Breathing In - Peace (Part 1)

0:01 Good, so tonight I thought I will start off with a little, well it's not really a poem, but it's written in a poetic way. It's the, what is it called? I can't get the right term for it. It's called, where are we? At the end here. The verses of the senior monks and that goes back you know 2500 years ago so it's actually a very very long time ago and that's the people who basically finished the path and kind of I don't think they wrote it down they just spoke those utterances and they were recorded and remembered and then later down written down and this one is about the full moon and it is maybe you know it's the full moon night tonight And that is something that also is always in conjunction with Easter. So Easter is always the Sunday after the full moon. Report an error in the passage at 0:01

1:07 It's the first full moon after the equinox. So it's a lunar thing, so it actually shifts around from year to year. And there is this beautiful simile that is used in the suttas, in the discourses, in the scriptures, which is like the moon freed from the clouds. So it goes as follows. One who has fulfilled, developed and gradually consolidated mindfulness of breathing, that I'll be talking about tonight, as it was taught by the Buddha, they light up the world like the moon freed from the clouds. Report an error in the passage at 1:07

1:46 Yes, my mind is clean, limitless and well developed. It has broken through and been uplifted. It radiates in every direction. A wise person lives on even after loss of wealth. But without gaining wisdom, even a rich person doesn't really live. Wisdom questions what is learned. Wisdom grows fame. fame and reputation. Basically when you are wise you have a good reputation and you are respected. A person united with wisdom finds happiness even in And I also chose this because it talks about mindfulness of breathing, which is basically what probably most of the people associate when they hear meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:46

3:03 landmarks are on in this beautiful process of meditating on the breath or with the breath however you want to say it and it also ties in what i was teaching before so Only a few of you were here before. I was talking about the four focuses of mindfulness, just to remind people. And they are, number one, embodied awareness. Report an error in the passage at 3:03

3:28 So it's coming back to this simplicity of the sensations that are going on in this body, in the present. Then the second focus is the quality of our experience. So we understand... What the feeling tone is, they call it. Is something pleasant? Is something unpleasant? Or is something neutral? The third focus is the mind and the states it is in. Report an error in the passage at 3:28

3:55 So it's where the mind is inclining towards, what the motivations are and what the attitudes of the mind are. And number four is the principles of reality. So basically the laws of nature as Buddhism understands it. And that has to do a lot with causality, with cause and effect, and also with the working of this impersonal way of how conditioning works. Report an error in the passage at 3:55

4:23 So that's the four kind of focuses or areas that we can focus on. And in the scripture, when it talks about mindfulness of breathing, it actually brings these two aspects together. So what it says is, when mindfulness of breathing or mindfulness awareness together with the breath is developed and cultivated, it is of great fruit, of great benefit. Report an error in the passage at 4:23

4:50 When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it completes the four focuses of mindfulness. So those four areas that I mentioned before, they're actually covered in this beautiful process of meditation. and of being with the breath so it always has like four landmarks that come for each of these titles that i would like to go through and explain a little bit what hopefully is happening for you in meditation as well at times so the first one is the embodied awareness so it says when the in-breath -breaths and out-breaths are long and you are aware that they are long. When the in-breaths and the out-breaths are short and you are aware that they are short. Report an error in the passage at 4:50

5:49 Now, sometimes people look at this and think it's kind of a cookbook recipe. So, okay, first step, breathing long, breathe out long. Second step. short short short but actually it's kind of the same exercise for both of these things so it's not a gradual thing for both of these here it basically means that you are aware that you know if the breath is long or if the breath is short but it's not an exercise where you say okay i have to do this and i have to do it right because then you are actually going against all the things that we're trying to teach here We are just being with the breath and we are being aware of the quality of the breath. And one kind of fairly easy quality to be aware of is, is it a shallow breath? Report an error in the passage at 5:49

6:43 Is it a fast breath? Is it a deep breath? Is it a long breath? But again, it's not an intellectual exercise. It's feeling and understanding what's going on with the breath. But the breath is part of this body. So when we teach meditation, and what I'll also be doing afterwards, is we usually go through the body first in a body sweep. So we look at the more coarser aspects of the body to calm them down, to settle them, to quieten them. Report an error in the passage at 6:43

7:16 And then we can switch to something which is much more subtle, much more harder basically to be with if the mind is not ready. And that's... www .muslimcentral.com Get rid of all the thoughts. And that's not really how it works. It temporarily might work when we do that, but if we are too forceful with this exercise, if you want to even call it an exercise, then when you push the thoughts out, they actually come and bother you more. Report an error in the passage at 7:16

