Having Feet
by Joseph Naft
Our body is our primary connection to the present moment. Through staying in contact with our body, we stay in contact with the present. Though we aim toward contact with our entire body, it is easier to begin with a part. And because we can bring more intense awareness to a part than when we spread our awareness throughout our whole body, we often return to focusing on a part, even after long experience with this type of inner work.
Our feet offer a useful target for awareness. They have many nerve endings and are thus quite sensitive and a ready source of sensory feedback. We begin by simply putting our attention in both of our feet and holding it there. We might practice this for some minutes during a sitting meditation at the beginning of each day, just to get the feel of sensing our feet, and to prepare a foundation for practicing awareness of our feet during the day.
Holding our attention in our feet awakens and draws the sensitive energy into them. This energy makes our feet vivid and alive, almost as if we had an inner foot in addition to our physical foot. When we walk on feet full of sensation, we walk on a fire that lights, vibrates, and warms without burning. When we walk on feet full of sensation, we actually have feet.
We can practice having feet at any time, sitting, standing, or walking. When we remember to do this, we just immediately bring attention to our feet, or expand our attention to include our feet. And we try to sustain that.
Web Source: www.innerfrontier.org/InnerWork/Archive/2015/20150706_Having_Feet.htm
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