Coming Home: Resting in Peace and Stillness: Meditation with Stephen Doetsu Snyder on 01/31/24

so we're going to do a guided meditation here I'm going to start with a practice that I develop it for myself about 20 or 25 years ago called I am not and I started this because I was on a two-month Meditation Retreat doing deep teren practices and I found that there were all these different ways that um I would identify so for example the first is I am not this appearance so I would find that by having and knowing about an appearance that that was a way I was snagged on a sense of eye so I came up with this practice to loosen to relax these different markers of me before we meditate and open to journeying into the absolute so keep your mics on mute and just repeat after me I am not this appearance I am not this body I am not these thoughts I am not this life history I am not these behaviors I am not these emotions I am not these memories I am not this identity I am not anything so so settle yourself into your meditation posture starting with some deep belly breaths filling your lungs abdomen all the way down to your genitals and then releasing as much of that air as you can let yourself take the meditation seat fully feel your contact with the floor the support and safety of the building you're in holding and protecting you in this moment if you can sense mother Ruth beneath feel her holding her offering of nourishment of Life of this very breath right now in meditation we want to try and relax as much optional tension or stress in the body as we can so if you happen to notice a slight tightening or a little contr raction just have the intention to relax just a little and see if that can open for you some tension or stress is not optional and we can't affect or change that with our intention let's include include in our practice today the people in your life that you deeply care about let's invite them in to this meditation let's include those who deeply Care About Us include the those you love in your life and welcome those who love you into our practice today we never practice exclusively for ourselves we're always practicing for all beings bring your awareness to the belly we're looking to make contact with what we call the Hara in the Zen tradition it's about two finger widths below the navl and two or three finger widths in from the surface of the skin it's one of the chakras in the chakra system it's a natural seat of grounding in our Consciousness see if you can find that grounded seat and let yourself take it in this moment feel that solidity the seated the heess of being in the Hara on the next in breath invite awareness Into the Heart area we opening to the love of the absolute this love can show is what I call Innate goodness which is a light buoyancy a warm flow of acceptance we may contct the Deep tenderness and holding of compassion Cor Runa or the acceptance of the truth of this moment of equinity or eka whatever is here for you is just right so rest awareness in your heart area just breathing in relaxing letting go of the need to do anything but just let yourself be drawn in this meditation you don't need to see what I see or feel what I feel but notice if you can sense what I'm describing in our field on the next in breath invite awareness to the center of the forehead this is another chakra as is the heart and Hara of the yogic tradition it's called the wisdom ey in terada Buddhism and the Dharma ey in the Zen tradition you may feel a light pressure in the middle of your forehead or some energy movement or perhaps nothing at all any of these is just fine the wisdom I helps us develop inner sight it helps cultivate intuitive knowing so just breathe into the wisdom ey relaxing putting down any doing and just be here right now on the next in breath invite awareness to the top of your head the crown chakra in the chakra system portal for journeying to other realms and other universes notice if you can breathe in and out through the crown chakra there might be a sense of pressure or some type of energy phenomenon or maybe nothing at all any of these is just fine those of you within your sight may be noticing the rich blackness in our Fields the blackest black you've ever seen vast expansive in every direction a rich luminous Blackness let yourself begin to relax into this blackness feeling the quality of absence of no thingness of emptiness absence let yourself relax into the absence letting your awareness reach in every direction sensing feeling for any edges or boundary finding there are none let yourself your awareness move a little deeper into this Rich luminous Blackness making contact with this beautiful peacefulness smooth accepting peacefulness whatever makes contact with this peacefulness becomes peaceful relax into the peacefulness surrendering any sense or desire for control let yourself be drawn more deeply into peacefulness notice the profound Stillness sense into the Stillness feel its expanse how it receives and welcomes all sound notice if you can feel my words arise from Stillness and return to Stillness let yourself relax a little more surrendering to the absence to the Luminous Blackness to the rich peacefulness and that profound Stillness let yourself be carried more deeply into the rich silence the Stillness the peacefulness that welcomes everything we'll sit silently for about 20 minutes and then I'll ring the bell [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] e [Music] if you find your awarenesses wandered gently reach turn it to the Deep luminous Blackness without self judgment or any criticism all [Music] yeah for all for all [Music] that that for for for I what [Music] [Music] B [Music] no [Music] right [Music] spe have [Music] step