Friday Night Guided Meditation

0:00 Okay, so now we do some meditation. Beautiful way of spending a whole half an hour, 30 minutes or 1800 seconds, just learning how to be still and really peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:19 It's one of the easiest things to do because you don't do anything. You sit here. And stop this mind which keeps on complaining and makes things to bother you. So you don't be bothered at all, refuse. Just sit here and be still as you possibly can. And at the end of the time, I will ring the gong here, so you know how to just let go and be free. Report an error in the passage at 0:19 Highlight the passage at 0:19

0:51 A lot of times, sometimes people make meditation so difficult, And a lot of times, once you know what meditation is and how it works, it is the simplest thing in the world. You just need to be aware and make sure you have more acceptance. You make peace with things. What does it stay in that statement in front of me on the floor? What does it stay? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 0:51 Highlight the passage at 0:51

1:30 Can you do that? Report an error in the passage at 1:30 Highlight the passage at 1:30

1:35 What happens when you think you can just make peace, be kind, be gentle? A lot of times there's things in your life you start worrying about, thinking about, and you don't need to do that. This is like relaxing time, peace time. So don't go around and spoil it by thinking of all these problems you may have in your life. Report an error in the passage at 1:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35

2:06 Those problems don't get any better by thinking about them. They get so much better by letting them be, leaving them alone, to make peace. Report an error in the passage at 2:06 Highlight the passage at 2:06

2:20 I like that word, to make peace. If that is your goal, I'm just going to make peace. It doesn't mean you change anything. You make peace with it. Let it be, and everything just... Slows down and stops. And when you start tasting the peace of meditation, please realize you deserve it. Report an error in the passage at 2:20 Highlight the passage at 2:20

2:53 It's a great gift you can give yourself. So that's what I invite you to do. So if you're not sitting down right now comfortably, just adjust your posture like I was just doing, making sure my belt is just right. Report an error in the passage at 2:53 Highlight the passage at 2:53

3:16 Making sure the body feels good. Got to make sure it's not going to cause any aches or pains in the half an hour set aside for meditation. Report an error in the passage at 3:16 Highlight the passage at 3:16

3:28 Making sure it's really comfortable. I care for my body. Do you care for yours? Find out what it needs. And just little by little we relax the body. Report an error in the passage at 3:28 Highlight the passage at 3:28

3:49 Until it's more comfortable than you've probably been all week. Report an error in the passage at 3:49 Highlight the passage at 3:49

3:57 So I usually begin by checking parts of my body. First of all, the part of my body furthest away from my head. I do that because I was told, and it's true, you spend more time in your head than any other part of your body. Now I'm going to spend time with my toes. Report an error in the passage at 3:57 Highlight the passage at 3:57

4:27 I do this, they're important. More important than people think. It's a great place to start the relaxation. Report an error in the passage at 4:27 Highlight the passage at 4:27

4:40 So I'm aware of how my toes feel. And as I started, I realized that it's a common fault of mine when I start sitting. The toes in my right foot were squashed under my left calf. Report an error in the passage at 4:40 Highlight the passage at 4:40

5:04 I just move my toes slightly and I feel so much better. Report an error in the passage at 5:04 Highlight the passage at 5:04

5:12 It's not only that, that my body realizes that as I am mindful of the different areas of my body, I can heal much discomfort and I can get so comfortable after a while. Report an error in the passage at 5:12 Highlight the passage at 5:12

5:35 So once my toes are relaxed, I mean really relaxed, then I Move upwards to the balls of my feet, right next to my toes, and make sure they're well positioned, not being squashed against anything. Report an error in the passage at 5:35 Highlight the passage at 5:35

6:00 And I notice the feelings of the balls of my feet. They are different than the feelings in my toes. Report an error in the passage at 6:00 Highlight the passage at 6:00

6:12 They've got their own sensations. Report an error in the passage at 6:12 Highlight the passage at 6:12

