in the passage at 20:01 Highlight the passage at 20:01

20:19 whole body has been relaxed, part by part. Now I look at the whole thing just sitting here. I Report an error in the passage at 20:19 Highlight the passage at 20:19

20:32 really hope that you can follow all the way. My body now feels delightful. No aches, no pains, but just one relaxed body just sitting here. Report an error in the passage at 20:32 Highlight the passage at 20:32

20:49 I enjoy that pleasure of relaxation first because Report an error in the passage at 20:49 Highlight the passage at 20:49

20:58 I found myself getting even more relaxed. I Report an error in the passage at 20:58 Highlight the passage at 20:58

21:04 take relaxation to very, very deep levels. Once Report an error in the passage at 21:04 Highlight the passage at 21:04

21:15 I'm relaxed bodily, I can start relaxing the mind. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:27 First thing I do is to give up time and don't worry about past. I don't be concerned about future. There was no that now is where my future is being made. Now is the important time. Now is the only time I can really be aware of. So Report an error in the passage at 21:27 Highlight the passage at 21:27

21:58 I ask myself, how do I feel right now? And I relax it to the max. Report an error in the passage at 21:58 Highlight the passage at 21:58

22:10 When there's no perception of past or future, it's amazing how easy it is to be peaceful. The Report an error in the passage at 22:10 Highlight the passage at 22:10

22:21 next thing I do, I stop giving things names. I Report an error in the passage at 22:21 Highlight the passage at 22:21

22:32 feel. peace, their pressure, ease. than giving things names. go deeper into that peace. into that joy. Report an error in the passage at 22:32 Highlight the passage at 22:32

22:53 this is the point where I have to be quiet, say anymore. Report an error in the passage at 22:53 Highlight the passage at 22:53

23:01 It's getting Report an error in the passage at 23:01 Highlight the passage at 23:01

· · · silence, 7 minutes

29:55 close now to the end of the meditation. Don't come out yet. Please know how you feel. Report an error in the passage at 29:55 Highlight the passage at 29:55

30:09 Honestly, has there been an improvement in your mind? Do you feel more peaceful? And is that peace associated with a deeper sense of happiness and well-being? I've Report an error in the passage at 30:09 Highlight the passage at 30:09

30:34 always found when I ask that question, it shows me how valuable all meditation is and how it's not hard. Report an error in the passage at 30:34 Highlight the passage at 30:34

30:49 Enjoy the peace. One more minute before I ring the bell. Report an error in the passage at 30:49 Highlight the passage at 30:49

· · · silence, 1 minute

31:51 Thank you for listening. Report an error in the passage at 31:51 Highlight the passage at 31:51

32:00 Excellent. Report an error in the passage at 32:00 Highlight the passage at 32:00