8:17 So you focus or you invite your awareness to settle on something else. That actually entertains it, that is pleasant, that is nice. And then your attention automatically goes away from those other things, doesn't give them importance, and then all the momentum they had from the past will slowly, slowly diminish and then maybe even die down. Report an error in the passage at 8:17

8:44 But sometimes it doesn't die down, which is fine, as long as it's kind of in the background there somewhere. So the focus is something which happens quite naturally. And as this focus starts to develop and starts to become stronger and establish itself, then what Ajahn Brahm, my teacher, would usually say is when he went many, many years ago to be with some of his supporters, he would go and see them and they would watch TV together. Report an error in the passage at 8:44

9:10 So it was like the news or something. He would always come at that time. And they had a big... TV screen and on that well not as big as these days but fairly big one and there was a ship in a bottle on top of that TV and he noticed that when he was watching the TV and he was being absorbed by what was happening on the screen that automatically there was a focus on what is happening within the screen and it's almost like that screen kind of filled out the whole world and and the Report an error in the passage at 9:10

9:44 above and the pictures on the wall and the wall and you know the floor and everything just kind of disappeared not because you pushed it out but because the focus naturally happened and then these things were let go of and that is one of the processes that So please don't say if you watch your most favorite soap opera that you're meditating. It's not quite the same thing, but the focus that I'm describing is actually very, very similar. Report an error in the passage at 9:44

10:13 Right, so that's number one, long breath, short breath. And then the third one is when you learn to experience the whole of the breath as you breathe in and as you breathe out. So breathing is actually quite a long and intricate and delicate process with many, many different things that are happening. Report an error in the passage at 10:13

10:35 But usually we are not aware. So if the mind starts to settle and start to tune in with the breathing, then it can actually become aware of this whole beautiful process of breathing in, a little gap, breathing out, a little gap, and then breathing in again. And then even breathing in is not just one thing. It becomes like a whole Report an error in the passage at 10:35

11:13 focus basically that has to be developed so again here We have to understand that we don't try to grab the breath and get hold of it and with an intellectual mind go like where am I? Am I at the beginning? Am I in the middle of the in-breath or the end of the in-breath? But just to be with that process and not even to have it anywhere in the body so much. Report an error in the passage at 11:13

11:40 Because later in the process as I will describe we are trying to let go even of the body. So as we are focusing in on the TV screen You might have also noticed if you watched something for, I don't know, an hour or even one and a half hours, some of those movies are that long, you just find out when it's over that you can't feel your leg because you were, you know, squeezing one of your nerves. Report an error in the passage at 11:40

12:07 But as you are watching, you are not aware of what is happening in your body because you're so absorbed. So you kind of forget about it and then once the program finishes or there's an ad break or whatever it is, then you become aware of it. And that's what is happening with this process as well. So we want to encourage that. So you try to, one of the best words that I can use is to drop into the process of breathing, to drop into the breath. Report an error in the passage at 12:07

12:34 And that's hopefully something that I can guide you in the meditation afterwards. Drop into the body. drop into the breath rather than thinking what is going on in my toe with thinking you know i'm up here and my toe is down there can you kind of drop into that part of the body and just sense it feel it know it be there with it and be there with moment to moment with all the things that are happening and they're changing all the time So that's the third step, to really be with this whole process of breathing. And one of the beautiful things that happens as you are moving into this process, as you carry on, sometimes you don't even know anymore if you're breathing in or if you're breathing out. Report an error in the passage at 12:34

13:22 You know there is breath, but as these things become more subtle, you're so in the moment that you can't actually distinguish anymore where you are. But you are very aware and you know for sure that you are with the breath. And then the third one is when you learn to calm the breath as you breathe in and as you breathe out. Report an error in the passage at 13:22

13:46 And that's one of those things that we also have to learn in meditation to basically not get involved to not try to control to drop into the process and to become part of the process. And when that happens there is not this distinction anymore between me and the object that i'm with and then it starts to flow quite naturally and starts to flow quite beautifully and that calms everything down because there is no no thinking there is no managing there is no kind of Agenda that you have, how your breathing should be or how it shouldn't be, like with the long breath and the short breath, it's not about, oh, it's a short breath, it should be longer, or it's a long breath, it should be shorter. Report an error in the passage at 13:46

