1
00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:04,284
So now we do our meditation session.

2
00:00:04,284 --> 00:00:10,889
So if you'd like to close your eyes.

3
00:00:10,889 --> 00:00:14,384
With your eyes closed it's like you're not

4
00:00:14,384 --> 00:00:17,880
drawn out into the world, you can stay

5
00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:25,946
home in your body and in your emotional world.

6
00:00:25,946 --> 00:00:28,680
Just in my position I have to do
lots and lots of work

7
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,949
I'm really welcoming the help from the committee

8
00:00:31,949 --> 00:00:34,284
and operations manager and other people

9
00:00:34,284 --> 00:00:36,620
for next year, it's just what we have to do

10
00:00:36,620 --> 00:00:39,415
but when I meditate I can close my eyes

11
00:00:39,415 --> 00:00:42,210
and forget about all of that and just go

12
00:00:42,210 --> 00:00:47,595
inside - first of all go inside my body,

13
00:00:47,595 --> 00:00:52,980
I'm aware of how I'm sitting

14
00:00:52,980 --> 00:00:55,985
to make sure it's a comfortable posture

15
00:00:55,985 --> 00:01:00,090
as I feel it, not according to any books or

16
00:01:00,090 --> 00:01:04,374
any recommendations by other teachers,

17
00:01:04,374 --> 00:01:08,659
to be able to know yourself what you need.

18
00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:27,195
And then I become even more specific.

19
00:01:27,195 --> 00:01:32,750
I ask my legs - "legs, how are you?"

20
00:01:32,750 --> 00:01:36,680
When I ask a part of my body how it is,

21
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,610
I'm more mindful, aware, so I can be very

22
00:01:40,610 --> 00:01:44,555
conscious of any feelings in my legs and

23
00:01:44,555 --> 00:01:48,500
if I need to move and adjust,

24
00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:51,829
out of kindness I will do so.

25
00:01:51,829 --> 00:01:55,159
And after I move I have mindfulness of

26
00:01:55,159 --> 00:01:58,654
the new positions, see if it's better.

27
00:01:58,654 --> 00:02:03,089
This way using the feedback
for mindfulness

28
00:02:03,089 --> 00:02:07,635
and the kindness and care I have
for my own body,

29
00:02:07,635 --> 00:02:14,550
I make sure my legs
are in the best position.

30
00:02:14,550 --> 00:02:20,260
Not only does this mean
for a comfortable meditation

31
00:02:20,260 --> 00:02:23,490
it's also most important
development to get peace

32
00:02:23,490 --> 00:02:28,780
inside the mind as well.
Awareness and kindness.

33
00:02:28,780 --> 00:02:31,361
Then I move up from my legs once
they're comfortable

34
00:02:31,361 --> 00:02:35,298
to my butt and once again
I haven't got

35
00:02:35,298 --> 00:02:38,030
my cushion in the proper position
so I'm going to now

36
00:02:38,030 --> 00:02:43,600
adjust the cushion underneath my butt.

37
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,360
That's good.

38
00:03:00,770 --> 00:03:04,510
And once that's adjusted it feels good

39
00:03:04,510 --> 00:03:07,320
then I go to my back,

40
00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:12,585
give it a stretch as I usually do

41
00:03:12,585 --> 00:03:17,510
and ask my back does it need
any more adjustment.

42
00:03:17,510 --> 00:03:21,370
Sitting on a chair you can lean back if
you wish or you can lean forward

43
00:03:21,370 --> 00:03:24,845
whichever is more comfortable for you.

44
00:03:24,845 --> 00:03:27,608
It doesn't always need to be the same

45
00:03:27,608 --> 00:03:33,990
every week or every time you meditate.

46
00:03:33,990 --> 00:03:38,225
I ask my back - "back, what do you want?
how do you feel?"

47
00:03:38,225 --> 00:03:44,720
That's mindfulness, that's
being sensitive to your back right now

48
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,560
and following those instructions until

49
00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:54,440
you get as comfortable as you can.

50
00:03:54,440 --> 00:04:00,930
You can't get full comfort but you
can get pretty good.

51
00:04:00,930 --> 00:04:07,635
And then to be aware of your shoulders,

52
00:04:07,635 --> 00:04:13,555
and to relax your shoulders
however you manage to do that.

53
00:04:13,555 --> 00:04:18,260
And one way is to imagine
those shoulders like a

54
00:04:18,260 --> 00:04:23,675
bunch of strings on either side of
your top part of your spine

55
00:04:23,675 --> 00:04:27,590
and then be pulled, stretched,
by invisible monsters.

