Guided Smiling Presence Practice Script

A guided script for all that find it useful, slightly different than what we are possibly use to; I like to call it a Smiling Presence practice, has many elements of the basic awareness practice of breath, body et cetra…SnowlIon

It is helpful to establish Awareness of body at the beginning
of practice. We tend to be less in our bodies and
more in our minds and the content of thoughts. When
we do formal practice such as sitting, standing, and walking
meditation, we first need to learn to be in the body.
Awareness of posture is helpful here, as is awareness of breath
and of physical sensations. Then we expand our awareness
beyond body sensations to awareness of emotions and other
aspects of mind.

If you sit on the floor, you may be most comfortable with a
zabuton or a cushion or blanket that you can place beneath
your ankles and feet and knees, so that they are cushioned
from the hardness of the floor. A zafu or other cushioning
underneath your buttocks will lift your spine. Position the
cushion so that you’re not sitting on the flat surface and
rolling backward, but rather sitting on the forward edge of
the cushion so that your pelvis tips under and the spine is
naturally lengthening upwards.

You may also sit on a chair. It should have a flat surface or
even tilt forward slightly.Place the feet slightly apart.
Sit with the back erect.Try to sit without leaning back.
Whether you sit on a cushion or chair,
let the hands rest comfortably on the lap or be cupped one
hand inside the other.

At the beginning of the sitting, it may be helpful to take a
few deep, long breaths, inhaling, and then slowly exhaling. As
you exhale, allow your body to release tension in those areas
where you habitually hold it — perhaps the shoulders, chest,
stomach, or the back. With each exhalation, feel your body
soften and relax.

To bring awareness to you posture, start with the base of the
body, noticing the position of the buttocks and knees as a
tripod. Bring your attention to this foundation. Notice the
position of the legs and the pelvis.

You are not lifting the spine from the top or the bottom.
Rather, bring awareness to the erector muscles on either side
of the spine; these lengthen the spine gently upward toward
the shoulder blades. You may feel as if gentle hands supported
erectness by lifting under the edges of the rib cage. Feel a little
bit of lifting under the shoulder blades too, lifting without
tensing the lower back. Allow the lower back muscles to
relax.

As you experience this gentle lifting beneath the rib cage,
beneath the shoulder blades, see that there’s some space
created between the bottom of your rib cage and your pelvis.
Feel it lengthen..

Roll the shoulders back; let the tops of the shoulders fall away
from the ears. The tops of the shoulders are relaxed. Notice
some roundness and curvature where the upper arm meets the
shoulder socket. You can have your hands cupped one inside
the other on your lap, perhaps the thumbs touching together,
or rest them on your thighs if that is more comfortable. Each
position has its own benefits. See what fits you. There are no
fixed rules.

Tuck in the chin slightly while the throat remains soft and
relaxed; gently push backward on the upper lip. The throat
and the neck remain relaxed, untensed, as are all the facial
muscles. Feel a sense of gentle hands lifting the head, just
below and behind the ears, skull softly lifted to erectness.
Relax the skin of the forehead down toward your eyes.

Let the eyes be soft, the eyelids gently covering your eyes,
unless you’re used to meditating with your eyes open. If
you are accustomed to practice with the eyes open and are
comfortable like that, that’s fine. The area behind the eyes is
relaxed; the corners of the eyes are smiling.

You may wish to focus the closed eyes on the inner wall of the
forehead, the third eye. See it as a blank screen upon which
the inner gaze rests.

Invite the facial muscles to soften, relaxing from the inside
out. Any tightness in the face, any holding, can release. As you
smile and relax into your body, tension can let go.
Let the lower jaw hang open so that the lips separate a bit
and any tension in the joints of the jaw can release. Invite
a slight smile in the corners of the mouth, the inner smile,
joyful smiling presence, a feeling of lightness in the corners of the
mouth.

Smile into the moment and into your body. Be aware of any
sensations as you smile into your body. Perhaps sensations are
apparent, perhaps not; either way, it’s okay.

Bring gentle awareness to the throat, smiling into the mid area
of the throat, the Adam’s apple area. Move awareness
down into the base of the throat, your jugular notch.