14:34 It's as it is. The body knows how to breathe. But as we relax and as we calm down, it does tend to become slower and deeper, but we have to learn to let it do it by itself rather than us interfering with it. So this is the one kind of category which covers the body. And the breath is a subtle form of body. Report an error in the passage at 14:34

15:00 But one of the beautiful things with the breath is it doesn't stop there. The breath is actually a bridge which carries us deeper into meditation. And that's when we start to go into the second category of the quality of experience, of pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. The breath itself is actually quite neutral. Unless you have a sickness or you have pain or something else, the breath is just breath and that makes it most of the time very boring. Report an error in the passage at 15:00

15:33 And that's why it is difficult for people to actually be with the breath because you don't want to be with something which is boring. Even if there is a person and you consider that person as boring, you don't really want to hang out with them. But if the meditation works the right way, and that's what we try to establish right from the beginning, also with being with the body, if we have the right attitude, if we have a mind which is kind, which is warm, which is aware, which is interested, then whatever we are watching is actually interesting as well. Report an error in the passage at 15:33

16:09 And it starts to become much more Granule, is that the right word? Or you can just see more, feel more, know more. It's like you have a boring person, but if you ask the right questions, if you engage with them in the right way, they actually become interesting. You want to engage with them more. So what happens then is when you learn to experience joy. And it's called pity in Pāli. Report an error in the passage at 16:09

16:38 That's the word in the old Indian language. That the Buddha spoke and that the scriptures were written in. So now, that is the next crucial step. So if we just sit and we go, okay, breath going in, breath going out. Oh, well, maybe, you know, be a bit more precise. Okay, beginning of the breath. Oh, there's a little gap, yes. And then the next out breath, in breath. It tends to not be very joyful, isn't it? Report an error in the passage at 16:38

17:05 So we have to have the right attitude when we go into this. And the right... Mind. And then joy does arise. So meditation is a very joyful practice. So if joy arises, please don't think there is something wrong. That's what is supposed to happen. If the mind is relating in the right way, then the breath starts to become beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 17:05

17:32 Then the breath... Starts to become delightful. And Ajahn Brahm, I just saw one of you taking the book there that he wrote. He talks about this stage in meditation. He calls it the beautiful breath or the delightful breath. But again, it's not the breath which is beautiful, but it's the observer and the mind who looks at it in the right way. Report an error in the passage at 17:32

17:55 So it becomes beautiful. It becomes joyful. And so this kind of joyful energy initially is, quite bubbly and it can even and be felt in the body as well so some people describe it as float Sukhaya is a pleasant experience. experience that does arise. And then the next one is when you learn to experience pleasure, sukha. Report an error in the passage at 17:55

18:28 And sukha is the opposite of dukkha. Dukkha is suffering. And sukha is happiness. And this happiness is a much more calmer and quieter happiness. It's a settledness. If you go into the scriptures, it describes like someone who is really thirsty and hot and in the desert, and they are seeing. some water in the distance and they go like oh wow this is great you know i'm really thirsty there's some water there this is that kind of excitement of the first joy that i described it's very physical and it's like you're getting excited but then you go and you drink the water and as you drink the water it fills that kind of hole that was there before that unhappiness that was there before and then You are satisfied. Then you are content. And you sit down and you are in this state of just being content and happy and settled. Report an error in the passage at 18:28

19:30 But these two things, they always come together. It's very, very difficult to separate them out in the early stages of meditation. That comes much more later. Then, when you learn to experience the mental formation of Pīti Sukha as you breathe in and as you breathe out. So now that is the part where I said the breath is a beautiful bridge which takes you from the body, from the physical world, into the mental world, into the feelings that arise. Report an error in the passage at 19:30

20:05 So that means now we are slowly, slowly letting go of this body. And if we can do that and if that happens in meditation, it's beautiful again. Please don't be afraid. My hands have disappeared. What happened to my hands? My legs have disappeared. I can't feel them anymore. That is what's supposed to happen because we're moving inwards and the same thing will happen with the breath at some stage. Report an error in the passage at 20:05

20:33 So you're aware of the breath. You're aware with the breath for a long period of time and then It settles down. It becomes more calm and more peaceful. And all those other things, because the natural focus is happening, is falling away. And then we realize that the things that are falling away were actually burdening us down. And when we become unburdened, we become happy. Report an error in the passage at 20:33