6:18 And honestly, I enjoy relaxing that feeling. Report an error in the passage at 6:18 Highlight the passage at 6:18

6:25 It does relax. Then I go from the balls of my feet. I go to the insteps of my feet. You get that tingling feeling. We don't have enough words in the English language to describe the difference of these feelings. But I certainly know that that's the feeling of the insteps of my feet relaxing. From there I go to the heels of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

7:01 They've got another type of sensation, but it's still very pleasant. Everything getting soft and easy. Report an error in the passage at 7:01 Highlight the passage at 7:01

7:14 And I just noticed that the soles of my feet, from the toes to the heels, are now genuinely relaxed. I just do that by paying attention to those different parts and asking them to be at ease. Report an error in the passage at 7:14 Highlight the passage at 7:14

7:40 And I go to the ankles of my feet. And I pause there, I don't go too fast, because I want to feel those sensations in the ankles. Report an error in the passage at 7:40 Highlight the passage at 7:40

7:55 And I really am relaxing them. They did not feel delightful at the beginning, but they certainly do now. I Report an error in the passage at 7:55 Highlight the passage at 7:55

8:09 go up from the ankles of my feet to the calves of my feet, a bigger area now. As I... Scan my attention going upwards. You just notice that as I go up, I'm relaxing all the muscles that I have and the calves of my legs get very, very pleasant and Report an error in the passage at 8:09 Highlight the passage at 8:09

8:42 get to the knees. The knees have their own sensations and I learn how to relax those. A lot of times, because I sit on the floor, Report an error in the passage at 8:42 Highlight the passage at 8:42

9:00 I allow the calves to sink into the cushions underneath them. I don't put any pressure on them. Just let them be. That's just what they want to do. So there's nothing held tight anywhere around my knees. Report an error in the passage at 9:00 Highlight the passage at 9:00

9:24 I can also imagine whatever has to flow through those knees, whether it's blood or lymph or whatever, it can go through very Report an error in the passage at 9:24 Highlight the passage at 9:24

9:38 Nothing is blocked. Report an error in the passage at 9:38 Highlight the passage at 9:38

9:46 I just call it knee feeling. I know the difference between a knee which is relaxed and one which is sore and tense. My knees are now incredibly relaxed and Report an error in the passage at 9:46 Highlight the passage at 9:46

10:08 I go upwards through the thighs. When I go up through the thighs, I Report an error in the passage at 10:08 Highlight the passage at 10:08

10:20 can feel the sensations. In those muscles, my job is just to relax them. Because I'm watching those sensations, you can tell whether they're more relaxed or more tense. Report an error in the passage at 10:20 Highlight the passage at 10:20

10:40 And over the years, I'm surprised how well I can relax my thighs. It's Report an error in the passage at 10:40 Highlight the passage at 10:40

10:50 like my whole, both legs have had a really good massage. I've been soaking in really warm water. I feel so at ease. I get to my buttocks. Report an error in the passage at 10:50 Highlight the passage at 10:50

11:05 That always has a sensation there because my buttocks are supporting the weight of my body. I can feel that pressure from my body being transferred through those muscles on my bottom into the cushion. My job is to make sure that those feelings are evenly spread. Because when they are, that feeling is so benign, it disappears. Report an error in the passage at 11:05 Highlight the passage at 11:05

11:47 I can't feel that sensation anymore. It means that my legs and my bottom, the feelings vanish. And Report an error in the passage at 11:47 Highlight the passage at 11:47

12:04 then I go from the bottom to the waist. In the waist, as I mention most weeks, in the waist is a certain position I adopt, which I learned when I injured my back years ago. Report an error in the passage at 12:04 Highlight the passage at 12:04

12:25 And that position I adopt now, my back straight, the waist slightly indented at the back. It feels both strong and comfortable and allows me to scan my attention upwards, up my body. Report an error in the passage at 12:25 Highlight the passage at 12:25