Smile down into the chest, left side of the chest, left lung,
right side of the chest, right lung. Smile into the body.
Experience it. Establish mindfulness in the present moment,
mindfulness of body.

Smile into the heart center, in the area of the physical heart.
Touch the heart with awareness.
Smile into the abdomen. Take a deep breath into the chest
or the abdomen. Take a deep breath, hold it momentarily,
and then slowly exhale. As you do, feel the chest and stomach
relax. Do that two or three times: silent deep breaths, each
exhale offered with awareness. Relax into your body.
As you smile into the abdomen, let it be soft. Soft belly,
Buddha belly. No holding of any tension in the stomach. Let
go of fear. Relax the abdomen.

As you breath, you may notice a slight lifting in your sternum,
as though there were a string tied to your sternum and it were
being lifted up on an angle.

Right now, you are breathing, a natural function of your
body. With Awareness of breath, you simply turn
attention to this process that is happening already. Your body
is breathing in, and it’s breathing out.

As Awareness of breath — simply be aware when you’re
breathing in, aware when you’re breathing out. It’s taking one
breath at a time. Know when you’re breathing in, and know
when you’re breathing out. Breathing in, be aware of the
whole body. Breathing out, be aware of the whole body.
(Some time of practice)

Allow a smile in the corners of your eyes and mouth,
an inner smile, just an inner feeling of lightness in
the corners of your eyes and mouth. You can recall it as
Joyful Smiling Presence;smile. It’s a radiance, a lightness.

Awareness on the breath; Be aware of the
breath at the nostrils or wherever it’s clearest to you. If your
normal breathing is through the mouth, be aware of the
breath coming and going through the mouth.

Notice the physical sensation of the breath touching at mouth
or nostrils, the coolness of the in-breath, the warm softness of
the out-breath.Know when you’re breathing in; know when you’re breathing
out. Allow the breath to find its own rhythm and flow. You
are not controlling it, just observing it, trusting in the body
and the breath.

Knowing when you’re breathing in, and
knowing when you’re breathing out, your breath becomes the
primary object.

Sometimes it can be helpful to extend and lengthen the breath
at the beginning of a sitting, so that you begin to focus on
the entirety of the inhalation and the exhalation, and on the
pauses or apertures between the inhalation and the exhalation
and between the exhalation and the inhalation.

This pause between the breath is the now, just this very
moment. Noticing this aperture helps to bring you more
deeply into the present moment and concentrates the mind;
awareness also brings us deep into the heart center.

Experience your breath as a circle. There is a beginning
portion of the inhalation, a middle of the inhalation, and then
the later part of the inhalation, a slight pause in the breath,
and then the beginning of the exhalation, the middle portion
of the exhalation, and the end of the exhalation. A slight
pause, and, again, the beginning of the inhalation, and the
whole cycle begins once again.

As you allow the breath to become more subtle and natural,
you may not sense the entire length of the inhalation or the
exhalation. That’s okay. Become aware of as much of the
breath as possible.

Know when you’re breathing in and know when you’re
breathing out, when you’re breathing in a long breath and
when you’re breathing in a short breath. Breathing in, allow
the whole body to be calm and at peace. Breathing out, allow
the whole body to be calm and at peace.

As the mind begins to slow down, and becomes more calm
and focused, awareness penetrates more deeply. The full
length and duration of the breath and the pauses between the
exhalation and the inhalation become more noticeable.
(Some time of practice)

The breath is the primary object, but concentration is
not held here with force. With natural concentration,
you focus attention on what is dominant in your
experience. If a physical sensation, thought, image, or
emotion pulls attention away from the breath, know that
your attention has moved from the breath. Know when your
attention has moved to physical sensation, thinking, image,
or emotion.

People sometimes think, because a strong sensation, thought,
image, or emotion draws their attention and they’re not with
the breath, that they’re not meditating, that they’re being
distracted, or that they’re not concentrating. Actually, focusing
upon that strong sensation develops deeper concentration,
because the mind is holding to an object. That’s a very powerful
focus. It’s a fine opportunity to develop concentration and
Awareness.

