MEDITATION

(The facilitator leads a Buddhist meditation of their choice.)

We will now do a guided meditation on _______. Your eyes may be closed or gently open. Meditation is a personal practice, and we encourage you to explore with a spirit of openness and curiosity. Part of what we are doing is learning to sit with discomfort, but meditation can bring up powerful emotions for some of us, and if you find that you need to “tap the brakes” during practice, you can do so in the following ways: by opening the eyes; taking a few deep slow breaths; placing a hand over your heart or belly; focusing attention on a soothing object; imagining a positive place, activity, or memory; or quietly shifting your position. Remember to be kind and gentle with yourself. It’s always okay to take care of yourself during meditation. If you need to get up during the meditation, please do so as quietly as possible, and please hold your comments and questions until after meditation.

MEDITATION INSTRUCTIONS

We will now do a guided meditation on _______.

Meditation preamble

Your eyes may be closed or gently open. Meditation is a personal practice, and we encourage you to explore with a spirit of openness and curiosity.

Part of what we are doing is learning to sit with discomfort, but meditation can bring up powerful emotions for some of us, and if you find that you need to “tap the brakes” during practice, you can do so in the following ways: by opening the eyes; taking a few deep slow breaths; placing a hand over your heart or belly; focusing attention on a soothing object; imagining a positive place, activity, or memory; or quietly shifting your position.

Remember to be kind and gentle with yourself. It’s always okay to take care of yourself during meditation.

If you need to get up during the meditation, please do so as quietly as possible, and please hold your comments and questions until after the closing bell rings.

I will start the meditation with three rings of the bell and close with three rings of the bell