Brother Richard

We are relaxed and open.

Coming to the breath, we allow it to draw us into the fullness of stillness.

Breathing with attention,

breathing in and breathing out.

Breathing out all stress, breathing in only peace.

Breathing out all anxiety, breathing in only calm.

As we breathe, we breathe with every pore of our skin, feeling the body relax, feeling the body settle, feeling the mind come to rest.

Gently, peacefully, without any agitation,

but knowing that if you need to move at any stage, you may feel free to do so.

And resting with the breath, we introduce a phrase that is found often in scripture, a phrase that is at the very heart of our tradition.

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

These are words that are spoken often in Scripture, so often in fact that it is often said that there are enough of them to cover every day of the year.

But for now, we are simply in this moment, hearing the comfort of this phrase,

be not afraid be not afraid allowing the warmth of the phrase to be with us allowing its gentle support its encouragement to courage its invitation to trust

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

Be not afraid.

And when we speak of the word afraid, we can almost immediately at times touch the experience of fear, touch the experience of anxiety or dread,

And yet the meditator holds them lightly, knowing them as reactions.