I'd like to guide you now in a focused attention meditation,
Inviting you to begin by bringing your attention to your body,
To your posture in this moment.
Sitting upright in a relaxed,
Easeful way,
Not holding the body in any particular way,
Just allowing.
Noticing the different ways of being right here,
Right now.
Perhaps you sense ease and groundedness while also bringing in a sense of wakefulness and openness,
Inviting you to bring your full attention right into what it feels like right now in your body,
Specifically where your seat meets your chair or whatever it is underneath you,
Bringing an interest and curiosity to all the many sensations.
Perhaps you feel a sense of pressure.
Is it evenly spread or do you feel it more strongly in some places than in others?
Bringing the fullness of yourself to these sensations and recognizing that sometimes the mind wanders away,
Maybe frequently.
This isn't a problem.
This is what minds do.
When you notice it happening,
You can make a note of where the attention has gone and then very kindly and very gently bring it back to where we are.
In this case,
To the sensations of the area of the body making contact with what's below you.
Now inviting you to bring your attention to your hands.
These hands that provide so much for us,
Bringing a curiosity to what it feels like right now in your hands.
Pulsing,
Tingling,
Pressure,
Maybe pleasant or unpleasant or neutral sensations.
Feeling into the air around your hands.
Warmth,
Coolness,
Feeling inside your hands,
Noticing sensations in each and every finger.
Bringing an awareness to whatever can be felt in this moment.
Coming back here again and again and again.
Now allowing these sensations to fade into the background and slowly bringing your attention to breathing happening in your body.
Changing your focus,
Attention now.
How does it feel to breathe in this moment?
Maybe you notice breathing within the whole body or perhaps breathing happening in the chest or the stomach or the nose.
Noticing where you feel you're breathing most strongly.
Noticing each breath.
Investigating what is required to breathe.
What is my body doing in this moment in order for me to breathe?
If you notice your mind is wandering away gently,
Kindly,
Lovingly bringing it back to the breath without judgment.
And then inviting you to allow the awareness of these sensations to fade into the background and focus your attention now gently on sound.
This is a very receptive way of listening.
Noticing what sounds are arising in your environment but not actively going out looking for them.
Really noticing what's here.
Noticing what the mind might want to label or name as a sound you are hearing.
Noticing this tendency and seeing instead if you can simply notice sound for the sake of sound.
Noticing the space between sounds.
What is there to see,
To hear right now?
Moving now to inviting you to consider all of these different focused attention areas.
Sensations in the body,
In the hands,
Breathing or sound.
Inviting you to choose one of these areas that seems to be the most available to you in this moment.
If you're uncertain,
If you're not sure which one is working best for you,
Picking one and committing to bringing attention to this one area for a few minutes.
It doesn't mean that you'll hold your attention there the whole time,
Simply that you'll rest gently and at some point when you notice that the mind has wandered,
Kindly bringing it back to this one place.
Doing this as many times as necessary.
As you focus the attention in this way,
Bringing a real curiosity and interest to what's happening in your experience in this moment,
Right now.
Feeling into the possibility of bringing the fullness of yourself,
The fullness of your attention to this very moment and to know it fully.
Coming back here again and again,
Without judgment.
In a moment you'll hear the sound of a bell ringing,
Signaling the end of this meditation.
As you hear the sound bringing your attention fully,
As it rings three times,
Listening until you can't hear the sound any longer.