20:57 We become relaxed. We are at ease. And that is that happiness that we have to get to know in meditation that arises and then basically takes space in our heart and starts to grow and develop and become stronger and stronger and at some stage sometimes we even think we can't take so much because it's so beautiful and so so so fulfilling and so strong but that is what is supposed to happen because that will allow us to let go of the physical world of the physical aspects out here and to go deep within And one of my teachers, Ayya Khema, used to describe this as the process of having a key to open a door. Report an error in the passage at 20:57

21:43 And she would say the key is the breath. And we have to learn to hold the key, have it steady and established so we can take the key, put it in the lock of the door, open the lock. And then open the door towards those beautiful feelings which are on the other end. So moving from the physical into the mental. Report an error in the passage at 21:43

22:07 Now, I don't like this simile a hundred percent. It's quite good to understand, but it talks about holding the breath and steady. And when you think about the key, you know, you're like, oh, if I drop it or if I have a shaky hand, I can't open the door. And it's this just kind of moment where you put the key in and you open it and the door is open. But it's actually a much more gradual process. So I don't know, you know, these days you have garage doors or something, you push a button and it slowly, slowly opens. Report an error in the passage at 22:07

22:37 But in this process, if you let go of the button, also it's maybe like in a window where you have the, you know, the shutters come down or the shutters go up. If you stop pushing the button, then it actually stops. And if you push it the wrong way, it actually starts to reverse. So that is the kind of door simile. But Ajahn Brahm has an even better way of talking about this. Report an error in the passage at 22:37

22:59 He talks about a flower. And a flower which opens up in the morning when the sunlight comes. When the warmth and the light of the sun starts to open those petals. And that's much, much more accurate to what is happening in meditation. Report an error in the passage at 22:59

23:16 So you have this gradually slow opening of those petals and then whatever is underneath, which is more refined, which is more beautiful, is starting to shine forth and is starting to kind of pull us in into this beautiful process of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 23:16

23:39 Okay, and then maybe let's do the fourth one and then I probably have to finish. I can't get through all of them tonight. When you learn to calm this mental formation of pīti sukha as you breathe in and as you breathe out, you fulfill the fourth aspect of the quality of experience. Now, here, in this specific exercise of breath meditation, we're not dealing with unpleasant feelings. Report an error in the passage at 23:39

24:10 They have hopefully gone into the background and faded away with the body. Because they are connected to the body very strongly and we have worked with the mind in a way that it's happy and bright and if that's the case, like I talked about this person who comes to the water and drinks the water, they're naturally at ease and contented. Report an error in the passage at 24:10

24:34 There is nothing more they need to get at that moment and that calms everything down. So those feelings come and satisfy. The restlessness that we might have, the doubts that we might have, the longing we might have for things, the aversion we might have towards things. And then that starts to calm even this mental process down. But now I've talked about many, many landmarks on a long, long, long journey. Report an error in the passage at 24:34

25:05 So if you are lucky, that might happen in one meditation. And that's like the moon. that I described before that is arising behind the clouds so we have the clouds which are the hindrances or the things that obstruct us from this beauty and this shining and this delight and the clouds slowly slowly kind of move away and the moon starts to come out and show itself but before it comes out and shows itself in its full glory is actually quite a quite a bit of a process But anyway, I probably leave it at that, and maybe next time when I come, we can talk about how this then goes into mind states and the mind, and then where the mind actually gets liberated in this process, where it lets go of all these worldly things, the physical things, the mental things, the breath. Report an error in the passage at 25:05

26:35 even and goes into deep stillness and peace and then we can learn from what has happened in this process and understand why it has happened and gain some insight and some wisdom from from this but i'll leave that for another time is there any questions about something i just said Does it kind of make sense? Can people relate, I hope? Report an error in the passage at 26:35

27:03 And maybe even in meditation now you have a little bit of a structure or a map that when things arise you have a little bit of an understanding where you are and what will guide you deeper into meditation. What takes you away from these beautiful states and what nourishes and establishes and maintains these beautiful states in meditation. Report an error in the passage at 27:03

27:30 Okay. But let's switch to meditation now. You're here for the first time, so usually we give a bit of a talk and then we meditate for roughly half an hour. But it is a guided meditation, so I will be speaking a little bit to give a few nudges here and there. You have meditated before? Report an error in the passage at 27:30

