Open Mind, Open Heart

Let go, let go, let go. "Yes, but-" Let go. "No, but-" Let go. This is the essence of the practice, the journey, of meditation. The journey of life. To let go with a kind and open heart. Often we want more. We think there must be some magic answer, that there must be some complicated explanation. If we could just just receive that, then everything would be okay. And then the mind rallies, the mind tries to think its way out of it. "Yeah, but if we can just-" Again, the answer is to let go. Or it might resist. "No, but what if we-" The answer is to see the thinking and to let it go. It's so simple as an idea, and yes, I know how hard it is to actually apply it in that moment. But whenever the practice feels complicated, whenever it feels like there's too much going on, in fact, even outside of the meditation, just throughout the rest of your life, just to remember there is nothing more complicated about it than this: just to let go. To see what's happening in the mind, to acknowledge it, to let it go and to come back. Whether it's to the breath in meditation or to something else you're doing in everyday life. This is the essence of training the mind. So, once you're sitting comfortably, knowing that you're not going to be disturbed for the next few minutes. Just starting with big, deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. As you breathe in, it's the sense of taking in fresh air, the body expanding. As you breathe out, a sense of both the body and the mind softening a little bit. One more time, breathing in through the nose. And as you breathe out this time, just closing the eyes. And feeling the weight of the body press down. Feeling the weight of the arms, the hands just resting on the legs. Feet on the floor. Without opening the eyes, just becoming more aware of the space around you. Noticing perhaps how the air feels. Noticing the sounds. And as you pause, noticing how the body feels. Noticing any obvious sensations. And then starting at the top of the head as you scan down through the body, noticing all the little areas of comfort, discomfort. Scanning all the way down to the toes. And then starting to notice the breath. Resting the mind. That physical sensation, that rising and falling movement. Remember if you can't feel it, just gently placing your hand on the stomach. Without breathing in any special way, just following that movement. Counting if it helps you to maintain focus. And every time you realize the mind's wandered off, just letting go of that distraction, just gently coming back to the breath again. And then letting go of that focus. Coming back to that feeling, the weight of the body. Aware of the space around you,...