56
00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:35,915
Now you relax, let go,

57
00:04:35,915 --> 00:04:40,160
nothing is being pulled or squashed
or stretched,

58
00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,530
the stress is going till the shoulders you

59
00:04:44,530 --> 00:04:47,360
can feel them change and the awareness is

60
00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:51,215
in one part of the body, you can see the

61
00:04:51,215 --> 00:04:55,070
feelings change there and soon by

62
00:04:55,070 --> 00:04:58,430
experience, often by trial and error,

63
00:04:58,430 --> 00:05:04,740
you learn how to totally relax
feelings in your body.

64
00:05:09,030 --> 00:05:13,105
And then I go to my hands.

65
00:05:13,105 --> 00:05:17,880
Where my hands are
just defines where my arms are

66
00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,235
so I look at my hands,
make sure they're comfortable.

67
00:05:21,235 --> 00:05:23,310
If anyone watched every week

68
00:05:23,310 --> 00:05:26,220
my hands will be in a slightly different

69
00:05:26,220 --> 00:05:29,130
position because every week is different

70
00:05:29,130 --> 00:05:32,430
every time is different so make sure my

71
00:05:32,430 --> 00:05:35,730
hands are okay, then I go back up to my

72
00:05:35,730 --> 00:05:38,655
shoulders and on top of my shoulders

73
00:05:38,655 --> 00:05:41,580
my neck, making sure the head is balanced

74
00:05:41,580 --> 00:05:44,055
on top of the neck, not too far back,

75
00:05:44,055 --> 00:05:46,530
not too far forward,
not too far to the left or

76
00:05:46,530 --> 00:05:48,945
the right and as often happens wearing

77
00:05:48,945 --> 00:05:51,360
these robes sometimes I get the cloth

78
00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:53,940
a little bit too tight
which it is right now.

79
00:05:53,940 --> 00:05:57,710
I'm just going to adjust my robe.

80
00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:06,015
That's that much better.

81
00:06:06,015 --> 00:06:10,090
Well also I'm aware of inside
my neck in my throat,

82
00:06:10,090 --> 00:06:13,155
I do have hayfever and every now and

83
00:06:13,155 --> 00:06:16,220
again so I make sure that everything

84
00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:22,458
inside is nice and relaxed

85
00:06:22,458 --> 00:06:28,724
so I don't need to cough.

86
00:06:28,724 --> 00:06:32,480
Just learning how to relax
one part of the body

87
00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,780
I use my mindfulness,
I'm aware of just that

88
00:06:35,780 --> 00:06:40,010
one area and see the feelings change.

89
00:06:40,010 --> 00:06:46,550
I know what to do through experience
of how to relax.

90
00:06:50,420 --> 00:06:53,255
And then I move my attention to my face

91
00:06:53,255 --> 00:06:56,090
especially the muscles around the eyes

92
00:06:56,090 --> 00:07:00,380
and the mouth, sometimes they are tight

93
00:07:00,380 --> 00:07:04,670
simply because they're expressing the

94
00:07:04,670 --> 00:07:09,285
emotions inside - it could be tiredness,

95
00:07:09,285 --> 00:07:13,900
it could be fear, could be anxiety,
whatever,

96
00:07:13,900 --> 00:07:18,010
could be happiness,
but your face is what

97
00:07:18,010 --> 00:07:22,120
shows other people your emotional world.

98
00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:26,850
So I make sure everything is relaxed
on my face.

99
00:07:26,850 --> 00:07:31,680
Muscles around my eyes
are just totally loose.

100
00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:39,070
Around my mouth is also loose.

101
00:07:40,580 --> 00:07:44,100
Been doing this so many years
I know how to relax pretty quickly .

102
00:07:44,100 --> 00:07:47,800
Muscles around my face.

103
00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:52,095
When I do that it means the emotions are

104
00:07:52,095 --> 00:07:58,090
also relaxed and positive, at ease,
loose, free.

105
00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:05,330
And before I leave my body I just watch

106
00:08:05,330 --> 00:08:09,580
the whole of it, not as parts

107
00:08:09,580 --> 00:08:16,570
but as a unified one organism

108
00:08:16,570 --> 00:08:23,560
nicely relaxed as I check
from the head to the toe,

109
00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,050
from the toe to the head,

110
00:08:26,050 --> 00:08:32,234
is anything in there which is tight,
I loosen it

111
00:08:32,234 --> 00:08:36,815
until I can feel what every
Friday I teach here,

112
00:08:36,815 --> 00:08:42,602
I call the delight of a relaxed body.

113
00:08:42,602 --> 00:08:52,705
It's not 100% relaxed but it's so
relaxed that my body feels at ease.

114
00:09:21,070 --> 00:09:25,210
While you stay with that relaxed body

115
00:09:25,210 --> 00:09:29,350
for a few more seconds

116
00:09:29,350 --> 00:09:32,305
when my body is at ease

117
00:09:32,305 --> 00:09:35,260
then I can let it go

118
00:09:35,260 --> 00:09:41,170
and go to my emotional world,
the world inside.

