Meditation on “inner listening - disliking"
Meditation on “Knowing the World as it is”
Guided Mediation on Dana – Generosity
What are you willing to give up to be here
Guided meditation on the wisdom on knowing right from wrong
Guided meditation on good and bad friends
What is meditation good for? Why do we meditate?
If you ask me, meditation is for feeling good without
having to do or to change anything. When I meditate, I am accepting
how I am right now, how my body is, my mind ..,
and just relax and enjoy what I am feeling, what I'm aware of -
with a kind of openness and interest.
So if you'd like to enjoy yourself right here and now, try this!
Awareness of body sensations is an easy way to start.
The body is already sitting here and waiting for your attention.
If you feel into your body (may be, close your eyes to better be
able to focus on the body sensations) – what can you feel?
Now with eyes closed, when you can't see the body, can you feel
that you have a body?
Can you feel your big toe – wiggle!
Does it feel good or bad? And the other toes? ...
Can you feel your hands? Are they warm or cold?
What do they touch?
If you move them a bit, what do you feel?
Anything soft, warm, alive underneath? ...
And the part of your body where your hands are resting on, can you
feel your hands from there?
The weight of your hands, their warmth?
Why don't you give yourself a little massage there?
Feeling alive, saying hello to the body. ...
And take a few deep breaths, ahhh. ...
If you like, you can yawn a bit, stretch, where your body may feel
tense ... and relax. ...
And breathe again in a more normal way. Feel the air coming in,
going out, coming in, going out ...
a gentle wave in the big ocean of breath ...
Do you have to DO breathing or does it happen all by itself? ...
Are you the one who's body is simply RECEIVING the breath and being
moved?
(For how long can you decide NOT to breathe? ... Allow breathing
again to happen naturally.)
What a wonder: you get born, and it all starts by itself, the first
breath – and since then, breathing is still going on.
Can you open all your sensing to this wonder of breath moving through
your body, gently moving your ribs, your belly, and – may
be – your heart as well?...
We are all sharing this ocean of breath, it's in this room, everywhere.
...
(bell)
Please sit down in a position which feels comfortable
and look around: can you see one person you really like and trust?
... Now, if you close your eyes, can you bring up the image of that
person in front of your inner eye?
What is it that you like about this person? ...
What do they do what you like?
What do they mean to you?
What would you miss if that person would not be around?
- Just think about it for a minute. ....
And while you keep all this in mind what you like
about this person – are you actually able to feel this liking
in your body? How can you tell liking from disliking?
Where in the body can you feel something softening or lighting up
when you have this feeling of liking?
What about your face?
The heart area? Around the stomach? ...
Now, imagine that you wouldn't see that person for a year –
can you feel a difference somewhere in your body?
What is the difference? Where do you feel it most?
So, being with somebody we like does affect us, not
just in the mind but also in the body. Now I will try to do a meditation
exercise with you to find out how hearing and thinking of something
which we like may affect us in the same way. - Let's see:
I just say a few words, and, with eyes closed, you try to find out
what that word does to you, how it affects you, what sensations
in the body you can feel - whether you get a pleasant feeling somewhere
in the body – ah, liking – or an unpleasant feeling
– uh, not liking. And try to find out more what is happening
in your body: is there a sense of moving towards the imagined object
or away from it, an opening or a closing? I START:
sun shining on your skin ... knocking your elbow
– somebody saying “I love you” – hearing
the alarm clock in the morning – tasting chocolate cream –
somebody shouting at you – hearing a robin sing - can you
think of more that you really like and sense how your feeling reaction
to it is? ...
Now come back to the sensations of breathing, the breath coming
in as a gentle wave, going out into the big ocean, coming in, going
out. Is that something you like?
No thinking needed, nothing to do - just this sense of breathing,
awareness of body feeling – in space ...
(bell)
Can you please sit in a comfortable position. And
have a look around into faces, who's here ...
And please close your eyes, listen inwards ...
Feel you body sitting here. Where in your body do you feel the pressure
of the ground?
