Brother Richard

just being with the breath.

Gently then beginning to feel the connection with the floor beneath us, with the chair or a cushion supporting us.

knowing that we can return to this space, this time of meditation, by simply connecting with the breath and the word, making the intention to bring its peace into the rest of the day, and then allowing the bell to draw us back to all of the activity of the day

Thank you.

Welcome back.

Today we're going to look at observing the subtle movements of thought.

This means beginning to try and find the place where the thought begins.

Part of our meditation practice is observing the thoughts as they arise, make themselves present, and then letting them go.

But it can help us in later discernment, particularly ethical discernment, to notice how, when, and why a thought appears.

So let's begin.

Gently coming into this time of meditation,

We consciously let go all that has come before today, allowing ourselves to enter this moment freely, gently, openly.

Taking our seat with intention, making our ritual gesture, we sit, allowing the spine to lengthen, the breath to open, the shoulders to drop.

As we sit into this space, we can even for a moment generate a little gratitude that we have this time, this space, this moment.

And then take a long, gentle breath in and an even slightly longer breath out.

and returning to the original rhythm of your breath, simply rest for a moment in its ebb and flow, its rise and fall, allowing the body to settle now even more fully, making any adjustment to our posture or to the way in which we find our body

so as to make sure we can sit in true stillness, while knowing, of course, that if at any moment we need to adjust our posture, we can do so.

Aware of the breath as it rises and falls, we are aware also of the movement of the body with the breath, the rise and fall of the diaphragm.

Expansion and retraction of the breast, bone and rib cage.

Movement of the shoulders.