Remember, it’s not better to be with one object than
another, not better to be with the breath than with a physical
sensation, image, thought, or emotion. Be with whatever is
the predominant experience in the moment.

If you find that an intense sensation keeps pulling your
attention away from the breath towards that sensation, turn
your attention to it. Lightly note it, creating some space for
the experience, placing awareness on the sensation.

If the sensation is unpleasant, watch the tendency to want to
push the sensation away, to not want it. Without judgment
of the aversion, just notice what arises. Move deeply into
the sensation and see how it may change, how it may not be
one block of pain, one strong sensation, but little sensations
that are arising, changing, and ceasing with varying levels of
intensity.

If the sensation is pleasant, watch the tendency to want to
hold on to it. Let there be no judgment of the attachment,
just notice it arise. How does sensation change as you touch
it with merciful, nonjudgmental awareness? What about the
attachment to that pleasant sensation?

Are some sensations neutral, calling up neither like nor
dislike? As you create room for a physical sensation, you may find
that it moves to another part of the body, from the shoulders
down to the back, to a different part of the back, or to the
legs. Stay with the experience as long as you are able without
doing violence to your body or to yourself.

Learn how to work skillfully with meditation and strong bodily sensations.
If tightness in the legs or back or itching, tingling, pain,
any physical sensation becomes predominant, turn your
attention to the sensation and note it three times: “sensation,
sensation, sensation.” If you prefer, note it more specifically as,
“tingling, tingling, tingling,” “tightness, tightness, tightness,”
or “itching, itching, itching.” Don’t note it as, “I have pain
in my right knee,” which snares you into the story of the
pain and a self who owns that discomfort.

Just observe the sensation and note it in any appropriate way.
As you turn your awareness to the sensation, notice what
happens to it. Does it disappear immediately? Does it fade
gradually? Does it intensify? Lessen in intensity? Move about?
Change into another sensation?

When you find a sensation changing in any way, bring you
attention back to the breath as the primary object. Know you
have returned to the breath. Know when you’re breathing in;
know when you’re breathing out.

As you’re aware of your breathing, thoughts may arise. They
may be memories or planning thoughts, judging thoughts, or
fantasies. If the thoughts become predominant, if you find
yourself more with the thoughts than with the breath, bring
your attention to the thought.

Note a thought of the past as, “remembering, remembering,
remembering.” Watch what happens as you note it. Does it
disappear immediately? Does it fade gradually? Does it persist
or turn into another thought? What’s the nature of it?
Is there a planning thought, a future-oriented thought? Note
it as, “planning, planning, planning,” or as, “fantasizing,
fantasizing, fantasizing.” Watch and see how it changes as
you watch it.

When the thought is no longer predominant or changes in
some way, gently bring the attention back to the breath as the
primary object. Know when you’re breathing in; know when
you’re breathing out.

You may have an image that arises in your mind. Some people
experience their minds more in images than in thoughts.
Treat the image the same way as the thought. If, for example,
an image arises of you seeing and talking to someone, and
if that experience is strong enough to bring attention away
from the breath, turn your attention to that image. Note it as,
“seeing, seeing, seeing.”

What happens to the image when you touch it with
awareness? What is the nature of this object? Does it change
when you focus your attention upon it? When the image no
longer predominates, bring your attention back to the breath
as the primary object.

If emotion arises and predominates, know that you are
experiencing that emotion. Note it as, “anger, anger, anger,”
or perhaps as, “fear, fear, fear,” or bliss, joy, jealousy,
restlessness, boredom — whatever it may be. Again, note,
“anger, anger, anger,” not, “I’m feeling angry about what
he said,” so as not to become entangled in the story, only to
know that this mind-body is experiencing anger.
What happens as you note it? Does it strengthen? Fade?
Change? Dissolve?

When it is no longer predominant, move
awareness back to the breath.Know when you are breathing in. Know when you are
breathing out. Know when you are breathing in a long breath.
Know when you are breathing out a long breath. Know when
you are breathing in a short breath. Know when you are
breathing out a short breath. Breathing in and breathing out,
be aware of the whole body and mind.
(some time of practice)

If the physical sensation, thought, image, or emotion
returns and is predominant, again move awareness to
it — gentle, nonjudgmental awareness. Let it be choiceless
awareness that moves to whatever is predominant in the mind
and body.