27:52 Not really? Okay, very good. That's often very good, because if people have meditated before, they have all these ideas and concepts of what should be happening and shouldn't be happening. Sometimes it's good. You just come, you listen, and you just give it a go and see what happens. No expectations, hopefully. Report an error in the passage at 27:52

28:14 All right. So please wiggle your toes and get into a comfortable posture. In meditation, we again sit still without moving, but not with force, but with kindness. Report an error in the passage at 28:14

28:32 Feel into the body at the beginning of the meditation to make sure it is actually in a position that it can stay in quite comfortably for a longer period of time. So that we don't have to adjust it too much or that it doesn't come and knock on our door saying, hey, I need to be moved, I need to be scratched. Report an error in the passage at 28:32

28:53 I need some attention. So please let your eyes shut gently. Report an error in the passage at 28:53

29:05 You can also leave them slightly open if you are a little bit tired and need a bit of light coming in or if it's something which you're not used to. Report an error in the passage at 29:05

29:17 Know that if you need to move or if you need to cough or to scratch or to open your eyes, you're always free to do so. If that helps you to get a bit of feeling of safety. Report an error in the passage at 29:17

29:36 Stabilizing or grounding yourself because this is a new experience. And all of the guidance I'm offering, it's just a suggestion. So if something doesn't feel right, doesn't sit right, doesn't lead to those beautiful things I've described, then maybe try it in a different way. Find your own words. Find your own ways. But if you can Report an error in the passage at 29:36

30:07 Have some of those landmarks that I talked about arise in the process of meditation, then that is very good. Report an error in the passage at 30:07

30:21 Heading away from the world out there, from the sorrows and the woes and the problems, the activity, to something which is much more simple, much more immediate, much more real. Report an error in the passage at 30:21

30:54 Probably had a bit of time to allow your breathing to do what it needs to do, to get ready for a bit of calm, a bit of peace, a bit of a break. And Report an error in the passage at 30:54

31:32 because we usually come from a busy, quite active world out there, it's good to allow the mind to slowly, gradually tune into Report an error in the passage at 31:32

31:47 What is actually happening in the present, in this body of ours, connecting Report an error in the passage at 31:47

32:00 with it, Report an error in the passage at 32:00

32:04 feeling it, knowing it, and Report an error in the passage at 32:04

32:12 most importantly, caring for it, being kind to it. There Report an error in the passage at 32:12

32:31 is still sounds going on on the outside, also on the inside here in this room, maybe even in your body, but we don't have any control over these things, and they don't really matter. Report an error in the passage at 32:31

33:07 is to have awareness turn towards this body. Report an error in the passage at 33:07

33:18 connect to this body Report an error in the passage at 33:18

33:25 And then hopefully at some stage when you trust this process enough to drop into this body Report an error in the passage at 33:25

33:57 With what you can feel in this body of yours. And Report an error in the passage at 33:57

34:18 initially, and if you're not so used to this process, your mind and your awareness will be going somewhere else. To what has happened in the past, to what you're hearing out there, to a pain here or there. Report an error in the passage at 34:18

34:36 So you learn to remember what we're doing here. Being present, being with the body, Report an error in the passage at 34:36

34:50 dropping into the body. Report an error in the passage at 34:50

34:58 And then allowing this body to relax. A Report an error in the passage at 34:58

35:09 lot of our attention often creates tension because we're expecting something, trying to figure something out. Meditation is about knowing, about being, about feeling. And Report an error in the passage at 35:09

35:55 one way which can be helpful if this is quite new to you is to create a bit of movement. that you can settle on and stay with with what we call body scanning so Report an error in the passage at 35:55

36:18 you can scan through the body from part to part with Report an error in the passage at 36:18

36:28 a speed that feels comfortable that Report an error in the passage at 36:28

36:36 feels appropriate to the speed of your mind if it's really fast you might need to move a bit faster if it's already slow and settled You can allow it to take time. Scanning from the top of your head. It's Report an error in the passage at 36:36

37:07 almost like a line of light or of water moving down your face and the side of your head, the back of your head, your ears. Moving over the whole head, leaving no area untouched. Report an error in the passage at 37:07

37:31 Moving over the neck, all around, back, the front, the sides. Report an error in the passage at 37:31

37:43 Over your shoulders, connecting Report an error in the passage at 37:43

37:50 to those parts, being with them. And Report an error in the passage at 37:50

