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Chapter 1: What is the significance of opening the heart in meditation?
Welcome back. One of the great gifts of meditation is that it leads us to a heart-centered life. In the meditative tradition, the heart is seen not just as an organ or even as an organ of love, but as the very center of our being, a place of deep inner knowing and awareness, a place called to divine union,
to live in graced presence, and a place that dwells and abides in the present moment, whether we are conscious of it or not. In coming into open-hearted meditation, we allow this center place, this place of peace and love, to expand outwards and to fill our whole being.
Chapter 2: How can we cultivate peace and love through breath awareness?
In our practice today, this is what we will be working with. So let's begin. Gently coming into our time of meditation, we make our ritual gesture. We hold the intention to practice well and gently for ourselves and for others.
And we sit now, stably, spine expanded, chest and solar plexus open, the belly moving with the breath, the shoulders loose and hanging from the neck, seeking that awareness of breath that draws us into the present moment,
Chapter 3: What role does the heart play in our connection with all beings?
noticing all of the sensations of breath, the coolness of the breath as it enters the body, the warmth of the breath as it leaves the body.
And as we breathe in, we know we are breathing in. And as we breathe out, we know we are breathing out.
We receive the breath as gift and we give the breath as gift. Through the breath we are in contact with the present moment and through the breath we are in contact with every other being that has ever existed or will exist.
Chapter 4: How do we practice graced awareness in meditation?
Sharing the elements of the breath with all And so aware of the breath, we follow its rhythm of in-breath and out-breath. We come to that place of perfect peace and stability that exists between the in-breath and the out-breath. And finding that point, we follow it now to the very center of our being, to that place of perfect peace and perfect light and perfect awareness.
Chapter 5: What is the importance of entrusting the heart to a higher power?
The place we call the heart. And resting in the heart space with the anchor of the breath. We know that the heart contains so many things. The great values and powers of faith and hope and love dwell within the heart. Our awareness of a deep inner call to meaning dwells within the heart.
Chapter 6: How can we integrate loving kindness into our daily lives?
And the power of compassion and loving kindness rests within the heart. To know the heart is to begin to know the fullness of what it is to be a human being. All the while, as we breathe, we return to that conscious, deliberate awareness of the point between the in-breath and the out-breath. Dwelling within it, we find the heart expanded and opened.
a heart in love with all that is, a heart that accepts the fundamental goodness of everything and of everyone. We remember that even if someone is choosing to live in a negative, dark or hateful way, their essence is fundamentally good.
And in our meditation, breathing from the heart, we can breathe peace and awareness towards them, hoping that they too will wake to compassion and loving kindness. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out. Breathing in, I choose to dwell within the heart. Breathing out, I am aware of the heart as the center of my own being.
As we continue to breathe, we continue to dwell in the heart. And we extend the loving kindness of our own heart and being also towards ourselves. Whatever part of us likes to dwell in judgmentalism or comparison has no place within the meditative heart. And so we let it go and return to the truth of our own being.
all the while simply breathing in and breathing out, anchoring ourselves in stillness and in peace, remembering that we can always access this place, this center of our being, following the path of breath, entering the fullness of awareness. Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
And gently then we begin to make the intention to dwell in the heart and from the heart towards others. We situate ourselves once again in that graced awareness of the present moment and of the heart at whose very center exists the point of contact with the divine. Entrusting the heart once again now to the divine. To divine goodness and love, peace and grace.
We allow the awareness now to begin to fade, holding just onto the ebb and flow of the breath. knowing that we can return to that heart space at any time. We feel again our feet against the ground, our back against the chair or cushion. We begin to move the fingers and thumbs. We stretch, we smile, we give thanks. And we allow the sound of the bell to draw us back to the activity of the day.
Thank you.
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