And you may close your eyes, and after you close your eyes make any other subtle adjustments

in how you're sitting, so the posture is upright, so you're sitting tall, so you have that

quality of being alert, and also at ease, so right from the start you might ask yourself

as there's any way you can just relax a little bit more.

We'll begin by just breathing together, the invitations to take a very long extended

in breath, so breathing in, filling the lungs, and then a slow out breath, since as you're

breathing out, this possibility of us letting go, letting go, letting go, and then another

full in breath, filling the lungs, and a slow out breath as you're breathing out, releasing,

relaxing outward, letting go, and then again inhaling deeply, filling the lungs, you might

even hold a bit once you're full of breath, hold, feel that, and a very slow out breath,

softening down the length of the body, letting go, letting go, letting go, just letting

the breath be in its natural rhythm now, and you might notice the increased sense of presence,

from a short bit of mindfully collecting the attention, let your senses be awake, so

there's a listening quality, listening to the sounds that are here, so that you're aware

of the sensations that are moving through the body, and bring a gentle listening to

the heart, and just notice whatever the state of the heart is right now, whatever mood

is here, without any judgment, just begin kind of a more intimate attending, you're aware of

this tightness, tension, or if there's more openness, flow, if there's numbness, or if there's a lot of

sensitivity, sadness, happiness, just keep listening in and sensing if the heart could express itself,

what would be the heart's intention for the evening, what is your heart most wish for or

long for this evening, what matters to your heart, and in this presence with heart and caring,

you can gently bring the palms together, we'll chant the mantra own, sound current own, that

...