Let's start by just becoming aware that we are here,
We're sitting and have transitioned from wherever we were before and haven't transitioned to where we will be after.
Keeping our back straight and our eyes closed,
We'll take three conscious breaths,
Being fully aware of breathing in all the way,
Breathing out.
To begin with we're going to focus our awareness and attention on our thoughts.
That is,
Our mind is the most active part of our body.
It's noticing any thoughts that are coming in this moment,
Any judgments or plans.
Notice how these thoughts come into our awareness and then they fade back from wherever they came from.
Notice any qualities by yourself of who you think you are,
Any identities of being son or father or brother or sister,
Employee,
A boss,
Or any other different roles that we take on.
Those are contingent upon different relationships and the relationships tend to change and so do our thoughts,
They come and they go.
Notice any feelings of any doubt that you may have,
Or frustration,
Or any other emotion,
Or lack thereof,
Seeing the different layers,
The different ways our mind is projecting itself onto us.
Now having noticed different thoughts,
Coming to the realization that these thoughts,
They come and they go away.
Because they're subject to change,
That's not who I am.
Now we'll shift our awareness to different sensations in our body.
Starting with the soles of our foot,
So bring your attention to that.
And moving upwards to our calves and shins,
Relaxing as we move our awareness to our knees,
Thighs,
Pelvis.
This is the root of our body,
The source of a lot of our energy.
And then moving upwards to the lower part of our back.
Upper back,
Belly.
Notice the rising and falling of our belly as we breathe in and out.
Move your awareness to your chest,
The palm of our hands,
Forearms,
Elbows,
Upper arm,
And shoulders,
The back of our neck,
And the front of our neck.
Relax the whole of your body.
And notice any internal sensations as well,
Maybe in your stomach,
Or the beating of your heart,
Or any other pain in your body.
Notice if you have tensed any part of your body,
Or it has become tensed throughout this process.
And go back to that and just relax.
Move the awareness to your face,
Your jaw,
And your cheeks.
Noticing different sensations in our body,
Coming and going,
Realizing that all these sensations that are subject to change,
That's not who I am.
Now move your awareness to the inside of your mouth.
Notice your teeth,
And your tongue,
Gently resting.
Notice any reminiscent taste that you feel in your tongue,
Or an absence of any taste in your tongue.
Realizing that the different tastes that we experience through our tongue are also changing.
Not only the different flavors,
But absence of any sensation or feeling as well.
And because they are subject to change,
That's not who I am.
Now we'll move our awareness to our nose.
Notice any sensations on the nose,
And then notice the breath,
In and going out naturally.
At any given time,
It's only one of our nostrils that's actively breathing in,
See if you can notice which one that is for you in this moment.
See if you notice any odor present around you,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Or an absence of any smells.
Realizing what we smell also changes,
And if it changes,
It is not constant.
And if it is not constant,
That's not who I am.
Move your awareness to your eyes.
If your eyes are closed,
Notice the absence of any visual objects present,
That are usually present in front of our eyes.
Notice the absence of light.
Notice this vast blank space behind our eyes.
At any time during the practice,
Your mind wanders,
Just gently bring it back to our object of awareness.
In this moment,
Coming back to the eyes,
Noticing the absence of any visual objects present.
Realizing all the things we see and not see are also always changing.
Either they're present or absent.
And because of their nature that is such,
That's not who I am.
Move your awareness in between your eyebrows,
On the forehead,
Temple,
Side of our head,
And the back of our head.
Move your awareness to the top and the crown of your head.
Bring your awareness to your ears.
Notice if you feel any heat or cold,
Tingling or itching,
Or any sensation in your ears.
And start to notice any sounds.
Letting sound come to you from the near distance,
From the far distance.
Notice the coming and going of different sounds.
If you can,
Try to notice the ringing in your ear,
The sound of silence,
Also called tinnitus.
This sound is generated by our own brain and is always present.
Notice your awareness shifting to different sounds.
They're arising and passing.
Because the different sounds that we hear are also always changing,
That is not who I am.
And finally,
We'll turn this awareness that has revolved through different sensations,
Thoughts,
Tastes,
Smell,
Sound,
Sight,
We'll turn it back to itself and notice everything that arises in this awareness that we notice and then fades away.
Having this open awareness to witness everything.
If your mind wanders,
Just gently bring it back to this open awareness and notice that your mind has wandered.
That too is present in your witness.
This awareness that is present behind every other experience.
This awareness is synonymous with our higher self or God.
And it isn't separate from everything else in the world.
In fact,
If you were truly witnessing this awareness and if I was truly witnessing this awareness,
It would be only one of us in unity and in love.
And that is who I really am.
As we end this practice,
Open our eyes.
Just remember to always go back to this awareness and notice the world rushing in the different sense objects.
As we finish the meditation and go out about our daily lives.
Always notice and remember this stillness within us and to live from our deepest nature.
