Trust Meditation

(waves lap) Hi. You're ready, so step one, let's get comfortable. Find the seat that really works for you. Snuggle in. And maybe help it a little bit.

Deliberate inhale, exhaling with an audible sigh (sighs). Do that again. Inhale, exhale and (sighs). Trusting that the body now knows how to sit. How to sit so you feel supported, letting the heart find her natural generosity, and allowing yourself to follow the guidance of where the skull feels properly balanced on the spine.

Feel that upper palate dome, which will allow the base of the skull to widen. Usually that lets the chin drop so slightly. (Kira breathes deeply) Letting the jaw slacken, eyes are kind. You're choosing whether or not to leave your eyes gently, softly focused, or closed. And then allow your hands and arms to organize in a way that feels receptive.

On our play in this last practice together is to trust our skills of recognition and ease. And so when and if and as you feel or sense a thought or an emotion, at whatever point along its journey you recognize it, and you notice that you're following it, indulging it, feeding it, playing with it, stroking it, to laugh, to enjoy that facility, and not so much to artificially, in advance, try to let it go, but to allow some of the conviction of its truth soften, to essentially let its grip on you relax. So if you notice you're in a particular thought stream and the jaw is tight and the eyes have gotten hard, and you've gotten really sure of something, to notice, and instead of trying to stop thinking about it, simply soften the jaw, let the eyes feel kinder, and perhaps even offer the mantra of, "I wonder what's gonna happen next." It is our conviction that we know what happened, or we know what's gonna happen that ensnares us. Absolutely required for trust are the qualities of curiosity and wonderment. Soft in the belly, wide at the base of the skull.

Sometimes if you get really hooked into something, just letting your breath refresh again can help, allowing yourself to inhale deeply again, and exhale. Again, not trying to force the mind back to a focal point, like we've done before. You're not trying to not think and feel what you're thinking and feeling, you're just widening the pasture, for those thoughts and feelings to roam. Just about two more minutes. Again, notice where the tension has collected, often up around the shoulders and the neck.

What can you do to ease any unnecessary holding? Beautiful, deliberate inhale. Exhale everything (exhales). If your eyes are closed now, let them begin to open. Thank you.