If the sensation, thought, or emotion has returned and called
awareness to it, there is something there that needs to be
investigated, not by probing and theorizing but by observing,
by being fully present with that sensation, thought, or feeling
and allowing it to be present within the mind-body.
Choiceless awareness. No preference of the breath, the
thought, the sensation. Being fully with whatever is. No
judgment. Observing.

When sensation, thought, or emotion changes or is no longer
predominant, invite awareness back to the breath.
Know when you are breathing in. Know when you are
breathing out. Know when you are breathing in a long breath.
Know when you are breathing out a long breath. Know when
you are breathing in a short breath. Know when you are
breathing out a short breath.

See how you relate to sensation, thought, or emotion when it
arises. Is there a desire to push it away, not to want it because
it’s unpleasant? Is there a desire to hold onto it when it is
pleasant?

Mindfulness of physical sensations can teach us a lot about
our relationship with our body and about our patterns of
attachment and aversion. If a pleasant sensation like tingling,
moving of energy, or a feeling of lightness in the body
becomes predominant, turn your attention to it and note
it as, “tingling, tingling, tingling,” or “lightness, lightness,
lightness.” What happens to it as you touch it with awareness?
Does it disappear immediately? Does it fade gradually? Does
it intensify? Does it change into another sensation?
How do you relate to the situation? Is there a tendency to
want to hold onto the sensation because it’s pleasant? Is there
attachment to the continuation of the sensation in the body?
Can you experience the bodily sensation with equanimity,
noting it, seeing what happens to it?

What if it is an unpleasant sensation, like pain, tightness,
or burning? What happens to it when you touch it with
awareness? Does it fade, move, intensify, change? Is there a
desire to push it away, to get rid of it? Can you just experience
the unpleasant sensation with equanimity, noting it and
watching to see what happens to it?

Notice how the primary object changes. First the sensation may
be predominant. If it is an unpleasant sensation, aversion may
arise, followed by a strong desire to be free of that sensation.
There is a shift in experience. The sensation is no longer
predominant. The desire energy now holds the attention. See
this shift in object and return to the breath. If the aversion or
desire comes back, note it as, “wanting, wanting, wanting,”
and be with it until it changes or dissolves.

Notice the same process with the arising of thought, image,
or emotion. Is there a desire to hold onto the pleasant, to get
rid of the unpleasant? Can you watch that liking, followed by
the next primary object, desire, or attachment — wanting to
hold on to? Can you watch aversion, followed by wanting to
get rid of? What happens to the attachment or aversion when
you watch it? Remember that the sensation or emotion is no
longer primary. Let it go gently and be with the mood of
mind that has arisen with the object.

If fear arises about what is observed, and if the fear becomes
predominant, allow that to become the focus. “Fear, fear,
fear.” What happens to the fear as it is watched? Can
awareness watch fear without fear? Can there be equanimity
even with fear? What is the texture of fear? How does it feel in
the body? When it changes or loses its intensity, return again
to the breath as primary object.

Know when you are breathing in. Know when you are
breathing out. Know when you are breathing in a long breath.
Know when you are breathing out a long breath. Know when
you are breathing in a short breath. Know when you are
breathing out a short breath. Breathing in, be aware of the
activities of the mind. Breathing out, be aware of the activities
of the mind.

Can there be no judgment of what you’re experiencing? If
judgment arises, note, “judgment, judgment, judgment.”
Judgment is just a mental formation, a specific kind of thought
that also carries a body tension. As you note it, see what
happens to it; see its impermanence, its emptiness. Can we
watch with equanimity as judgment arises, without judgment
of that experience? When judgment is no longer predominant,
bring the attention back to the breath as the primary object.
Breathing in; breathing out. Breathing in and breathing out.
If the primary object is a physical sensation and is so strong
and accompanied by such strong aversion that it no longer
feels possible to stay with it, you can move.