12:50 Last week I shared this method with an annual visit of Cancer Support Association people. who come to monastery to actually to learn some tips on meditation to heal their bodies this Report an error in the passage at 12:50 Highlight the passage at 12:50

13:15 is precisely how I teach it scanning upwards relaxing as you go going up your digestive system and as I go up my own digestive system you can sometimes feel some of the organs in my back if I can feel them they feel a little bit abnormal which they don't Really good today. I can always give them some loving kindness, which helps relax everything. Report an error in the passage at 13:15 Highlight the passage at 13:15

13:50 Kindness puts things at ease. Even the organs, which I hardly ever know about, can go up through the intestines, up to the stomach. Report an error in the passage at 13:50 Highlight the passage at 13:50

14:07 Usually in the evening, because I don't eat anything in the afternoon. The stomach is really relaxed. At ease, it's kind of resting. It doesn't work so hard in the evening. Got nothing to do. Report an error in the passage at 14:07 Highlight the passage at 14:07

14:25 So that part of my body feels really at ease. No aches, no pains. Report an error in the passage at 14:25 Highlight the passage at 14:25

14:35 And then from the stomach I go up to my lungs. Report an error in the passage at 14:35 Highlight the passage at 14:35

14:43 There I can usually sense a problem because I do have hay fever. So sometimes there's some constriction there. But this evening, not much. In any way, I just relax to the max with my lungs. Report an error in the passage at 14:43 Highlight the passage at 14:43

15:07 If any of you have suffered or are suffering with cancer, sometimes you can feel something unusual around your breasts. If you do, give it so much loving kindness. Trust that it's trying to heal. And your job is to give it such kindness that healing happens. Report an error in the passage at 15:07 Highlight the passage at 15:07

15:38 From there I go to the lungs again, and from the lungs to the heart region. And then the heart region, I find it difficult to actually feel the heart. Report an error in the passage at 15:38 Highlight the passage at 15:38

15:53 I just give that whole area where my heart is supposed to be located huge amounts of relaxing, loving kindness. And Report an error in the passage at 15:53 Highlight the passage at 15:53

16:09 even now I can kind of feel the heart, and it's at ease, it's at peace. I'm giving peace to all parts of my body. It feels beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 16:09 Highlight the passage at 16:09

16:27 And then, I don't know why this always happens, I go up from my heart region to my shoulders. And that is always feeling tense. Very few evenings do I just ignore that area. It feels tight. So I relax everything in that area. Report an error in the passage at 16:27 Highlight the passage at 16:27

16:56 I kind of imagine that the tightness or any tension, because I'm holding something too strong, so I now just release all that struggle, all that tension. Report an error in the passage at 16:56 Highlight the passage at 16:56

17:13 Let it be. Whenever I do a letting be on any area of my body, it does relax. It relaxes so beautifully, pleasurably. Report an error in the passage at 17:13 Highlight the passage at 17:13

17:34 I still need to do some more relaxation on my shoulders. If your shoulders are already relaxed, just keep going further down your arms. Report an error in the passage at 17:34 Highlight the passage at 17:34

17:48 Okay, mine is getting okay now. And I go down my arms to my elbows. They're fine. Fasten my elbows to the forearms. From forearms to wrists. From wrists to the palm of the hands and the fingers. Report an error in the passage at 17:48 Highlight the passage at 17:48

18:12 Even though they're fine. I still check them, make sure they're all okay. The reason is because I care about my fingers. Report an error in the passage at 18:12 Highlight the passage at 18:12

18:26 Make sure that they're all happy. When I do that, they all relax a little bit more. It makes the feeling in my hands and fingers so much more pleasant. Report an error in the passage at 18:26 Highlight the passage at 18:26

18:48 If I was just meditating in my cave, I'd spend so much longer on this. I have all the time. Here I just, you're good. So I'll just go straight back up to my shoulders because the next thing which I want to do is to relax any more tension in my neck. Report an error in the passage at 18:48 Highlight the passage at 18:48

