Friday Night Guided Meditation

0:00 Okay, good evening. Let's start meditating straight away. Half an hour is usually not enough. So get into a comfortable position straight away, please. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:14 If you are not used to sitting on the floor, use the chairs. Ajahn Brahm encourages using of the chairs. Those who find it difficult to relax on a cushion on the floor, probably be moving a lot. Report an error in the passage at 0:14 Highlight the passage at 0:14

0:33 meditation is more an exercise of the mind than exercise of the body so if you want to please use a chair having said that get Report an error in the passage at 0:33 Highlight the passage at 0:33

0:49 into a posture where you can be totally relaxed and the place i would like to start is at the abdominal area if you can relax Relax or adjust the muscles, six pack front well as your lumbar muscles behind. Report an error in the passage at 0:49 Highlight the passage at 0:49

1:19 that you can sit Report an error in the passage at 1:19 Highlight the passage at 1:19

1:23 as little muscular Take your time to adjust. Report an error in the passage at 1:23 Highlight the passage at 1:23

1:35 This is important. I find that once you get your abdominal area relaxed, you Report an error in the passage at 1:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35

1:48 can feel that the stomach Has more space to move. The stuff that's inside, the stomach, the intestines, they're not compressed. And they just feel a bit more comfortable. And Report an error in the passage at 1:48 Highlight the passage at 1:48

2:26 when you can feel that, the next thing that quickly comes to you, very naturally, is that breath. The Report an error in the passage at 2:26 Highlight the passage at 2:26

2:43 breath almost feels like it comes running to your mind and welcomes you home. Report an error in the passage at 2:43 Highlight the passage at 2:43

3:06 When the abdominal area is relaxed, the breath feels very pleasant. The Report an error in the passage at 3:06 Highlight the passage at 3:06

3:30 reason I'm pointing that out to you is because I'm inviting you to enjoy that pleasant sensation of the breath. Quite Report an error in the passage at 3:30 Highlight the passage at 3:30

4:09 a while ago, I heard Ajahn Brahm say this. He knows his breath really well. So much so, the breath is his best friend. Report an error in the passage at 4:09 Highlight the passage at 4:09

4:26 In modern lingo, you might call it BFF, best friend for life. The breath is going to stick with you until the very last moment. The Report an error in the passage at 4:26 Highlight the passage at 4:26

5:05 more you enjoy that feeling of the breath, the Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:14 closer your attention will stick to the breath quite naturally. Instead Report an error in the passage at 5:14 Highlight the passage at 5:14

5:42 of having to hold your attention to the breath, the attention gets pulled in. By the pleasure, as if by magnet. Report an error in the passage at 5:42 Highlight the passage at 5:42

· · · silence, 1 minute

6:29 Next thing I would like you to do is to read the breath. You know how if you were sitting with your pet, a dog, a cat, or if you are sitting with a friend who is sick in bed maybe, and if you wanted to know how that friend is doing, you could just watch the breath. Report an error in the passage at 6:29 Highlight the passage at 6:29

7:06 And see if it's smooth or if it's tight, if Report an error in the passage at 7:06 Highlight the passage at 7:06

7:15 it's regular or Report an error in the passage at 7:15 Highlight the passage at 7:15

7:22 if it's irregular. Report an error in the passage at 7:22 Highlight the passage at 7:22

7:49 Reading the breath like that, you get a sense of the well-being of that breath. Report an error in the passage at 7:49 Highlight the passage at 7:49

8:23 In Ajahn Brahm's lingo, you could take this reading as the piece-o-meter. On a scale of 1 to 10, how peaceful is this friend? Report an error in the passage at 8:23 Highlight the passage at 8:23

· · · silence, 1 minute

9:14 Now I invite you to go back to the muscles in the abdominal area and see if they're still relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 9:14 Highlight the passage at 9:14

9:37 Work with the breath as a team, with the breath doing the rise and fall, and you observing if there's tightness, if there's restrictions. The Report an error in the passage at 9:37 Highlight the passage at 9:37

10:10 rise and fall helps you to notice those tightness. And Report an error in the passage at 10:10 Highlight the passage at 10:10

10:38 on the side with you, The observer contributing kindfulness and compassion. You Report an error in the passage at 10:38 Highlight the passage at 10:38

11:01 might gently persuade that tightness to let go. One Report an error in the passage at 11:01 Highlight the passage at 11:01