119
00:09:41,170 --> 00:09:44,968
I look at what I call my peace-o-meter:

120
00:09:44,968 --> 00:09:47,897
how peaceful am I right now?

121
00:09:47,897 --> 00:09:52,560
I had quite a bit of work for
the last hour and a half

122
00:09:52,560 --> 00:09:57,440
so my mind is a little bit tired,

123
00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:04,220
so my peace-o-meter is a bit
not as peaceful as usual.

124
00:10:04,220 --> 00:10:08,350
So your peace-o-meter, give it a
reading from one to ten.

125
00:10:08,350 --> 00:10:15,700
One is really peaceful, ten is agitated.

126
00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:20,140
So you know where you are,
how peaceful you are,

127
00:10:20,140 --> 00:10:25,000
and now find out what is
necessary, what is the cause,

128
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:30,120
for lowering the reading of
your peace-o-meter?

129
00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:35,985
For me it's just letting things be.

130
00:10:35,985 --> 00:10:39,810
Giving up all past and all future

131
00:10:39,810 --> 00:10:48,690
and being kind in this moment,
allowing this moment to be.

132
00:10:48,690 --> 00:10:55,760
When I smile at the present, the now,

133
00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:00,010
the now smiles back.

134
00:11:00,010 --> 00:11:04,070
I'm happy to be here.

135
00:11:04,070 --> 00:11:08,200
And I know from so much experience that

136
00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,100
now is where my future is made.

137
00:11:12,100 --> 00:11:16,142
If I want to give a good talk later on
I don't think about it,

138
00:11:16,142 --> 00:11:18,680
instead I stay with this moment

139
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:24,880
be so kind to this moment,
called now.

140
00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,060
My peace-o-meter goes down more

141
00:11:28,060 --> 00:11:32,031
more peaceful, more more relaxed,

142
00:11:32,031 --> 00:11:37,770
more and more at ease.

143
00:11:37,770 --> 00:11:41,651
I know a lot of the time
it's not what I say how it is said,

144
00:11:41,651 --> 00:11:49,046
where it comes from.

145
00:11:49,046 --> 00:12:00,150
I make sure there's peace inside,
acceptance, kindness.

146
00:12:58,590 --> 00:13:02,431
Staying in this moment..

147
00:13:02,431 --> 00:13:06,570
Sometimes I've seen people
carrying heavy bags,

148
00:13:06,570 --> 00:13:09,435
one in the left hand,
one in the right hand.

149
00:13:09,435 --> 00:13:14,487
Bag on the left hand, on the outside,
most shopping bags have got

150
00:13:14,487 --> 00:13:18,181
letters on the outside.

151
00:13:18,181 --> 00:13:23,489
This shopping bag has the four letters
P A S T. Past.

152
00:13:23,489 --> 00:13:25,770
Because in that shopping bag you keep

153
00:13:25,770 --> 00:13:30,924
all of your memories from the past,
you carry them around with you.

154
00:13:30,924 --> 00:13:35,360
No wonder you're tired.

155
00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,005
In the right hand there's another

156
00:13:38,005 --> 00:13:42,750
shopping bag with the letters F U T U R E.
Future.

157
00:13:42,750 --> 00:13:44,962
You also carry that bag around.

158
00:13:44,962 --> 00:13:50,036
Those hands carrying really
heavy loads,

159
00:13:50,036 --> 00:13:53,840
no wonder people can get
angry and negative.

160
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:57,135
Just tiredness that's all.

161
00:13:57,135 --> 00:14:00,930
So now feel that shopping bag in the

162
00:14:00,930 --> 00:14:04,065
left hand - that's the past.

163
00:14:04,065 --> 00:14:07,200
Imagine lowering that shopping bag

164
00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:11,385
to the ground - when it meets the floor

165
00:14:11,385 --> 00:14:15,240
there's no more weight.

166
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,329
You can uncurl the fingers of your 
left hand and move them

167
00:14:18,329 --> 00:14:21,089
up to your side so you can rest and

168
00:14:21,089 --> 00:14:26,383
regenerate, have some peace.

169
00:14:26,383 --> 00:14:28,970
The shopping bag in the hand hand,
the future,

170
00:14:28,970 --> 00:14:32,310
all your worries and concerns
and anxieties,

171
00:14:32,310 --> 00:14:35,580
also your hopes and dreams as well,

172
00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:41,839
carrying them around incessantly,
sometimes day and night.

173
00:14:41,839 --> 00:14:46,298
Imagine lowering that to the ground.

174
00:14:46,298 --> 00:14:49,842
When the bag of your future worries and
concerns and hopes,

175
00:14:49,842 --> 00:14:55,230
when that meets the ground,
the weight disappears as well.

