Gentle Awareness Meditation

First of all, let me remind you. If you look at the portraits of any of the prophets in the biblical tradition, there always in a posture of prayer looking upward. Whereas if you look at the sages in India, they're in posture of meditation looking inside. I invite you to find an attitude of prayer, which basically means willingness to submit to something true, real, whether we call it god or something else. But finding that reality within oneself.

So an attitude of prayer, but a posture of meditation. And then I remind you again that it is not my breath that is keeping this body alive. I did not create this breathing apparatus or the air that I need to keep alive. As we can read in the book of Genesis, it's the breath of god that is keeping me alive. So pay some attention to your breath.

Without holding your breath outside or inside. Simply paying attention to breath. Naturally changes the quality of the breathing. And as I said earlier, to have the have the attitude of prayer that I wish to try to submit to the truth to real to god, but a posture of meditation. What does that require from my side?

More and more receptivity. I'm not trying to conquer something or to achieve something. But am I willing to receive these subtle vibrations coming from above? That requires deeper and deeper relaxation. If you carefully watch, you will see that all the tensions in us arise either out of fear. Or self assertion.

So find more and more relaxation, initially just beginning with the body. But more importantly, an emotional relaxation, which is requires freedom from anxiety or worry or whether even whether I'm even sitting rightly. Not to worry about any of this. And that is assisted if I can occasionally remind myself. That since I did not create myself in this vast universe with 2,000,000,000,000 galaxies, it's amazing that I exist.

That sense of wonder and a sense of gratitude gradually removes anxiety and worry. So more and more physical relaxation, emotional relaxation. Also intellectual relaxation. I may know very much many things I've read. But now, am I willing to be surprised by something that I don't know?

And finding the right posture, which allows the movement of the energies in my body. What is keeping this body alive is not my energy. It is divine energy in the body, but not of the body. And for it to move appropriately require the right posture without rigidity. So again and again returning to remaining relaxed, maintaining the right posture.

Paying attention to my breathing. I save my breathing, but really breathing in me. Then whatever kind of words appeal to you, you can use it for prayer. For example, I give a couple of simple examples. Breathing in, one could say lord, breathing out, have mercy.

Personally for me, When I breathe in, I say maintainer of eternal wisdom. Breathing out. Bless me with the truth love and joy. You find your own words in walking something far subtler than anything I understand, which is keeping the whole universe going, including me. And again and again, a reminder remaining relaxed.

Maintaining the right posture. Not holding my breath outside or inside. So whatever phrases you have used, breathing in as if I am letting this energy enter into me through my skull. And as I breathe out, I place whatever I receive into the whole of my body. Maintainer of eternal wisdom.

Bless me with truth love and joy. Given shortage of our time, take three more breaths using whatever words of prayers speak to you. And then we'll stop. Thank you very much.