The pause of coming to this present moment. Presence, mindfulness, here and now. Perhaps touching mindfulness of the body, of the breath, of the whole body in this moment, reminding us of presence and presence with another. Pausing in a moment of a relational encounter can bring us into presence, which is my sense of the quality of friendship.

The second guideline invites relaxation. What can be relaxed? As we pause and notice any tension, the invitation to relax. This is an incredibly beautiful offering to a friend. Your relaxation and your ability to, in that moment, to offer relaxation. Relax, pause, and relax. Receive. Pausing, relaxing, receiving the moment. Receiving the offerings of the moment deeply and releasing what's in the way.

Relax, receive, release.

And you feel that right here now.

The third guideline, open, expands the field of awareness in a very intentional way to the internal, to the external, and both together. Internal, external, and both internal and external. "Open" invites us into the mutuality of the human relational field so that we're offering and receiving in a feedback loop simultaneously and chronologically, both.

It attunes us to knowing: are we open? Are we contracted? Are we so open we're losing our internal experience?

Pause, relax, open.

The next guideline, attune to emergence, supports our attuning to the moment of what's arising and passing, this impermanence, this changing field, moment to moment.

Just allowing the present moment to become the refuge here and now. With another, you're both attuning. Supporting that practice with each other and also exploring the mutuality of the guideline, attuned to emergence, sharing this present moment together.

Listening deeply is a meditation practice we can take to our lives, as well as on the cushion, moment to moment, this whole embodied, whole attention, presence, receptivity, all senses engaged. This guideline is so crucial in all our relations as well as in our depths of meditation.

Speaking the truth, not abstractly, but in a present moment, real, authentic, living truth of dharma. It's not just about me, it's about wisdom and truth.