The following talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California.

Please visit our website at audioderma.org.

Good morning.

Or at least those of you on this part of the continent, it's morning.

If you're on another continent, it might not be morning.

I'm happy to be here the second day, and we're exploring the story of Mara and Mara's armies.

And as usually happens in these seven a.m.s, we'll start with a guided meditation.

So, taking a moment to settle in,

feeling yourself sitting,

and bringing attention to the posture.

Let's begin there.

If you're in a seated position, just noticing if the spine has some uprightness,

and some ease.

Noticing if the ears are over the shoulders.

Sometimes it's helpful to push the chin back just a tiny bit, really small.

It may not even be noticed by somebody else observing you,

but pushing the chin back, not down but back,

can open up the top of the spine, the neck,

in a way that really supports some uprightness and ease.

Feeling into the sitting base,

the buttocks, the legs, the feet,

and connected, grounded.

...