37:56 if you are with them in the right way, they actually relax. They loosen, even if it's just a little bit. They settle. Moving along the arms, both sides, left and right. One Report an error in the passage at 37:56

38:22 line, one flow towards Report an error in the passage at 38:22

38:30 the elbows, the lower arms, the hands, the fingers. Report an error in the passage at 38:30

38:43 Feeling what's going on in those areas. Report an error in the passage at 38:43

38:50 Allowing them to just be and do their thing without interfering. You Report an error in the passage at 38:50

39:04 can feel your chest, your upper back. Report an error in the passage at 39:04

39:12 Feel the areas under your shoulders, shoulder blades, the armpits. And then move over the torso, the sides and the back towards the upper part of the belly. Middle back, lower part of the belly, lower back, sides, moving Report an error in the passage at 39:12

39:49 down to your pelvis, your Report an error in the passage at 39:49

39:58 bottom, your Report an error in the passage at 39:58

40:03 thighs, feeling them on the chair, on the floor. If Report an error in the passage at 40:03

40:20 you lose touch, no worries. You just reconnect. It's all you have to do. Drop back into your body and feel the movement going towards your knees, down. Report an error in the passage at 40:20

40:38 To your lower legs, back and front and sides and all around, maybe even under the skin, down Report an error in the passage at 40:38

40:56 to the ankles, and Report an error in the passage at 40:56

41:02 down to your feet, the soles, the tops, the toes, and Report an error in the passage at 41:02

41:22 letting all the tension that might be in your body flow out, out into the ground, dropping it, letting it go. Report an error in the passage at 41:22

41:51 And maybe you can stay with your body a little bit like this and just do a few sweeps with Report an error in the passage at 41:51

42:00 the speed that is appropriate for you. Report an error in the passage at 42:00

42:09 As you do that, you might notice that you maybe are able to pick up more nuances, smaller areas, different muscles and tendons, the skin, feeling of your clothes, whatever it is. Report an error in the passage at 42:09

42:36 And allowing things to calm, allowing things to loosen, Report an error in the passage at 42:36

42:47 allowing the body to settle. If Report an error in the passage at 42:47

43:16 an area is really tense or brings up a lot of resistance, don't give it too much attention. Just gently, kindly move over it and move on to Report an error in the passage at 43:16

43:39 another part lower down with Report an error in the passage at 43:39

44:07 your body. Report an error in the passage at 44:07

44:12 Being with the processes that are happening in your body, on the outside and on the inside, allowing Report an error in the passage at 44:12

44:41 things to slow down and Report an error in the passage at 44:41

44:50 to rest. If Report an error in the passage at 44:50

· · · silence, 1 minute

45:24 you lose track, no problem. Just try to remember where you were. If you don't know, just take a spot and carry on scanning bit by bit, kindly, gently, peacefully. Report an error in the passage at 45:24

45:49 And Report an error in the passage at 45:49

· · · silence, 1 minute

46:32 you can stop wherever you are and allow yourself to be aware of bigger areas all at once. Drop into your head and see how much you can feel and know of your entire head, all the different parts of your face, ears, the scalp, the hair, the Report an error in the passage at 46:32

47:06 jaw, extending into the neck. Report an error in the passage at 47:06

47:14 Just connect to this whole area, on Report an error in the passage at 47:14

47:20 the outside, on the inside, deep, Report an error in the passage at 47:20

47:28 deep within, right to the bone, right to the organs, to the brain, to Report an error in the passage at 47:28

47:43 the skull, and to the upper part of the spine. Allow Report an error in the passage at 47:43

47:53 them to be fuzzy, warm, Report an error in the passage at 47:53

47:59 at ease. And Report an error in the passage at 47:59

48:11 you can do the same with your whole shoulder area. Report an error in the passage at 48:11

48:23 including the joints going into your arms allowing Report an error in the passage at 48:23

48:32 your awareness to drop into the whole length of your arms the joints the bones the flesh all the way down to your hands see Report an error in the passage at 48:32

48:51 if you can just be and feel the shoulders all the way down to your fingertips and Report an error in the passage at 48:51

49:09 allowing this whole mass Report an error in the passage at 49:09

49:17 To be at ease, to Report an error in the passage at 49:17

49:23 be at peace, to relax and rest. Then Report an error in the passage at 49:23

49:52 you can let go of that area and drop into your chest. Feel Report an error in the passage at 49:52

50:00 the front, the back, the sides, the inside, the organs in there. Report an error in the passage at 50:00

