Meditation: Soft in the Present, Open and Peaceful with Rick Hanson

I offer these every week along with a short teaching just click the Subscribe link below to be notified through YouTube when I post the recording of the latest one or if you'd like to join me live which I'd really welcome go down into the description section below and follow the link along to be able to sign up for free [Music] so take a few moments to settle in and you might like to uh do something that I often do which is to look around the space I'm in and reassure myself that it's safe it's okay the Buddha talked about finding a place of seclusion which by which he meant a place of safety and refuge physically as well as you know setting aside a time in which you can be secluded in a good way which we're doing here so it can help to tap your feet on the floor and let your body recognize okay stable underfoot knowing where and know where you are you might even say to yourself something like I'm in my home at such and such street Sun Town planet Earth here we are just so you can feel a kind of easing of anxiety being mindful of any molecules in your consciousness of unnecessary uneasiness unnecessary bracing and see if during this time of seclusion in meditation you can keep returning to whatever is factually reassuring for you in the present you can can take the releasing of unnecessary anxiety and the resting in reassurance as your object of meditation so with that as a bit of a context being mindful of any habits of uneasiness any predilections toward apprehensiveness that little trickle of anxiety in the background of the mind being more aware of anything like this and seeing if you can keep helping yourself during this meditation to recognize that you're already all right right now in the present you can be aware of being basically all right in the place where you are physically you could softly say to yourself in your mind things like I really am basically all right right here or something like I really am basically all right right now and let the feeling of this the reassuring softening and opening in your body the relief no reason to be anxious right now e it's very normal to not be able to experience some of the things that I or perhaps another teacher will point out as a possibility to experience it's okay or and it's also okay if you're able to get a glimpse of an experience or a flash of it and yet over time it becomes uh more stable for you it's okay if if you like me are in that process it's okay and so in this meditation see if you can remain present and from time to time be aware of any sort of habits in the body of tension or bracing any fear-based actions and then see if they need to be present now knowing that you can both deal with threats in the future while also feeling at peace now so I've introduced some things to be aware of and from here on out I'll say less and encourage an exploring and a centering in whatever is available for you a feeling of staying present while feeling as open as possible and as comfortable as possible with being undefended in the present at ease welcoming whatever the next moment will bring while being Fearless soft in the front comfortably receiving and [Music] welcoming whatever arises in Awareness can we take as our meditation what it's like to be breathing [Music] brething in the body and feeling at ease and comfortable while being soft in the front and welcoming open and peaceful being aware of little things you can do in your mind to help your yourself rest in this way like being aware of being basically all right right now turning perhaps toward a bit of reassuring and the feeling of reassurance so that again and again you can release unnecessary anxiety and feel comfortably at rest in the present while being open while being open and welcoming and at peace e e e e e e e e e meditating on the sense of Peace in the present supporting that sense of Peace in the present by letting go of any unnecessary uneasiness or bracing or tension or anxiety in part by helping yourself find your way into being comfortable in the present with being open soft in the front undefended this is our meditation and if you notice any trains of thought that are about threats or [Music] problems you can let them pass through awareness while exploring what it's like to remain soft and open and at peace e e e e e e e e e breathing in breathing out we are taking peacefulness in the present as our object of meditation helping ourselves gently find our ways more and more deeply into this experience and helping present moment peacefulness to become more established in US it can help to be aware of the hab Abit of the mind to lean into the future to lean toward becoming distinct from [Music] being and it can be helpful to remind yourself from time to time of the feeling of not knowing not knowing what the future will hold while still finding your way into being comfortable with being open and soft and undefended and at peace in the present while not knowing about the future simply [Music] present comfortable welcoming at peace e e e e e e e e e e e e e [Music] [Music]