With breathing out, let yourself sink a bit into the ground, feeling
held by the earth, feeling safe.
Be aware where in your body you can feel the sensations of breathing,
ocean moving ...
How did you wake up this morning?
Do you remember the cosy feeling of warmth and the softness of the
duvet, being curled up in a safe place?
How do you react when you tell yourself to get up or when you are
told to get up?
Do you get up easily in the morning or do you usually feel resistance?
What is it that you tell yourself?
Think of a few reasons why you don't like to get up ...
Tell story about waking up, looking at the alarm clock, realising
it's 7 am and thinking, “oh no, it's Sunday, I can't get up
at 7 on a Sunday. On Sunday I can sleep longer!!!” And then,
to my surprise, feeling that my legs and feet were completely alive,
wanting to get up, but the thinking said NO. Interesting, isn't
it?
So, how does the suffering of not liking start here?
Is it because it's time to get up?
Or is it because of holding on to a thought that there's something
wrong with getting up? ...
Can you think of something which happened this morning
that you really didn't like?
And think of all reasons why that was wrong, why that shouldn't
have happened ...Now, while you are thinking all this wrongness,
can you actually feel how your body is getting tense?
Where in your body can you feel this not-wanting?
Is it like pushing something away, like closing down? ...
Really go into this sense of “I don't like it” and feel
it in your body ... Do you grit your teeth? Make fists?
Pull your shoulders up? Pull a face? Stop breathing? May be a bit
of all? - Isn't that interesting? ...
Now allow your body to relax again and let the waves of breathing
slowly wash all the tension away ...
(bell)
Introduction: What happens when somebody says something you don't like? -
(get some responses + add an example: If somebody criticises me
for coming too late, I usually start justifying why I couldn't come
earlier ... So I don't like to be criticised! Then I don't really
listen to the person who criticises me, but instead defend myself.
- Make defensive gesture + face! - But if I'm mindful, I can feel
how this kind of tension is taking over my whole body ... And then,
I can catch myself, take a breath - ahh - and calm down and start
listening to the other person. That feels much better and usually
helps both of us..)
So our meditation is about this.
Sit down comfortably, and with eyes closed, feel into your body ... feel the breath, the waves of breathing in and out gently moving the body ... mmmh ... allowing the breath to flow freely ...
Now remember how today somebody told you what you
didn't like – what did they say?...
What was your reaction? ...
Allow your body to remember that: where in your body do you get
tense when you think of it?
What is it that you didn't like? ...
Repeat to yourself: I don't like when they say that! - Can you feel
the tension getting stronger, some anger coming up?... -
So, what is the reason for this stress: Is it what the person said?
Or does the extra stress come from what you tell yourself?
Stay with it for a moment, repeat and really try to understand what
is happening inside.
Now try something slightly different: Again, you remember what the
person said today... Again, feel how your body reacts, because you
don't like what they said: is there tension in the stomach, face...,
something wanting to push them away? - What do you feel?... Now,
can you just stay with this feeling in the body...without adding
any thought?... Just awareness of what the body is telling you in
this moment ... Where is your breath right now? ...Can you send
the breath gently to the area of tension and feel how it starts
flowing through it, making a little space there ... slowly helping
to relax ... so that you can feel free again? Just breathing ...
(bell)
Back to top
Now this weekend is nearly over! Let's have a last meditation with inner listening.
Feeling the body + ground, feeling breathing waves, in, out – sitting in the ocean of breathing ...
Inviting a little movie to run through your mind: remembering all
what you really liked during this weekend ... - and feel all the
good, sweet and warm feelings of liking ... waves of liking ...
this is how it feels when you like it! ... Allow your breath to
radiate all this sweetness and liking out into the room and beyond,
into the big ocean. You can say a thank you to all the people who
have helped you to feel good and enjoy the weekend. And, may be,
receive their waves of thank you? ...
