Big Book Workshop – Eduardo M. – New England Big Book Workshop Weekend – 2020

Thank you. Thank you. Well, it's 8 o'clock. I think we should start our meditation session first. Good morning, everybody. My name is Eduardo, and I'm an alcoholic. My sobriety date is January 4th, 1985. And it's only by the grace of God. Good days like this, shared with good people like you. A very good big book sponsor in moments like this. But I stand, or rather sit at this moment, a free man. And from where I sit, looking at all of you today, you look beautiful. And I do sincerely wish you a good day today. I want to welcome all of you to the start. To the end of the day two of this retreat weekend. And it is my sincere hope that your experiences on this day fill you up and perhaps address, answer, or in some small way care for whatever brought you here to be with us on this day and in this moment. I want to thank you for coming into this space at this time and adding your spirit. And your energy to this meditation session. And by logging in at this time, you've consented to join us all in a daily meditation. And you're all allowing me to guide you in this practice, which today will be a mindfulness exercise. And for that consent alone, I'm starting this day with gratitude. So when we begin, you're going to hear a chime. I ask that you listen as it fades into the day and that you join me in a practice that I found to be one that helps me to enter into relaxation and focus in the present, in the moment, and in the now. In our big book of Alcoholics Anonymous on page 87, it says that we, as we go forward, we're going to be able to connect with God. As we go through the day, we pause. And it's been my experience that mindfulness is the pause, but it's the practice of mindfulness that's the calm. So after a time of speaking, I'll be quiet. And I ask that you continue to sit quietly and to be open and aware of your breath and your body and your surroundings. And I ask that you continue to be in the sacred space within yourself. And near the end of that time together, a second chime will sound. And I ask that you not rush to open your eyes, but that you welcome your surroundings and the day as you get into greater focus with it. And lastly, as the time remains, if you'd like to share your experience with your practice or with this experience, today, I ask that you use the participants box to raise your hand and our host will unmute you. So if you're ready, I ask that you get into a comfortable position and that you gently close your eyes and let us begin. Good morning. As you settle in, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Breathe in and exhale slowly. Take a moment to bring your focus to your posture. Make any slight adjustments so that it reflects. How you wish to present yourself in this moment. Breathe in and exhale. Breathe in and exhale. Breathe out. And move your focus to your chair or the cushion Or the floor that it supporting you And as your breathing begins to slow feel how gravity is bringing you into greater contact without chair let there be space between you and your body. cushion feel how it rises up to support you breathe in and exhale slowly breathe in and exhale now bring your focus to your face relax your facial muscles and make them really powerful soften your eyelids notice the air as it enters your nostrils cool as you inhale Now bring your focus to your shoulders, release any tension that you feel there with each exhalation. Feel your shoulders soften while your posture remains dignified in this moment. Extend your focus down your arms. Feel your hands, the warmth in them, and your fingers, touching. Relax, inhale, exhale. Move your focus to your belly. Relax. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Notice how it moves in concert with your lungs, rising and falling with each breath. As you notice this, allow yourself to breathe. Hit your breath. Inhale. Go. Inhale. Exhale. Without effort, in and out, rising, falling, expanding. Settling down, and move your focus to your legs, down your calves, and now your feet, as they make connection. Settling down, and move your focus to your legs, down your calves, and now your feet, and now your feet, down your calves, and now your feet, with the ground. Supporting. Solve it. Secure. Breathe. In. Out. Out. In. As you sit, become aware of the sounds around you. As you do this, you may become aware of thought. Aware of sound. You may find yourself drifting towards either of them. Following. Do not be discouraged. Do not be distracted. This is normal. They too belong in this moment. Wanting to be heard. Observe them. Name them. Thinking. Sound. And gently. Bring yourself back to your breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Inhale. Exhale. I am here. I am present. I am here. I am present. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am here. I am aware, I am grateful for this moment, I am peaceful, I am beautiful. I am. I am beautiful. uh uh so uh so uh so uh uh uh uh uh one uh oh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And gently open your eyes and welcome this new day with gratitude and peace. Welcome to this new day. Thank you. Now at this time, if anyone would like to share on their practice or their experience, please use the participants box to raise your hand. Okay. Thank you. Go ahead. Hi, Cindy. I'm going to unmute you. Go ahead. Hi, everybody. I'm Cindy, and I'm an alcoholic. Hi, Cindy. Hi. i just want to say thank you to eduardo for leading that beautiful meditation um to be honest with you i've never meditated for that long in the morning but i started my meditation practice about six months ago and um it starts after my daily prayers and i go i actually have my own room um to do it and i created it just for that reason and oh so i go into that room and i sit with god and i usually do a guided meditation and truthfully in the beginning i thought i could never meditate ever ever i'm like i can't meditate my mind what i'm finding out is that if i just practice um then you know like they say when you practice things it gets better um so i just want to say thank you and you know if i didn't get into alcoholics and you know i'm just finding out that it gets me closer to to god and if i spend some time with him every morning at this point i'm doing guided meditation and that's why it was good to hear your voice eduardo and um it was it was good for me to start the day like this and and um just go slow and remember where i am and i just wanted to say thank you so i hope everybody has a great day thank you cindy thank you cindy does anyone else want to share at this time okay i don't see any hands eduardo thank you so much that was amazing um the committee we we all knew you were like the right person to start a project so i just want to say thank you to eduardo you launched We all knew you were the right man for the job. So we thank you.