(upbeat music)
- So hello, and welcome to the guided practice
for day seven.
Today we'll be practicing with equanimity.
So go ahead and find a comfortable position,
and when you're ready, you can allow your eyes to close.
We can start by just taking a few deep breaths,
so breathing in deeply
(breathing in)
and breathing out slowly.
(breathing out)
One more time, breathing in deeply
(breathing in)
and breathing out slowly.
(breathing out)
And then just allowing your breath
to return to its natural rhythm, its natural pace.
And then just picking up the mindful breathing practice
and tuning into the feeling of the breath in the body.
Just noticing the physical sensations of rising and falling.
Again, if it helps with your concentration,
you can just use the short phrase,
rising with every in breath,
and then falling with every out-breath,
just paying attention to the feelings
of the breath in the body
and having the words be very quiet in the background.
Rising, falling,
rising, falling.
And to cultivate equanimity, we can just set the intention
to practice acceptance of whatever arises in this meditation
to not react to anything with hatred
or judgment or craving,
just allowing things to be as they are.
So just setting this intention for this meditation session
to not react, but to just observe and pay attention,
keeping your inner peace, your inner balance.
So whenever you notice that your mind is getting lost
in thought just gently acknowledge it,
again, not judging it, not reacting to it with aversion,
but just letting it be.
And then you can gently bring your attention back
to the breath in the body,
just feeling the rise and fall
and tapping into the raw texture of the breath.
Another way we can practice equanimity is by using
the phrases, just the phrase,
right now it's like this.
And so whatever arises, whatever emotions arise,
whatever thoughts arise, whatever sounds or body sensations,
just noticing what arises and then gently saying the phrase,
ah, right now it's like this.
So if you are noticing a distracted mind or wandering mind,
just notice it, ah distraction, right now it's like this.
If you're noticing restlessness or anxiety,
just bring your attention to that and acknowledge it,
ah, right now it's like this.
Feeling the breath in the body
and allowing the breath to be as it is,
right now the breath is like this.
Bringing your mind down to the belly or the chest
and just tapping into the raw experience.
Notice, where is your attention right now?
What are you noticing in this moment?
And then just bring up the phrase of equanimity,
ah, right now it's like this.
Using the breath as an anchor, so if you're ever
completely lost in thought or you just don't know
what to do, you can always bring your attention
back to the feeling of the breath.
How are you relating to your experience right now?
Are you judging it in any way or having any aversion
or craving for any experience?
Just notice, and then again,
set the intention to practice equanimity,
setting the intention to just accept the things as they are.
Whatever arises, can we just notice it?
And then to end this meditation,
we can take a deep breath in together.
So breathing in deeply
(breathing in)
and breathing out slowly.
(breathing out)
Allowing your eyes to open,
coming back into the room and connect with your senses,
the sense of sight and sense of sound,
maybe check in with how you feel, start to move again.
So great work practicing equanimity.
Tomorrow we're gonna learn how to deal with thoughts
and we're going to practice a technique
for bringing our awareness directly to the thinking mind.
So now enjoy the rest of your day,
and I'll see you tomorrow.