Using the aligned and harmonized posture of Zazen... Meditate and De-story. We could take a break from the habit of identifying with the stories we have in our head. It could be as short as three minutes. It could be a little longer... 15 or 30 minutes... perhaps even 50 minutes.
What could we do instead? Place attention on our breathing, putting it just below the belly button, in the palm of our hands. We could bring awareness to our posture, rolling the shoulders away from the neck, loosening up a little. We could notice our knees, and drop them, instead of tensely trying to hold them up, which isn't sustainable or comfortable. We could simply count the breath one to ten, and then repeat, letting the timer keep the time. We could sit, breathe, and listen in the present moment experience with 360° awareness. We could [BE] deeply conscious and present for what Reality is doing in the present moment, without going anywhere else... rooted like a great mountain.
If we come to authentic stillness... if we persist and not give up on our practice... we'll begin to notice some things. For me personally it was picking up on how the mind heisted my attention... how it could skillfully divert me from being embodied... present... could conjure thoughts literally out of thin air, like someone throwing cat-nip, having the result of shoplifting happiness and walking off with it.
Once we begin picking up on mind’s sleight of hand, it's not so easy for the storylines to influence anxiety, anxiousness, fear, worry, restlessness, irritability, depression, disconnection, discontent; hijacking our experience. There could be a calm... a relief... once we stop going along with the stories that pick at ourselves and others like we're picking a scab. That could be the experience of freedom. Instead of being a reacter re-acting, we are creatively responding to Reality as It actually Is. You're invited to practice and confirm for yourself. Sit and acquit!
一We Are the Practice Itself
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