Now let the other movie run through your mind: remembering what
you didn't like ... So, that's part of your world too. - Pulling
a face, pushing against - “I don't like it!”
World of liking, world of disliking. Things seem to change. ... - Waves coming, waves going. Rainbow's coming, Rainbow's going ... Something new starting.
Breathing in, breathing out.
Knowing change. Being this knowing.
Being together in this big ocean of change.
(bell)
This is a meditation on generosity and also a kind of introduction to meditation for all of you to get a taste for it again. So, as usual, I’d like to ask you to stop speaking and to sit down in a comfortable position, everybody on their own with enough space between each other, so that you can be undisturbed and focus on yourself.
Only with small children I would suggest that one parent can have
them on their lap or next to them, helping them not to get lost
and restless. (wait)
So now try to find a position in which you can sit comfortably for about 5 minutes, back fairly straight but still relaxed and flexible.
And I would recommend to close your eyes, because that helps with
staying undistracted from outside, although I know that some people
will find it difficult to stay with eyes closed for 5 Minutes.
Please make an effort and close your eyes now and then, when you
hear the bell ringing, you can open your eyes again.
What can you be aware of now, when you have your eyes closed: Any
sounds?
--- Any smells?
---Any sensations in the body?
---Any feelings?
--- Any thoughts? -----
How do you feel right now?
--- Excited and curious about what will be happening?
Where in the body can you feel that? ---
Or do you feel tired after a day’s preparation with packing
and travelling, arriving and meeting many new people? Where in your
body can you feel tiredness? --- Or what else do you feel right
now? ---
Allow them to settle down inside of you.
Now direct your attention to the body: Can you feel your body, sitting
here --- the ground which supports the body, receiving your weight?
---
Can you allow the weight of the body to sink into the ground, and
give your spine more lightness and possibility to move a bit and
find a comfortable balance in itself?
Can you feel your breath moving in and out?
--- Take a few deep in-breaths and let the out-breath flow out long.
So just now imagine a inner smile and take that smile and smile
into your
eyes, and be grateful for what you can see
nose, and be grateful for what you can smell
mouth, and remember your favourite food and how much effort that
takes to bring it you….
Your ears, the ability to listen to others,
Your brain…
Then move down to your hands,
And then to your lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, and notice that all
these have been given to you through the generosity of your parents,
they don’t ask for anything and neither to they have a opinion
but they do like to be listened to…
So now just rest in your breath and listen….
So the theme today is nekkhamma or renunciation
sometimes we call it moderation what actions are you willing to
moderate so that you can be more happy, more peaceful…
So bring attention to the way you are sitting right now and allow
yourself to sit comfortably with the smaller children supported
by a older teenager or parent….
So lets try renouncing our breath – see who can hold it the
longest.
Imagine in your mind you are very hungry - would you give away a
apple or a banana…
Where is your body right now – can you feel you stomache is
it tense or soft – do you have salvia in your mouth?
Which would you choose to drink a glass of water or a glass of whiskey?
Imagine in your mind your favourite piece of music and your favourite
book –
which one would you take on holiday if you had to choice.
Imagine a holiday at the beach or mountains, which would you choice?
So lets imagine giving up the precepts and being nice to one another
what sort of world would that be?
Imagine what it would be like to have no thoughts?
Where are you thoughts right now…
So let explore some space… open your eyes and point your finger towards the ground and have the other arm outstretched towards the ground. Now with the hand with the pointed finger use it to follow your other hand up to its source where does it come from….(see here for more info about this)
How far can your mind stretch to include everything that is happening
now and how big is that space?
What is not in your mind at the moment?
So we have some easy access to space does this space have anything
in it?
So now we can choose to have everything or nothing…
From Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, remembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always -
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flame are infolded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.
Reflection….
So we can give up many external things for the welfare of a better
life and by fare the best is to renounce self or recognise who we
really are…the place of ultimate peace…
So we are going to meditate now..
are you sitting in the right position for meditation now?
How do you feel when I say that?
