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Guided Meditation: Relaxing Mental Activity

Warm greetings, everyone. I'm certainly happy to be here with you all and spend this time in the practice and in the dharma.

There is a loose principle that agitated thoughts attract more agitated thoughts, and that tranquil thoughts attract more tranquil thoughts. One of the ways I understand this is that, just in the ordinary activities of daily life, if we're a little bit busy doing things and maybe feeling a little pressure about what we're doing, it's easy to do those things with a little bit of agitation, pressure, or tension. And that pressure, tension, and agitation is a magnet, an encouragement, or a catalyst for more agitated thoughts, maybe on unrelated topics. It's like it predisposes us to be agitated, tense, and anxious.

This is one of the reasons why sitting down to meditate can sometimes feel like such a relief, because we're no longer having to do anything, no longer having to take care of the daily affairs of life, work, or responsibilities. For these few minutes, all that can stop. The relief of that stopping then becomes a little bit of a magnet or a catalyst to begin shifting how our thinking is. Thinking becomes quieter and more tranquil, and tranquility attracts more tranquility.

Perhaps for some of you, you will feel that relief of being able to sit here and not have to be doing, making, and accomplishing—just to be here in a very simple way. All this practice and instructions on Anapanasati^[1] can lend itself to the idea that there's a lot to do. If we sit down with this agitated energy or this pressure energy, that can be carried over into how we do this practice. But I think it's best to start with a reminder that you don't have to do much.

In a big way, meditation is an undoing. It's allowing ourselves to not be so busy, doing a lot, and accomplishing a lot. Starting off with a contentment and a relief of just being here, where just being alive is enough. Just breathing attentively without any other activity is maybe enough. And then, on that foundation, the practice builds. I say that carefully, "the practice builds," rather than "we build on that." There's something about allowing something to evolve and develop that's very important for this practice.

So, assuming a meditation posture. It's often good to have a posture that feels stable, because in that stability we can shed the busyness of life, shed the agitation, concerns, and needs to do. Kind of like water just rolls down the sides of a mountain, the agitations and concerns begin rolling down off us.

Closing the eyes. Gently, maybe slowly, taking a few fuller breaths. Just so it's comfortable and nice to really take in more air. Expand the rib cage. Feel the body more solidly, the substance of the body in the movements of the body, breathing more deeply, more fully. And perhaps letting the exhale last a little bit longer, longer than the inhale.

To do something that's a little different that might get your mind's attention on the breath, you can exhale through a slightly open mouth. Breathing in through the nose fully, and then exhale gently, slowly, prolonged breathing out the mouth. Breathing out of the mouth and silently in your mind saying "ah," and allowing the tensions of the shoulders to drain off you. Taking a rest from the holding of the belly.

Maybe softening the arms, especially the elbows. You might flap the elbows a teeny bit to make sure that they're loose. Maybe releasing any tension in the hands.

And then letting your breathing return to normal. Breathing maybe through your nose, in and out. And bringing your attention to that part of your body where you most associate to thinking. Where there might be some tension, pressure, or tightness associated with thinking, agitation, someplace where it's energized. And as you exhale, see if you can relax. Soften. Open.

As you exhale, releasing the hold on your thoughts, and resting in the space of the mind that's wider, bigger than your thoughts and images that you have. Maybe you can notice some quality of the mind that has the ability to be receptive, tranquil, and calm, even when you're agitated. Maybe it's below the agitation, or behind it, or in the cracks between it. See if you can become attuned to some quality of mental calm, tranquility, peacefulness.

And then, as you exhale, relaxing the mental activity so it relaxes into, dissolves into the calm. And then, in a very relaxed way, with very little energy expended, receive in awareness the experience of the body breathing. So that there's a very light touch between the body breathing and awareness. Inviting the experience of breathing into whatever calm or tranquility that might be here, even if you're agitated in other ways.

And for a few minutes, if you can, don't worry about anything. Just trust, entrust yourself to your breathing, without measuring it, or needing it to be different, or judging yourself for it. A very simple dedication, trusting all you need to do is to accompany your breathing for a few minutes here, without any concern with the quality of your attention. Just a dedication to breathing.

And when you find yourself drifting off in thought, rather than just letting go of your thinking, look around and see what you can relax that's associated with thinking. See what needs to be settled, reassured. Let the mind return to a little bit more calmness. In doing so, you might find that the strength of your thinking decreases.

The more settled we become in meditation, the more heightened awareness we have, sensitivity to the mind thinking. Noticing it sooner. Noticing the unsatisfactoriness of being involved, caught up in thoughts. Noticing the relief of not thinking so much.

When you find yourself thinking, see if you can feel or experience the impact thinking has on your body, your mind. And then relax the tension, the agitation. Soften the thinking mind. Quiet.

Whatever mental activity that you can be sensitive to, that you can feel, see if you can relax it. Calming the mind. Maybe as if the breathing is washing a calming wave through your whole body, and that includes the mind. And the mind softens, opens, expands beyond its concerns. There's so much more to relax into than the particular concerns and thoughts that we have. Waves of calmness breathing through the mind.

Cultivating Kindness

And then, coming to the end of the sitting. The mind has greater intelligence, the mind has greater creativity, when there's not so much energy poured into thinking. The less agitation, the less force in the thinking mind, the more ease there is. And the more space there is for an intelligent, wise contact and consideration of others.

To turn your attention now to other people: families, friends, neighbors. People in your county, your state, your country, your province. People that you encounter through the news or other ways. Begin by just relaxing around thinking about them. Quiet, soft mind, soft heart. And without putting too much effort into it, can you evoke a simple tender kindness, good will, friendliness for these other people? Kindness begets more kindness. Love attracts more love to itself, all within our own hearts.

And then, to see if there's an aspiration, a wish for the welfare of these people: May they be well and safe. May they be happy. Imagine yourself in their presence, with some dedication and championing of their happiness and well-being, as their advocate for happiness.

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be safe.

May all beings be peaceful.

May all beings everywhere be free.