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

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Good morning, good morning. Welcome. Welcome. Good afternoon. Good evening and maybe even

hello to the future. Some people listen to this. We'll be listening to this in

the future. So we'll send warm-hearted greetings to them as well.

But I'd like to start this guided meditation with just looking around your, feel I don't know a little bit uplifting or fun or you have nice memories too.

I have this little elephant on my desk. So for example, I don't know, it just makes me happy. I just like this little elephant. So maybe you have something, maybe there's a beautiful plant, maybe there's something on the wall that you put there years and go and don't notice as much

whatever it might be. So just just allow yourself to maybe connect and appreciate something

that's in your living space. Maybe if it's not an object, maybe it's a color, or maybe there's a sense of spaciousness or maybe a sense of coziness, whatever it might be.

Is there something that, I don't know, makes you smile in some kind of way?

And then we'll just take in a meditation posture.

View deep breaths with long exhales. just allowing that physiology to settle,

diminish some of any agitation that might or might not be there. and letting the breathing return to normal. and bringing to mind somebody, some being, that makes the heart feel warm. This can be absolutely anybody, any being, anything. We just want to have an orientation towards warmth and openness in whatever way feels

accessible to you right now. You're not going to be here. connecting with this delightful or lovely or heartwarming being or object,

just allowing ourselves to feel the appreciation or warmth or openness or however

it's experienced for you. You're going to. And then to feel into the experience of sitting in this body at this moment.

Feeling the pressure, chair, cushion, bed, couch, wherever you are, against the body.

I feel the pressure against the back if you're using a back rest.

Or on the backside, all of us are, unless you're standing, I guess, you would have pressure

against the buttocks as well, in the back of the legs and chances are the feet are touching something as well. So feeling these places of support, connection, being felt as pressure against the body. You're going to see? and noticing if there are any areas of tension or tightness,

bringing some warmth and care to those areas.

Can we allow them to be there

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