Day Twenty-four: Moving with Attention

DAY TWENTY-FOUR: MOVING WITH ATTENTION
Movement meditation and learning #4: Turning to the left, with eyes moving habitual and non-habitual


Please sit more or less upright at the front edge of your chair, sensing both arms and both legs and your spine and breathing, and slowly and deliciously turning your head to the right and left quite a few times, each time feeling it as if it were brand new.


Rest. Feel the depths and details of who you are, in the moment, in your body. Now. Feel the thrill and ease of being in the now.

Begin to turn your head to the left and number of times. Then rest. Then using your ribs with your hands on them, turn to the left a number of times with the head and the ribs as “friends.” Then rest.

Now turn to the left about half way, and stop. Keep your head and chest pointed this way, and move your eyes slowly right and left. Breathe. Be easy in this. Come back to the middle and rest.

Now, again, turn ribs and head about halfway to the left and stop. This time keep the eyes in this direction and move your head, slowly, slowly, gently right and left. Rest in the middle in a way you feel is a way to learn about your learning.

Again, halfway left with ribs and head. Now, eyes one way and the head the opposite. Make it small. Very slow. Very gentle. Make sure you are breathing.

Take it as a learning game. Do this many times, and then rest.

Now, turn your eyes to the left and then your head and then your ribs, and then your pelvis. And come back in the same order, eyes, head, ribs, pelvis.

Then try pelvis, ribs, head, eyes and back the same.

Notice these all day, the pelvis, head, ribs and eyes. Notice turning and being you in the middle of all this.

Notice your noticing. Enjoy that.

Day Thirteen: Keep Rotation with Learning and Waking

DAY THIRTEEN
Keeping moving, but with awareness

Animals move. People move. Gyms are full of people “getting in shape” by moving and lifting and all sort of groovy things. And in this book, we are after waking up and being happy and living useful and alert lives.

So, let’s move some more, with lots of awareness. As a chance to increase and improve our awareness. As a chance to improve and create ease and understanding in our movement. As a chance to be happier in the moment and feel younger and better in our bodies.

As a way to be in the present.

Sit again, and turn to the right a few times as the starting move. Go only as far as easy and then back, and do this just a few times.

Now put your hands on your ribs, right hand on the left side, left hand on the right ribs. Turn now to the right, letting your ribs join the fun. Ribs to the right; head to the right.

Now just go an easy distance to your right, and let your head stay pointed that way, and bring your ribs to the left and back to the middle, as if head and ribs were two friends that needed to learn about being separate and equal. From here, bring your ribs to the right and your head to the left, so they pass each other and your head ends up pointing the way you are sitting, and your ribs and chest ends up pointing to the right.

Do this awhile, softly and as easily as you can, noticing your ribs and your sternum and your breathing and what your head wants to do and your spine. Go back and forth, head one way, ribs and chest the other.

Then rest and feel and sense yourself.

Then turn ribs and head together to the right, noticing both of them and see if the turning is more clear and easy.

Try something like this a number of times today, to both the left and the right. Notice your spine all day. Good.

6 awareness days left until Christmas

Ah,
to be aware while
browsing the stores

ah
to be aware of the guilt
obligation
habit
routine
and fear stuff
nagging away to
buy more
give more
do more

ah
to say no
to an invitation
or two

ah,
to say yes
to an invitation
or two

where do we want
to be present
and following our breathing

and remembering the three oceans:
gravity
calling on bones and brain and pelvis
how are we "grounded"
what is our weight doing
right now

and air
our lungs inside the rib cage
or can it be
a rib basket

and light, sound, taste, smell
the joys of a head
mobile and free at the neck
looking left
and right
even now
on the computer
keep the eyes forward and let your
nose
go up and down
and right and left
and following your breathing
and know
about your pelvis
and be
in love
with the you
right now

what else to do?
love others
love the earth

does that have anything
to do with Christmas?
it certainly could have.

and does awareness have
anything to do
with our ability to love?

yes