Hugh Byrne
Recorded guided meditation offered to his circle on September 7 Sunday only about 25 people there but the messaging was so helpful recorded voice of Hugh Byrne
The invitation is to meet our experience with a welcoming attitude. The Sufi poet, Rumi speaks of welcoming the guests. He says, "Even if there are a crowd of sorrows. "who sweep your house empty of its furniture, still treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight." So this attitude of welcoming, welcoming our experience. And Robert Bly said, "Whatever parts of you that you don't learn to love and accept will become hostile to you. Notice when your mind may reject or dislike what's present, and then invite a quality of acceptance. Can I meet this moment, this experience with acceptance? Can you meet this experience, this moment with kindness? It may be wishing yourself well, making space for what's here, or being kind to yourself as you would to a dear friend who's experiencing difficulty. If judgment or resistance comes up, can you meet this with kindness, with friendliness?. You could send yourself a wish. May I be happy? May I be peaceful? You could put your hand on your heart and express a wish for your own well being. And see if you can be interested curious about what you're experiencing. When we bring curiosity to our experience, something important can shift.
Think of the way when we're angry, we're caught up in a mental story or narrative about what this person said or did, or what you want to say or do to them, and all the bodily tension that may be present. When we're caught up in a strong emotion, the emotion and the accompanying thoughts are what are in charge, in a way. They're leading the way.
When we bring awareness to our anger, when we become curious about it, we can then notice, oh, there's tightness in the chest. My face is hot. I'm short of breath. I'm having loss of angry thoughts. And we can let go of the story and come back to the direct experience. So this quality of curiosity helps us to step out of identification with what we're caught up in. And just come into awareness. What am I aware of? What am I noticing? So sit for a few minutes and notice your attitude to your experience. How am I meeting this moment? How am I relating to this experience? Whatever you’re experiencing right now, can you accept this moment just as it is? This experience, just as it is? Can you meet it with an attitude of kindness, making space for it? Can you bring a quality of interest, of curiosity to your experience?
So the first question is, what am I aware of right now? The second question is, how am I meeting this moment, this experience?
And the third question is, what is a wise and kind response to this experience? What is a wise and kind response to this experience? Often bringing an attitude of kindness, acceptance, and curiosity to our experience will be enough for a wise and kind response. Nothing more may be needed, just simply to meet your experience with open hearted acceptance. But at times, an additional step, or steps may be called for. Let's say you're experiencing bodily pain or discomfort, and you've been practicing simply being aware of what you're feeling and meeting it with compassion and acceptance. But you might still find yourself experiencing resistance or frustration or judgment. You might be wanting to be present, but you're wanting to be present might make you feel more and more tight. You might kind of feel you're at war with yourself. Then you might ask, what is a wise and kind response? to this experience, to this moment? And it might be to consciously shift your posture. and to open to your experience in a new, more relaxed posture, say, moving from a cushion to a chair, for example. or stopping meditating if you're really tired, taking a short nap, with the intention of coming back to the meditation when you feel more rested and fresh. Or if you're dealing with a painful emotion and it's very intense, it might be wise to shift your attention to something more calm and peaceful. Not as a way of avoiding the difficulty, but to help you come back into balance and build resilience. So that then you can come back to the difficult feeling when you feel ready. Are a wise and kind response might be to send yourself a wish of loving kindness or compassion. May I be happy? May I live with ease? May I accept myself as I am. So you can sit for a while with this question. What is a wise and kind response to this moment, to this experience? And it may be simply to be aware of your experience and meet it with kindness and acceptance and interest. Or there may be a need, or a may be helpful to take a more active response. What am I aware of right now? How am I meeting this moment? What, if any, is a wise and kind response to this experience, to this moment. This third question will often be particularly important in daily life, where we typically can't simply be aware of our experience and meet it with kindness, if, for example, we're in the middle of a difficult conversation or in a meeting. In this situation, it will be important to be aware of what's present tightness in the body, anger, whatever, and to meet our response with kindness. But we may also need to respond to someone or to a situation. The question then is, what's a wise and kind response right now? What response will be supportive of freedom and well being? In the middle of a difficult conversation where we see ourselves being pulled into an angry reaction, a wise and kind response might be to ask the other person if you can come back and talk about it later." Talk about the issue that you're having some difficulty around. Or if you've just received an email that comes across as judgmental or overly critical, you might choose to put it aside and deal with it later. It's So bringing these three questions to your experience, at any time in meditation and in daily life. What am I aware of right now? How am I meeting this experience? And what is a wise and kind response? You might set for a few minutes with these questions as you open to your experience. We'll finish with Martha Poslethwaite's poem Clearing. Do not try to save the whole world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently until the song that is yours alone to sing falls into your open cupped hands, and you recognize and greet it. Only then will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.