50:13 Dropping deep down within, feeling the belly, all Report an error in the passage at 50:13

50:25 the organs in there, all Report an error in the passage at 50:25

50:34 the way down to your hips and to your bottom. Report an error in the passage at 50:34

50:46 Connecting with this whole area of your torso. If Report an error in the passage at 50:46

50:56 you do that with the right attitude, hopefully you can feel it slowly, slowly, gradually become more at ease, Report an error in the passage at 50:56

51:11 loosen, relax. Report an error in the passage at 51:11

51:17 Then Report an error in the passage at 51:17

51:35 you can allow your awareness to shift into your legs, hip joints, thighs, the knees, all Report an error in the passage at 51:35

51:53 the way down to the feet. Feel Report an error in the passage at 51:53

52:07 the feet. Report an error in the passage at 52:07

52:42 of both of your legs Report an error in the passage at 52:42

52:48 and how they're gradually settling. Report an error in the passage at 52:48

52:55 How they get a well-deserved break. Report an error in the passage at 52:55

53:04 Where they can be, where they can rest. Report an error in the passage at 53:04

53:28 Hopefully all the sensations in your body have now become kind of fuzzy, become Report an error in the passage at 53:28

53:43 even, and Report an error in the passage at 53:43

53:48 have kind of moved away into the distance so Report an error in the passage at 53:48

53:57 that you can allow your mind to find this process of breathing happening. Breath Report an error in the passage at 53:57

54:18 moving in, breath moving out, all Report an error in the passage at 54:18

54:32 by itself. Report an error in the passage at 54:32

54:43 Doing what it needs to do and what it has done for our whole life so far. Going Report an error in the passage at 54:43

54:57 in and going out. Can Report an error in the passage at 54:57

55:05 we breathe peacefully? Can Report an error in the passage at 55:05

55:12 we breathe joyfully? Just Report an error in the passage at 55:12

55:36 knowing that the breath is happening. And Report an error in the passage at 55:36

56:08 when we look at the breath with kindly eyes the Report an error in the passage at 56:08

56:19 breath actually relaxes us. Report an error in the passage at 56:19

56:25 Soothes everything. Report an error in the passage at 56:25

56:29 Like a Report an error in the passage at 56:29

56:39 baby that is gently being rocked, rocked into a peaceful, calm state. Breath coming in, breath going out. And Report an error in the passage at 56:39

57:24 then you can hopefully get a feeling of the joy and the happiness that lies in meditation. That Report an error in the passage at 57:24

57:42 is like the moon, like the full moon tonight. Report an error in the passage at 57:42

57:50 Peeking out behind the clouds of Report an error in the passage at 57:50

57:58 activity, of tension, of worry. Report an error in the passage at 57:58

58:13 That's what's on offer when we learn to be with the breath, with Report an error in the passage at 58:13

58:27 the body, in Report an error in the passage at 58:27

58:35 a kind way, in Report an error in the passage at 58:35

58:40 a wise way. Take Report an error in the passage at 58:40

58:52 a little bit of time to appreciate what has been cultivated, the Report an error in the passage at 58:52

59:06 landmarks. that have appeared on your meditation journey today that Report an error in the passage at 59:06

59:17 have deepened ease and peace and joy and Report an error in the passage at 59:17

59:26 a sense of relaxation and contentment of Report an error in the passage at 59:26

59:34 not needing anything not wanting to go anywhere just being happy to be here with whatever happens to be in your body in your mind in Report an error in the passage at 59:34

1:00:00 the moment Report an error in the passage at 1:00:00

1:00:19 And then you can gently allow your awareness to open up to the feelings and sensations in your body again, to Report an error in the passage at 1:00:19

1:00:38 the sounds in this room and on the outside. Then Report an error in the passage at 1:00:38

1:00:46 you can, still with closed eyes, listen to the ringing of the bell, which will slowly, gently take us out of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:46

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:01:36 Wiggle your toes and Stretch a little bit and allow your eyes to open and let in the light again. And Report an error in the passage at 1:01:36

1:01:55 to come back, connect with this kind of outside world again. Okay, Report an error in the passage at 1:01:55

1:02:13 pretty Report an error in the passage at 1:02:13

1:02:18 much done with the time, but is there anything anyone wanted to mention or to ask at this stage? Very Report an error in the passage at 1:02:18

1:02:35 good. Thank you for coming in tonight and have a good Easter break. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:35