It’s no coincidence that the second week of the practice is all about relationship. Put two things together and lots of awarenesses arise… similarities, differences, cooperations, or new qualities as a result of blending the two.
Week 1, Smile, explores opening up to goodness and intentionally creating space for it. Week 2, Tip of the Nose, explores focused attention and all of the “noticings” that this stability provides. What appears when we combine mind + breath, stability + curiosity, inner + outer? What happens when we meet our distractions with a smile? Plenty! You could say that much is revealed.
“Re” is another aspect of two’s. When we return for a second time around (or a second week of meditation practice), we go deeper, we see more, sense more, we respond differently because the novelty of the first time is gone and we’ve made the conscious choice to go at it again. We are forming a relationship! There are so many lovely “re” words: return, respond, replenish, regroup, revisit, report, recover, realize, reward, renew, reflect, rejoice… and respiration!
Coming back again, returning to the breath, returning your attention to the tip of the nose – it opens you up to to greater meditative perception. May it be so.
Happy meditating!
Tip of the Nose Meditation – Day 3