In this practice,
We will be sitting for 15 minutes,
Finding a time and a place where you won't be disturbed,
And sitting on a chair or a stool or a cushion on the floor,
And taking a moment or two now to settle into your position.
If you're sitting on a chair,
Coming away as best you can from the back of the chair,
So that the spine can be self-supporting,
The head and neck balanced on the shoulders,
The shoulders can be dropped and relaxed,
Put the back upright,
With the crown of the head pointing towards the ceiling and the sky.
Come into a position which embodies a sense of stability and awakeness,
A sense of dignity,
And of being present to each moment as it unfolds.
Come into this period of sitting meditation with an intention of gentle wakefulness to experience.
This meditation will focus attention on the breath as an anchor for the practice.
You may wish to choose an alternative anchor for this practice,
Such as the sounds or the soles of your feet or other body sensations.
Choose what seems right for you to return to this anchor as a home base during the practice.
Here,
We will use breath.
Focusing on the feeling of the breath where you find it most vivid.
You may be aware of breathing moving in and out of the body at the nostrils,
The sensations of the breath in and out at the tip of the nose,
Or you may be aware of the passing of the breath at the back of the throat or in the chest,
Perhaps following the breath all the way down into the abdomen and the belly.
Being aware of the particular sensations of the breath moving in the body,
The in-breath moving into the body,
Turning around and becoming the out-breath,
Or a slight pause before the next in-breath arrives.
The sensations that accompany the breath may be quite subtle,
May be difficult to detect sometimes.
And if this is the case for you,
Seeing if it's possible to chew in into whatever is here,
And perhaps just registering a blank for now and remaining aware.
Tending to the breath all the way in,
Pause and the breath all the way out.
Pause and all the way in,
Pause and all the way out.
Not thinking about the breath or trying to control it in any way,
Allowing the breath to breathe itself.
Sensations of the breath breathing in,
And the sensations of the breath breathing out.
Simply tuning in as carefully as you can to the sensations of the breath following one upon the other.
At times you will notice your mind has wandered,
And perhaps gotten involved with thoughts or plans,
Daydreams or whatever.
Just gently noticing that and bringing the attention back to the anchor or the breath.
It is in the nature of minds to wander,
That's what they do.
It's not thinking about this as a mistake or a fault or any kind of problem,
Just simply noticing that the mind has wandered and bringing the attention back to the breath.
The sensations of the breath breathing in and breathing out.
Returning the attention again and again to the feelings and sensations of the breath at the nose,
The throat,
The chest and the abdomen.
On the in-breath and on the out-breath.
Now attending to sounds.
Sounds from within your own body,
From the room or outside the room.
Sounds from in front,
From the sides,
From behind.
Not going out seeking for sounds but allowing them to come to the body,
To the ears.
Allowing them to be just as they are.
And notice the tendency to label sounds as they arise or to judge whether or not we like them.
Becoming aware of this and coming back to the sounds themselves.
Whatever pitch or loudness or rhythm they may have.
And now allowing the sounds to fade into the background and bringing the awareness to the whole body,
Back to the breath.
Opening out the attention to include the whole body as you lie here or sit here.
Feeling the breath in the whole body.
Complete and whole in this moment.
Letting go of any control of the breath.
Following the natural sightness of breath.
Resting in awareness of how things are in this moment.
Opening up to things just as they are.
This attitude itself is a healing expression of care for the self.
As we bring this practice to an end,
Taking care of yourself in the transition from this to your daily life.
Allowing the next moments to be infused with a sense of kindly attention and care of the self.
With the ring of the bell in a minute or so,
Begin to open the eyes and attend the room around you.
Slowly transition back into the daily life.
