Close Intimacy with Ourselves

Transcript

[0:13] Let's take our seat wherever we are. Arranging our body, we could flex our spine a little bit.

[0:43] Uplifted. Awake, alert and restful. Posture. Opening our chest. As we open to our world.

[1:38] Checking in with our body, the sense perceptions, present. Just opening to whatever is there. Perhaps letting places that we don't like about our body, just letting them be. Welcoming them. Becoming intimate with ourselves.

[2:51] Really allowing it to be okay, to be human, to be frail, to be fat, to be skinny, to be in pain. Whatever aspect of our body that perhaps we don't like. To be too old, to be too young. Just opening to this bodily experience of being human. And giving up the mental struggles and gymnastics around what is.

[4:30] And it's just a sense of letting go of these struggles and stories and relaxing our mind down into the body.

[5:20] And this body, the one that's here.

[5:42] And placing our attention. Really close. Right in the experience of this body breathing.

[8:53] It can be somewhat scary to be very close and intimate with all parts of ourselves. We might see things we don't like.

[9:42] It may feel claustrophobic. The invitation is to stay. Come closer.

[10:23] And to bring love and acceptance. Friendliness. Perfectly imperfect human being.

[11:19] Keeping our attention very close.

[12:02] We can bring our gaze down. Is it just in front of us? Coming closer.

[14:11] We may feel more fear here. Close in. In closed space.

[15:06] Maybe feeling some old, old fears.

[15:36] And allowing ourselves to stay. To stay close to ourselves. And to love even while we feel fear.

[17:08] Breathing in this close, very close in.

[18:03] And then we could raise our gaze open to space again. Bringing love and kindness to ourselves. This delicate, fragile and powerful human experience. Knowing that each of us experiences fear. Allowing our heart to open. And to love. Even while we feel fear. And love others as they feel fear.