176
00:14:55,230 --> 00:14:59,975
You can move your hand away,
let go,

177
00:14:59,975 --> 00:15:04,720
until your right hand and arm is

178
00:15:04,720 --> 00:15:11,878
loosely by your side, relaxing.

179
00:15:11,878 --> 00:15:15,482
When you let go of the past and the future

180
00:15:15,482 --> 00:15:19,585
it's like you're standing in
its place between them

181
00:15:19,585 --> 00:15:22,672
with no weight, no burden.

182
00:15:22,672 --> 00:15:25,765
Relax, you can pick up the past and
future whenever you want

183
00:15:25,765 --> 00:15:28,090
but not now during the meditation.

184
00:15:28,090 --> 00:15:34,560
This is free time, because you deserve it.

185
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,820
We're staying here, opening the door of

186
00:15:37,820 --> 00:15:42,010
your heart, your mind, to this moment

187
00:15:42,010 --> 00:15:44,861
no matter what it is,

188
00:15:44,861 --> 00:15:52,080
because the most important thing is
to be here - right now -

189
00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:56,600
keeping the past and the future
on the ground.

190
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,290
You're in the present moment.

191
00:15:59,290 --> 00:16:04,865
Your peace-o-meter should give a
very low reading now.

192
00:16:11,870 --> 00:16:15,270
And for many meditators,
once they let go

193
00:16:15,270 --> 00:16:19,475
they become aware of their breathing,

194
00:16:19,475 --> 00:16:22,795
one thing which is always moving.

195
00:16:22,795 --> 00:16:25,670
But as you are watching your breath

196
00:16:25,670 --> 00:16:29,340
just imagine, visualize,
as you breathe in,

197
00:16:29,340 --> 00:16:34,100
breathe in peace, or health,

198
00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:36,685
whatever you want to breathe in,

199
00:16:36,685 --> 00:16:40,827
good spiritual peace, health, kindness

200
00:16:40,827 --> 00:16:44,158
As you breathe out,
breathe out, let go,

201
00:16:44,158 --> 00:16:50,391
any attachments, tiredness, worries.

202
00:16:50,391 --> 00:16:53,550
Let your out-breath carry it away

203
00:16:53,550 --> 00:16:57,240
out of your mind, out of your body.

204
00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:05,340
Out, breathe in peace, happiness, health.

205
00:17:05,340 --> 00:17:10,927
Breathing in peace, and feel it come in.

206
00:17:10,927 --> 00:17:17,130
Breathe out - let go.

207
00:17:17,130 --> 00:17:20,629
Breathing in peace,

208
00:17:20,629 --> 00:17:25,980
breathe out - let go.

209
00:17:25,980 --> 00:17:31,454
Breathe in, no controlling.

210
00:17:31,454 --> 00:17:37,899
Breathe out, letting things disappear.

211
00:17:43,260 --> 00:17:47,370
I'm going to be quiet for five minutes,

212
00:17:47,370 --> 00:17:53,236
when I start speaking again it'll be 
close to the end of meditation.

213
00:24:00,870 --> 00:24:06,893
Sot it's getting close to the end of the
meditation now.

214
00:24:06,893 --> 00:24:11,367
How do you feel?

215
00:24:11,367 --> 00:24:14,800
What's it like inside?

216
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:27,810
How peaceful are you and how relaxed is
your body..if you can feel it?

217
00:24:27,810 --> 00:24:31,005
Sometimes the body gets so relaxed that

218
00:24:31,005 --> 00:24:34,200
it just disappears, it is with your mind

219
00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:38,275
and that relaxes, it gets so peaceful,

220
00:24:38,275 --> 00:24:43,230
so free, not a thought in your mind.

221
00:24:43,230 --> 00:24:46,990
How blissful is that..

222
00:24:49,610 --> 00:24:57,154
And also know what works,
what works for you,

223
00:24:57,154 --> 00:25:02,079
because every time you meditate
we learn,

224
00:25:02,079 --> 00:25:08,570
we learn and get better
mindfulness and kindness,

225
00:25:08,570 --> 00:25:14,339
for the feedback until we
become in our own ways

226
00:25:14,339 --> 00:25:18,084
expert in meditation.

227
00:25:20,219 --> 00:25:23,614
I'm now going to ring the gong
three times.

228
00:25:23,614 --> 00:25:27,260
When the gong finishes sounding
for the third time

229
00:25:27,260 --> 00:25:30,999
please come out from the meditation.

230
00:25:32,456 --> 00:25:37,013
[gong 1]

231
00:25:37,013 --> 00:25:41,046
[gong 2]

232
00:25:41,046 --> 00:25:48,900
[gong 3]

233
00:25:48,900 --> 00:25:54,710
It's nice..
yeah..