If you are not sitting in the right position you must be sitting
in the wrong position – do you want to sit in the right position
for meditation now.
So what part of you knows right and which part wrong?
So now use your memory to recall something you did which you felt
was right…. Where do you feel that?
Usually I feel this in my guts… my stomach area…
So now remember something you did which you knew was wrong what
did you feel like?
So now just rest in your breath – your breathing ….
(few minutes)
So does your breath now right and wrong – does it choice –
what chooses…. How is breathing.. does the breath belong to
you.
Just notice what knows about your question what is behind your question
is that right or wrong…is that good or bad… what is
that?
So part of loving-kindness is welcoming everything
the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, even if we don’t
agree with it, neither do we have to.
So lets start by being with our bodies and allowing us to create
space to allow ourselves to be present with what is. What is it
like now.
So lets imagine a beautiful walled garden – a lovely space
to be with you and your spiritual friend a person that will be with
you in this garden. In the garden is a bench near a tree, near a
pond with beautiful lotuses on it.
So we can now bring to the bench a person you don’t
like and recognise the qualities of that person you don’t
like and just be with that separate the person from the qualities
and notice how you feel. And remember you are in charge of this
– this is your garden – you space. If its to much just
ask the person to go...
And maybe listen to them or maybe you want to say something to them
or maybe just be – listen in to what’s happening.
So now ask the person to leave and thank them for
coming and if you want you can I forgive you.....
And now bring to mind and allow a person you like on the bench and
see what happens do you start to chat straight away – do you
feel good – where do you feel good – how do you feel
good – are you lost in it – or can you recognise good
qualities and a person.
So just dwell with this....
And listen again....
So now its time to for your good friend to go thank
them and then just be with the garden ....
And now its time for you to go thank your spiritual friend for being
with you and start to walk out of the garden and back in to this
room....
This is an invitation to close your eyes and turn
your attention around:
instead of looking outwards, look inwards.
Can you feel the breath coming and going? – Air flowing in
and out, gentle. ---
The mind's natural condition is peace.
Why is it possible then, that we loose this peace so often? - Let's
see:
Think of something that made you angry or discontent
today. Who did something wrong? -
What happens when you believe this thought? If you really convince
yourself that this was a bad thing to happen, and whoever did it
should have known better! Does thinking about this wrongness make
you feel peaceful or resentful, relaxed or tense? Just notice.
You don't have to push this thought away. If you
are willing to see for what it is, every thought is welcome. Thoughts
are our teachers: they can teach us about suffering and the end
of suffering.
Believing a negative thought – this person should not have
done ... dadada:
This is a moment of stress. - Thank you, now I know.
Let this thought float through and dissolve like a cloud in the sky. Thought coming, thought going. No need to hold on to it. Just imagine clouds drifting by.
Think of an old wise being, man or woman, smoking
a pipe.
The smoke of the pipe forming rings, rings forming monsters. Huh,
real monsters?
Smoke changing shape, dissolving, monsters gone. – Where did
they go? Eyes twinkling. Do you have to believe your thoughts? Who
would take smoke for real?
Lean back and watch: What image is coming out of
your pipe?
Can you welcome it and watch it disappear?
Are you your thoughts or are you awareness of thoughts
arising and ceasing?
Welcome your inner sage!
Breath flowing in, flowing out. Peace.
Please stand up and position yourself in a way that
you have enough space to move.
Jump up and down for a minute. Do it gently.
Now sit down quietly in a meditation posture which feels comfortable and upright. Close your eyes. Bring your attention to the breath and notice the movement of breathing. ---
Listen into the inner space – can you hear inner sounds, like the pulsing in your ears?--
Feel into your limbs. Can you feel the energy moving, a slight drizzle in your body? Warmth? ---
We can generate a lot of energy by moving our bodies. We can wake up every cell and enjoy feeling alive, awake and strong.
And we can use this energy for sustaining awareness around a thought, that is contemplation :
I will read out 3 sentences from Tagore, an Indian poet, about the Bodhisattva. Please contemplate what this brings up in your mind:
- “Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers,
but to be fearless in facing them.”
