Sitting on the hilltop under the blue sky.

Sit reasonably upright.  Now think of yourselves as sitting on top of a hill, on a seat on top of a hill, with nothing round you, just under the blue sky and emptiness in front of you.  In your lap you have a cloth full of little pebbles.  Now you are sitting there.  And a thought will come up about a holiday or something like that.  I wonder if I will be able to get away this year.  Now throw that thought away, feel your hand is taking hold of a little pebble and throw the pebble and the thought away.  So it goes away down the hill.  Then another thought will come up about a row I had recently.  Oh I could have said this, now pick up the pebble mentally and throw it away.  Then another thought will come up.  I wonder if I could … Throw it away. Not wanted.  Another thought, throw the pebble away.  Not wanted.  Calmly sit on the hilltop and as the thoughts come up, throw them away with a pebble.  Now if you would just like to try I will just ring the bell. We can do it for about five minutes.

[Meditation followed.]

Now just for a minute, in the completion of this practice, no more thoughts.  Sitting on the hilltop under the blue sky.

OM