19:12 Any tension in the neck is always because I'm holding my head in the position I think it should be in. Instead of doing that, I feel any tightness in the neck muscles. Report an error in the passage at 19:12 Highlight the passage at 19:12

19:28 I move my head backwards a little bit, forward a little bit, to the left, to the right, to find the best place by investigating. Report an error in the passage at 19:28 Highlight the passage at 19:28

19:42 And I usually find the best place with my head slightly bent backwards. That's me. But then I know my neck feels so comfortable now. And then I go to my facial muscles. That's the only place. In my head which you can feel strong feelings, usually around the eyes, the nose or the mouth, I relax all of those. Report an error in the passage at 19:42 Highlight the passage at 19:42

20:26 Now it does relax. And any unpleasant feeling which was there a moment ago is now gone. Report an error in the passage at 20:26 Highlight the passage at 20:26

20:37 My face is totally at ease, as with the rest of my body. And at this point, my body feels so pleasant. I'm being honest with you. How I feel right now. I've relaxed all parts of my body. And it feels delightful. And Report an error in the passage at 20:37 Highlight the passage at 20:37

21:09 I rest and enjoy. When Report an error in the passage at 21:09 Highlight the passage at 21:09

21:16 you can start most meditations with this degree of enjoyment through very careful relaxation, it feels incredibly pleasant. Report an error in the passage at 21:16 Highlight the passage at 21:16

21:33 And I got into the habit years ago of just staying here, enjoying, The feeling of relaxation, until it gets strong, I Report an error in the passage at 21:33 Highlight the passage at 21:33

21:56 indulge. Report an error in the passage at 21:56 Highlight the passage at 21:56

22:02 And then to go deeper, I realize right now is the only time I ever need. No past, no future. Enjoy the feelings in the body in this very moment. I Report an error in the passage at 22:02 Highlight the passage at 22:02

22:30 always know you don't learn from the past, you learn from the present. Report an error in the passage at 22:30 Highlight the passage at 22:30

22:39 And now is where the future is being made. I Report an error in the passage at 22:39 Highlight the passage at 22:39

22:48 kind of really enjoy this moment. When Report an error in the passage at 22:48 Highlight the passage at 22:48

22:57 I stay in the present moment, the next stage is not thinking. Report an error in the passage at 22:57 Highlight the passage at 22:57

23:07 Suspend all the thoughts. They're not important. Go into the silence. And the silence, I'll next go into the breathing, beautiful breath, and get some really great joy coming up. But at this point, Report an error in the passage at 23:07 Highlight the passage at 23:07

23:30 I have to stop speaking. I'm Report an error in the passage at 23:30 Highlight the passage at 23:30

· · · silence, 7 minutes

31:00 getting close to the end of the meditation now. Report an error in the passage at 31:00 Highlight the passage at 31:00

31:07 Just another couple of minutes. How Report an error in the passage at 31:07 Highlight the passage at 31:07

31:13 do you feel? Is Report an error in the passage at 31:13 Highlight the passage at 31:13

31:19 this pleasant? How Report an error in the passage at 31:19 Highlight the passage at 31:19

31:28 did this beautiful silence come about? So Report an error in the passage at 31:28 Highlight the passage at 31:28

31:41 many people here. So little sound. Now Report an error in the passage at 31:41 Highlight the passage at 31:41

32:07 I'm going to ring the gong three times. Please listen as deeply as you can. and to every sound from the gong. When the last sound vanishes, come out. Report an error in the passage at 32:07 Highlight the passage at 32:07

· · · silence, 1 minute

33:04 I Report an error in the passage at 33:04 Highlight the passage at 33:04

33:11 said thank you for giving me the opportunity to meditate myself. Report an error in the passage at 33:11 Highlight the passage at 33:11