Trust can support us in our practice. Trust in terms of inspiration, aspiration, what brings us here and keeps us here practicing. Trust isn’t something that comes easily for everyone because of our past disappointments. Yet trust grows stronger by going through difficulties disappointments and expectations that are not met by staying with things in the moment. Then things are always alright, always manageable.

Goodwill isn’t about changing things, but bringing up the right atmosphere and steeping your awareness in that. The right atmosphere isn’t 100% approval or love or celebration, but a quality of granting permission. Non-resistance, non-aversion. Experiences of exclusion and being treated as an object cause the citta to close down over time, and we lose the ability to feel anything. Subjective presence will give yourself back to yourself.

Find the response to this question from that safe space in embodiment. Mixed in with places where one feels shut down, agitated and sleepy is a certain quality that feels comfortable. Sense it, enjoy it, then view the rest from that place of refuge. This is a movement of compassion. It’s not good, it’s not right, it’s just aware.

Instructions for standing/neutral posture [ends 9:00]; loosening by shaking; torso twists with waist bend to each side; knee circles; the “clock” hip circles; string puppet; bow and arrow; cow gazing at the moon; ends with standing/neutral posture

Where to put the focus in standing/walking meditation; what is meant by awareness/mindfulness/citta; conditioned/unconditioned, kamma and the choice; awakening and healing; goodwill and discernment/embodied goodwill

We can know the body directly, using tactile sense and contact impressions. Step by step we can build the specific body with what is actually present, discerning the center, and placing with specificity. The act of placing is sacred.

Beyond the visual and sensory experiences of body, there is a felt sense that is our center. Life keeps pushing other things to the center – sights, sounds, attitudes, views and opinions – but these are only the center of our suffering, not the true center. From the true center, primary sympathy becomes available to meet suffering.

Torso twists bending over each leg; waterfall; ball in the sky; cow gazing at the moon; crane spreads its wings; closing the field/gently gathering in

One aspect of the inner critic is the constant commentator. It shamelessly criticizes you regardless of what you do or don’t do; you will never get it right. Like the story of the demons who visit the home of Sakka, the way we relate to our inner demons is to relate to them with kindness. Without resistance and negative emotions, they will shrink away.

As we meditate, we might find ourselves dropping through layers of experience. Bits that are stuck and not yet resolved keep getting triggered. What we thought was past keeps coming in – people, places, events – and it’s happening now. But there is something that doesn’t move forward in time, a foundational experience of just being present. From this place of primary embodiment, where citta meets the body, we can begin to release the layers of construction that bind us.