Week One, Day Six: ENLIGHTENMENT
Go slowly
Pause
Do nothing
Move
Move with Awareness
Today we’ll go both ways: doing less, with awareness.
Moving with awareness.
The common word is pretty obvious: awareness.
Which means being present.
To the fullness of our selves in this moment.
This one. Right now.
A good place to start: our bodies.
And notice this: 90% of our weight is below our neck.
Here’s a way to go for awareness in any moment: can we have 90% of our awareness below our neck.
Here’s a way to do it.
Enlightenment Game # 7: Have awareness shifting in three layers of your body:
Note: this is pure awareness of experience with NO commentary, labelling (pain, tense, sore), or comparing. No story about how the sensation came about. No wishing for anything to change or “get better.”
One: Botton Level: A physical awareness below your navel.
An awareness in your legs.
Or feet.
Or toes.
Or pelvis.
The position of your legs.
Your interaction with gravity: pelvis, thighs, feet, pressing into the chair or the floor.
Mid-level: Awareness from your neck to your pelvis
The shape of your spine.
The sensation in your arms, the sensation in your hands, the sensation in your fingers.
The shape of your arms.
The ribs, going in and out with breathing.
The belly, going in and out with breathing.
The tilt of your head, and the connection of your neck to your spine.
What are you feeling with your fingers?
The shapes of your hands. Noticing the difference can be pretty delightful and amazing.
Three: Top-Level: Awareness above the neck
This can be actual sensation, of feeling air come in your nose or mouth.
Or the breeze on your cheek.
It can also be the amazing input receivers we have up above:
What are you seeing, right now?
What are you hearing?
Smelling?
Tasting?
And what do we do with this three level awareness?
Do nothing.
And do something.
Sigh.
Smile.
Doing something is easiest. More Buddhist retreats have a “walking meditation” component. There is a famous phrase about “chop wood, carry water,” which means, be in action, in useful action and keep our attention on this beautiful world.
Yesterday we had some get outside games, and a smiling game.
So today, let’s go for one of the most useful and instantly regenerative games in life: go outside and take a walk
Enlightenment Game #8 : Go outside and take a walk, where you are walking your awareness at three levels through the outside world.
You can be feeling your feet on the ground, or the pavement.
You can be sensing your arms as they swing along with your walking.
You can be delighting in NOTICING what you are aware of in your eyes and ears.
And…
Make sure you keep awareness below the neck.
Take a vacation, as much as you can, from all the yammer in our heads.
And: please don’t add the extra yammer of “I need to stop thinking”
Pull attention out of words and into three levels of reality:
Below your navel
Mid section
The eyes and ears and head
Smile.
This is you in the world of 5 mile high ceilings, the world of clouds and blue and green leaves, the world of a human body in motion.
Enjoy.
And now it’s time to give permission and direction to go the other way: Doing nothing.
With awareness.
Enlightenment Game #9: Every other hour, go sit somewhere, preferably outside, and “do nothing.”
Which means, breath and notice your breathing.
Which means, be in a body and notice your relationship to gravity.
Which means to have arms and legs and be noticing their shape and connection to gravity.
And this does mean a break from:
work
texting
calling
planning
worrying
regretting
feeling bad ( that’s a long story, but basically, you can only feel bad when you load your brain/ head/ heart and soul with a bunch of words in the victim/ complain/ compare mode…. we’ll get to it in the next round of enlightenment, because life has this wonderful reward for being present: forgiveness comes automatically without any “trying.”)
So, go forth into your day.
Get into your awareness, get into your body.
Walk.
Sit.
Smile.
Live your life and remember: wherever you are, you are right where you are. Here and now, you are exactly who you are here and now.
And that’s it.
You are alive.
That’s the miracle.
Smile.
Breath.
Wake up to now.
Summary of Week One, Day Six, ENLIGHTENMENT
You are 90% be weight below your neck: attempt to have lots of present moment awareness down there.
Awareness doesn’t compare, or comment or complain. It just is.
Go talk a walk in awareness.
Go sit and do nothing in awareness.
A fun and useful way to be aware is to rotate through the bottom level, the mid level and the top level.
Smile.
Enjoy being you alive, right now, right where you are.
Including this now, right now.
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