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  • I started tonight saying, We get lost in a trance and we don't have an

  • easy way to remember. And so this is a tool of remembering, of remembrance...

  • To move from the space of a separate, unworthy, victimized,

  • not-good self, back to that natural tenderness and

  • love and presence. And as a way of entering it...

  • ...I'd like to say that the gift of RAIN

  • as I've been describing is it frees us from trance... And, like that beautiful

  • line from Shakespeare, that it's like, droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven...

  • It really washes away the kind of self-centeredness and

  • fear and grasping that keeps us from being close with each other.

  • Frees up to be more who we really are... There's an inner freedom that's possible,

  • when we begin to shift from the place that's confined in the egoic self

  • to that openness and presence. So as you sit here now,

  • you might let your attention come to the breath. And extend the breath a bit,

  • just taking a more full in-breath... And a slow out-breath...

  • Then again, extended in-breath, slow out-breath...

  • Letting the senses be awake... So

  • you're feeling quality of hereness, the sounds, sensations...

  • And then letting come to mind, some situation in your life

  • that you'd like to bring more attention to. And I'd like to

  • encourage you not to pick something that's a traumatic kind of reactivity. But

  • rather something where you just get annoyed, or you get caught and

  • feeling down on yourself... You get anxious about a performance,

  • upset with somebody, kind of a habitual pattern with a partner, child...

  • So bringing a situation to mind, you might run it like a movie in your mind, just to

  • bring yourself right to the frame, where you're feeling stuck.

  • And if it's something that... hasn't happened yet

  • in a real live way, you might imagine it...

  • So you see yourself in this situation, see where you are...

  • If you're involved with another person, see that person's face... Hear the sound

  • of their voice... If it's something that's going on that's triggering you...

  • If you're alone, just bring the circumstances up that really,

  • if you're comparing to somebody else, or it's an addictive behavior on your own...

  • Just really let it be vivid... What triggers you?

  • So that you freeze the frame right where you're feeling most triggered...

  • And just begin by recognizing,

  • kind of, the gestalt of what's going on. And just saying what's happening

  • right now, and just name whatever you're aware of, the most obvious parts of it...

  • And let your intention be to allow the experience that

  • you're having just to be there... to not interfere...

  • It's like in watching the gorillas, just letting nature unfold itself as it is...

  • So you're pausing, recognized, allowed... And

  • then beginning to investigate the experience... And

  • just notice first what it brings up, what you're feeling in your body...

  • If you're...there's anger and it feels natural to clench your fists or

  • in some way, let your body take the posture that most expresses what you're

  • feeling, go ahead... So you really can get in touch with, Well, what's this like?

  • When I'm really caught in this, you might feel your face and

  • let the expression of your face, again, reflect what's going on.

  • Try not to be shy... It really helps to let your body and

  • your face contact the experience. And you might notice

  • that there's a belief about yourself or the world that's real obvious. Again,

  • the 'what am I believing' question just to see if there's something there that,

  • maybe you're believing that you're failing... or that you'll never be

  • good enough, or that you'll never be lovable... that you can't trust others...

  • And then let yourself, if you notice a belief like that, feel,

  • felt sense in your body, like your throat, your chest, belly... So

  • you're investigating and contacting what's here. And as you do it,

  • let the intention be to offer a kindness or gentleness

  • to what you're aware of. And for tonight or for this time, I'd encourage you to

  • experiment with bringing your hand to your heart as a kind of gesture.

  • You might vary the pressure so that you really feel that sense

  • of... there is kindness and gentleness accompanying your experience. So

  • you might feel anger or hurt inside... You might feel it's shame...

  • And there's that hand and that touch saying, in some way, I'm here. I care.

  • So you're investigating with an intimate attention.

  • And you might sense what that part of

  • you that's most vulnerable and upset, most wants or needs.

  • And sense the possibility of bringing a great compassion and presence...

  • You might even sense some words,

  • that are naturally offered as part of this intimate presence...

  • One healer says, I'm sorry, and I love you...

  • Thich Nhat Hanh says the words, Darling, I care about the suffering...

  • So there's an honest contact with the experience, investigating, contacting, and

  • an intimate presence... And you

  • might feel your breath as you sit here... And just sense that,

  • as you bring this presence to your experience, really who you are...

  • Sense if there's an inhabiting of a larger space of awareness...

  • That there is a sense of that ocean-ness that's holding the waves of yourself, but

  • not lost inside them... It's you saying yes to the life that's here,

  • making room, and resting in something larger...

  • Close with a poem, White Dove... Yoga teacher Dana Falls,

  • she says: In the shared quiet, an invitation arises like a white dove,

  • lifting from a limb and taking flight. Come and live in truth.

  • Take your place in the flow of grace. Draw aside the veil you thought

  • would always separate your heart from love. All you ever long for

  • is before you in this moment, if you dare draw in a breath and whisper, yes.

  • Sensing that 'yes' right now...

  • So that if there's any judgment as to how you practice RAIN,

  • if RAIN felt incomplete or confusing, that there's a tender yes to that...

  • It's okay, forgiven, forgiven...

  • If there's a sense of peace,

  • yes to that... This ultimate

  • gift of honoring the life that's here, just as it is...

  • Namaste and blessings...

  • [MUSIC]

I started tonight saying, We get lost in a trance and we don't have an

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