Distinguishing dukkha as a characteristic and dukkha as a Noble Truth. Relax – nothing is under control. Acknowledging this is the start of a reset. Rather than meeting experience with pre-formed strategies, pause, expand awareness, and meet experience without jumping to conclusions.
Walking meditation can counter the conditioning of the business model. Walking with nowhere to go, broadening attention to include the whole body, to feel the fluidity and pleasure of bodily ease. [Instructions end 11:28]
From an upright, grounded posture, move from the world of sense consciousness into subjectivity of ‘being conscious’. Meet uncomfortable energies with sympathy and support. [22:43] Transition into movement: Re-enter the world of the physical body – an expression of natural intelligence, integrating it into the sense of the world from the inside out.
We practice to come out of the stress and suffering of our workaday ‘Business Model’ by dismantling expectations of comfort and convenience, and of things being reliable. The wise attention that realizes that is itself stable and at ease.
Guided standing meditation: Spreading energy from the ground through the entire body, we set up conditions for blocked energy to release through the body. [14:30] Conclude standing form, begin gentle body movements.
This guided meditation begins with a calming breath to quiet the mind and relax the body. Following this, we establish our presence with an anchor – the breath, sound or sensation – and practice “coming back” from distractions, and including whatever direct experience asks for our kind attention. The meditation ends with a short loving kindness prayer.