The Yogabliss, Your Heart Life on-line Moving into Meditation classes met this morning. We practiced slowing down and being with what is. It seems like so many of my friends are dealing with difficulties these days. Difficulties that are painful and scary, unpredictable and uncertain. They are often beyond our control and leave us feeling vulnerable. Hearing about them has become like a mindfulness bell that stops me squarely in “I don’t know.” Caring friends and mindfulness practice help me to “be with what is.”
Today we drew inspiration and guidance from meditation teacher Annaka Harris. She is the author of Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. Annaka teaches mindfulness to children and is author of children’s books. You can find a wealth of her writings and guided meditations on her web-site and the Waking Up app. Annaka’s guided meditation, Being With What Is, really helped me during a stressful time this week.
We also heard poet Danna Fauld’s poem, This Is Enough. The poem affirmed the teachings about “being with what is.” It also reminds me that I can always begin again, each breath a new experience of the present moment.
Guided Reflection
I invite you to imagine you were stepping out of the stream of doing. This might mean sensing the inner momentum you are bringing with you. See if you can feel it in your body. Feel your body breathing. You might take a deeper breath or sigh. See if you can notice the relative ease or openness, tension or guardedness that may be happening in your body. Your experience is ever changing. It is helpful to remember that there is an awareness, a stillness, a calm place within. This is hard to imagine while in a stressful situation.
Last week I was walking our dog Lira. She is pretty reactive and unpredictable around dogs she doesn’t know. We’ve been training her to sit for a treat when we encounter other dogs on our walks. I thought all was going well until she bolted forward. The leash, entwined in my hand, injured my finger. I experienced a cascade of sensations and emotions: pain, fear and anger sprang to life. After corralling Lira and icing my hand I began to practice mindfulness. I wanted awareness, stillness and calm. Yet difficult emotions and thoughts persisted.
I noticed a subtle feeling of needing to change my state – to get back to my comfort zone. I noticed an inner struggle in which I was resisting what was true: my hand was injured and would need care, rest and time to heal. The feeling of upset persisted for hours. It was if there was a part of me that wasn’t being seen or heard. Finally I realized that what I needed was consolation and self-compassion.
I discovered Dr. Annaka Harris’s guided mindfulness practice called Being With What Is. It helped me a lot and I thought I would share it with you today. Annaka told a story about a meditation student who was in the midst of a very difficult moment. The student’s teacher placed a hand on her arm and said “This is the way things are right now.” He spoke the simple truth that we can’t push reality away. Annaka observed that:
Sometimes just sitting and realizing “this is the way things are right now” can relieve us of a tension, almost a fight within ourselves against reality. Which is likely making us even more uncomfortable than we already are.
We can explore this understanding in Annaka’s meditation for when you find yourself in stressful situations:
Give yourself permission to connect with the present moment right now and accept what is. Try it as an experiment and see how it makes you feel. It can be a relief to recognize that there is, in fact, stillness in this moment even in the midst of what might feel like a lot of chaos around you. When I lead children in meditation I refer to our seated posture as mountain pose. Before we meditate we often talk about the qualities of a mountain. The fact that mountains are strong, stable and unwavering. The winds blow, the rain and snow beat down on the mountain, the plants and trees dig their roots into it, the birds and animals make it their home. Creatures are born and die on the mountain. It remains solid and still, just witnessing everything take place on it and to it. I think this is a good visualization for the stance of our meditation today.
Take a short break from your racing mind. Even though much of it may be useful and necessary for your current circumstance. Give yourself permission to step away from the worrying and planning that your mind had been consumed with. Sit in a comfortable position. Relax your neck and shoulders and keep your back tall and strong. Close your eyes and pay close attention to the sounds in the room with you right now. Begin to notice the simplicity of your body sitting here gently moving as you breathe in and out. Like a mountain, witnessing the winds and the snow, sunrise followed by starry nights. This is how it is right now.
Open your eyes for a moment and notice what you see. Really focus all of your attention on the scene in front of you. The colors, the shapes, really take it all in. Then close your eyes again and with your eyes closed tilt your head downward. Then open your eyes again. As fully as you are able, be here with what you see right now. Now close your eyes again and turn your head upward. Now open your eyes and just see, just for a moment. Close your eyes again and return your head to a neutral position. With your back straight and your head balanced remember to relax your neck and shoulders and keep your back tall and strong. . .
You may find calm and peace in this moment, if you try to be there without judgment. It’s o.k. to have moments of calm and peace and even joy in difficult times. They help refuel us and give us energy and strength. You might notice fear come up or you might find yourself crying. See if you can let that be right now without judgment like a mountain witnessing all that is happening.
There is no denying that this is how it is right now. Whatever is, simply is.
Now come back to the sensation of breathing. Let your breathing be natural. Notice that if you really relax, your body begins the next inhale on its own. Notice where in your body you feel your breathing most. Whether it’s the subtle movement of your belly or chest or shoulders. Whether you feel it more in your nose. Try to pay attention to that sensation wherever it is for a series of breaths. Maybe 5 or 10 breaths paying close attention to the transitions from exhaling to inhaling and from inhaling to exhaling. See if you can just stay with it, here in this moment, through all the little changes as you breathe in and out.
If you follow the feeling of breathing notice any sounds that appear. Notice that you can’t predict the sounds or hold onto the sounds, they just come and go on their own. You can try opening your eyes if that grounds you in the present moment. Just make sure to look at a fixed spot, keep your eyes still. Just let in whatever sights are there and remind yourself that this is how it is right now. See if you can find the freedom in knowing that. Whether there are stressful moments, disturbing moments or happy, joyful moments. Letting it just be, even for a minute or two, can give you a break from the energy of resisting.
Continue following your breathing feeling your body sitting here right now listening to sounds and alternating between eyes open or closed.
In closing, here is Danna Fauld’s poem It Is Enough:
It is enough right now
to taste one moment of
peace. Of course I want
more, but at least the
door is open.
It is enough to draw a
conscious breath and
let my hands relax,
fingers releasing their
tight grasp on things
outside of my control.
It is enough to shed a
layer of stress as if
taking off a jacket or a
pair of too tight shoes.
Ease of being has to
start somewhere.
This breath is my
first step.