Before you move, see the intention to move. The body
doesn’t move automatically. The mind must give the impulse
for the body to move. If pain leads to intention to move the
position of the legs, for instance, be aware of that intention,
and then mindfully shift position to ease the discomfort. Be
aware of the sensations, aware of the intention, aware of the
movement. Meditation continues; there’s no break in the
continuity of the awareness. Note the ease also, then return
to the breath, breathing in and breathing out, breathing in,
pause, breathing out.

As thoughts arise, if they’re strong enough to draw attention
away from the breath, treat them the same way as bodily
sensations. Sometimes emotion feels intense. You cannot shift
positions to escape the pain of thoughts or emotions. Can you
watch them and make space for them? What happens to the
emotion or thought as you note it? Does it disappear, fade,
intensify, lessen in intensity, or turn into another memory
or thought pattern? See its impermanent, empty nature.
It changes or dissolves in time. When you see a change in
some way, and the specific thought or emotion is no longer
predominant, bring your attention back to the breath as the
primary object.

Remember, that which is aware of a painful emotion like fear
or anger is not afraid or angry. Learn to rest in that awareness,
not as a way to escape the painful experience, but as a way to
create more space with it. When awareness watches fear, see
the simultaneous possibility of fear and non-fear. It is not
necessary to destroy fear to find the fearless. It is not necessary
to destroy anger to find loving-kindness. Both exist together.
It may be helpful to feel the sensation the emotion brings to
the body, such as tightness in the belly with anger, and focus
there. Soften around that tension, with a kind presence. What
happens to the anger when the belly softens?

Know when you are breathing in. Know when you are
breathing out. Know when you are breathing in a long breath.
Know when you are breathing out a long breath. Know when
you are breathing in a short breath. Know when you are
breathing out a short breath. Breathing in and out, be aware
of the activities of mind.
(some time of practice)

In Smiling presence, we want to see the nature of body
and mind and of all the five areas of — form, feeling,
perception, mental formation, and consciousness. Watch
them arise and pass away. Watch them change. Notice
the interrelationships between them, not thinking about
these interrelationships, just noticing, observing the constant
movement.

You may have a deeper insight into the impermanence of
these aggregates and the emptiness of self therein. Observe
body and mind, sensations, thoughts, feelings, perception,
consciousness.

You may begin to notice that all phenomena, which are
empty of a separate self, arise when conditions are present
to lead to their arising. When those conditions cease, the
phenomena fade.

Let there be no judgment of what is seen, no preference for
the place awareness shines. Be fully with what is, observing.
If preference or judgment is seen, notice that — ”preferring,
preferring, preferring,” or “judging, judging, judging.” No
judgment about the preferring or judging. There is space for
it all to float in choiceless awareness.

When sensation, thought, image, or emotion changes or is no
longer predominant, move awareness back to the breath.
Objects arising, dissolving, always in motion, impermanent,
empty of self. Stay Connected with the smiling process

See the illusion of permanent self dissolve as awareness
penetrates and knows the illusion. Moving deeper, beyond
the small self, beyond aversion and attachment, beyond
ignorance.

Find space for all experience to float in that heart we all share.
Rest in the vehicle of choiceless awareness.
Become aware of awareness itself. See objects arise out of
spaciousness and dissolve back in to spaciousness. Become
aware of the nature of that which sees, that which knows.
Gradually, you will rest in the Unconditioned itself, seeing
conditioned phenomena come and go like clouds through an
empty sky.

Know when you are breathing in. Know when you are
breathing out. Know when you are breathing in a long breath.
Know when you are breathing out a long breath. Know when
you are breathing in a short breath. Know when you are
breathing out a short breath. Breathing in and out, observing
the impermanent nature of all dharmas. Breathing in and out,
observing the fading of all dharmas. Breathing in and out and
contemplating letting go.

Grasp at nothing. Cling to nothing. Push away nothing in
your experience. Be present. Be aware..

It is a gentle, timeless process. Just watching it all unfold.
Choiceless awareness. All experience floating in the open
heart. Remember the process of an pure smile and the body will respond..now

Rest………