(repeat)
- “Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain. but for the heart to conquer it.”
- “Let me not crave for anxious fear to be
saved, but hope for the patience to win
my freedom.”
Can you still feel the steadiness of your breath?
The energetic fullness of the body?
What do you want to use your life energy for?
Please sit down and make yourself ready for meditation.
Eyes open for now.
Look around and find one thing which you believe is good.
Now close your eyes and bring this thing up in front
of your inner eye. - Find a reason or two why this is a good thing.
Tell yourself: “This is good because ... “
Does that sound convincing?
Now with the same thing, form a new sentence: “This is bad
because ... “ and find a reason or two why this same thing
could be considered as bad: This is bad because ...”
Now, think of rain, rainy weather. “Rain is
bad because ...” I think you will find a reason.
What about: “Rain is good because ... “ - can you find
a reason for that?
Take “sun”: “Sun is good because
...” and find a few reasons for that.
Can you find the opposite? - “Sun is bad because ... “
Do the same with:
chocolate cream / bed time / police / thunder storm / spiders /
money / game boys
Remember something which has happened today, something
you feel bad about:
“This was bad because ... “ and find a clear reason
why that was bad and shouldn't have happened.
Can you find a reason to turn this same bad happening into a good
one? - “This was good because ...”
Can you think of something which is truly good and never ever bad? - What could that be?
Can you find something which is truly evil and never ever good? - What could that be?
Now, after all this thinking, can you find your breath? -----
- bell -
Share: What do you think is truly good and never
bad? - Who would question that? ...
What do you think is truly evil and never good? - Somebody questioning
that?
Washing-up groups: Find a definition for “Truth”. (write on board)
This is a meditation in which you can explore your sense of “determination”.
Please find a free standing position and make a
firm determination to not move in any way, for one minute. - I will
ring the bell when the minute is over.
- bell -
Is it possible to stand completely still for a minute, even with
strong determination?
Now sit down please and close your eyes. Make a determination to keep your eyes closed. And watch your mind: Any thoughts why you want to open your eyes? Just listen to your thinking and – without opening your eyes - stay interested in all the reasons that come up why you don't want to keep your eyes closed. - Isn't that fascinating: with real determination you can even be aware of the reasons why you don't feel comfortable with the determination!
Can you make a determination not to breathe? - How long can you hold your breath? --- Please breathe normally again and relax.
Are all determinations wise or are there stupid
ones? -
What would be a really stupid determination?
Think of a really wise determination you would like to follow. -
What would the benefit of that determination be?
Have you ever made a promise? Can you keep a promise without determination?
Who would you be without determination? - What would your life look like?
Focus your attention around the breath for a minute – also a kind of determination – and enjoy the sensations of breathing. ---
Please direct your attention to the heart area. - Feel into the heart. Can you discover a natural sense of determination in your heart?
- bell -
Something to share?
Exploring the sense of balance.
Please try to stand on one leg – as long as possible –
and watch what is happening. To help your determination, you can
stretch your hands forward and imagine that you are holding on to
a rope.
Now sit down, please, eyes closed.
With the in-breath, allow your weight to shift to the left ... with
the out-breath to the right ... with the in-breath backward ...
with the out-breath forward ...
Keep shifting your weight with each breath to different sides, but
allow the movements to become smaller and smaller, until you find
the point of total balance ...
Keep breathing into this delicious balance. Can you feel the aliveness
of this balance, the subtle movement rising from the centre?
Effortless sensing, listening.
(give time)
Whatever is happening around you, good or bad, can
you stay in this balance?
Can you be aware how what is happening outside is resonating inside?
-
No need to react. - The way it is.
- bell -
The Theme is Good -Evil and The Way It Is
Rainbows 2nd-5th May
Family weekend 27-29th June
Family Camp 16th-25th August
Young Persons Retreat 21st-23rd November
Creative Weekend For Adults 19th-21st December