11:32 trick I learned recently, sometimes these tightness are a bit more difficult. What you might do then is to see if there's some anxiety associated Report an error in the passage at 11:32 Highlight the passage at 11:32

11:57 with that tightness. Report an error in the passage at 11:57 Highlight the passage at 11:57

12:05 Let go the anxiety first. The Report an error in the passage at 12:05 Highlight the passage at 12:05

12:34 letting go of anxiety is not by pushing it away, but rather by calming it down, providing it a safe space for Report an error in the passage at 12:34 Highlight the passage at 12:34

12:53 it to relax. Report an error in the passage at 12:53 Highlight the passage at 12:53

· · · silence, 1 minute

13:34 Okay, now if that worked, let's spread this zone of comfort upwards to the chest thoracic area. Report an error in the passage at 13:34 Highlight the passage at 13:34

13:49 Allow the muscles around the chest. shoulders and the back. Report an error in the passage at 13:49 Highlight the passage at 13:49

13:59 Let Report an error in the passage at 13:59 Highlight the passage at 13:59

14:13 the feeling of the ease of rise and fall also encompass the upper body. Report an error in the passage at 14:13 Highlight the passage at 14:13

· · · silence, 1 minute

15:08 Here's a tip. If the mind runs, go Report an error in the passage at 15:08 Highlight the passage at 15:08

15:17 back to appreciating the pleasure of the breath. Remember how I described it like a magnet? A magnet works when it's really, really close. Report an error in the passage at 15:17 Highlight the passage at 15:17

15:36 Once you pull it apart, it loses its stickiness. But once you go back close to the breath and feel the air, the tension Report an error in the passage at 15:36 Highlight the passage at 15:36

15:56 sticks again. Now Report an error in the passage at 15:56 Highlight the passage at 15:56

· · · silence, 1 minute

16:35 let's spread the zone further upwards through the neck, to the head, the jaw, the cheeks, the eyeballs, the forehead. If Report an error in the passage at 16:35 Highlight the passage at 16:35

17:14 there's any tightness, see if there's any anxiety associated. Relax. Report an error in the passage at 17:14 Highlight the passage at 17:14

17:26 Let go. And Report an error in the passage at 17:26 Highlight the passage at 17:26

· · · silence, 1 minute

18:36 you might go up to the brain region behind the forehead. If you have been squeezing your brain, now's the time to let the brain rest. Report an error in the passage at 18:36 Highlight the passage at 18:36

18:53 Let go of that squeezing. Report an error in the passage at 18:53 Highlight the passage at 18:53

18:59 Even though the breath, biologically speaking, doesn't go into the brain, imagine the breath, when you inhale, blows in through the brain cavity and... As if to fluff up a crumpled, squashed brain. Report an error in the passage at 18:59 Highlight the passage at 18:59

19:31 If Report an error in the passage at 19:31 Highlight the passage at 19:31

· · · silence, 1 minute

20:34 your body is relaxed enough, you can spend the next few minutes enjoying the pleasure of the breath again. Just let your attention get stuck to the breath as it rises and falls. Report an error in the passage at 20:34 Highlight the passage at 20:34

· · · silence, 1 minute

21:29 As you are absorbed with the pleasure of that breath, see if you can let go. Just be Report an error in the passage at 21:29 Highlight the passage at 21:29

21:48 totally with the breath and breath alone. Report an error in the passage at 21:48 Highlight the passage at 21:48

22:16 Whatever tensions and anxieties there are with the body, let go. Don't hang on. We Report an error in the passage at 22:16 Highlight the passage at 22:16

· · · silence, 2 minutes

24:57 have a few minutes. If you like, you can try this experiment. Go to the heart area where we normally store our emotions and Report an error in the passage at 24:57 Highlight the passage at 24:57

25:20 see if there's any anxieties there. Report an error in the passage at 25:20 Highlight the passage at 25:20

25:31 Continue to use the same method. Breathe as if you're breathing through the heart. Allow the rise and fall to identify any tensions. Report an error in the passage at 25:31 Highlight the passage at 25:31

26:08 Again, if there are any tensions and anxieties, create a safe space to let it relax. Time Report an error in the passage at 26:08 Highlight the passage at 26:08

· · · silence, 1 minute

27:35 flies when you're having fun. Fortunately, it's close to 8 o 'clock. Please Report an error in the passage at 27:35 Highlight the passage at 27:35

27:46 enjoy another 10 breaths and then say, Your goodbyes to this good friend. Report an error in the passage at 27:46 Highlight the passage at 27:46