Welcome to your practice of mindfulness of thoughts.
Let's find a posture that helps us to be still,
Relaxed,
And awake.
So,
You might lie down,
You might stand,
You might sit,
Whatever fits,
Whatever makes sense for you.
You might get any wiggles out that you have.
Maybe roll your shoulders or your neck.
Do whatever you need to do to get your body settled.
Take a few moments to do that.
Find some length in your spine and soften into what's supporting you.
As you get settled,
This practice will be 15 minutes,
And as we practice today,
Know that you can have your eyes open or closed,
And you can adjust your posture anytime you need to.
Let's start by taking three deep breaths to signal to our body and our mind the start of a practice.
So,
When you're ready,
Take a deep breath in,
Fill your belly,
Fill your chest,
And a big exhale to let it go.
Take two more breaths on your own,
At your own pace,
As deep or as slow as you would like them to be.
Breathe in a way that draws you in.
Now allow your breath to become natural,
Without changing it or forcing it.
Let your breath be just the way it is.
Bring your attention to that breath.
Notice where it is in your body.
Where do you feel your breath the most?
You might notice your belly moving.
See if you can soften your belly a little bit more.
You might notice your breath moving through your back body.
You might notice your side body moving with your breath.
As you move your awareness through the sensation of breathing,
Can you soften the parts of your body that your breath touches?
Let your elbows get heavy and your shoulders to fall away from your ears.
Notice where your hands are resting and where your body is resting.
Are there any sensations in your hands or in your feet that you can notice?
Soften the muscles of your face.
Soften your jaw.
And with this next breath,
Can you soften your entire body into where it's being supported?
And then again.
Now start to listen for sounds.
Tune into the sounds of the moment.
The sounds that are in your space.
What can you hear?
You might notice your mind labeling the sounds.
See if you can lean towards the direct experience of listening rather than the thought or conception of what you're hearing.
Listen closer for sounds that are far away.
What's the most distant sound that you can hear?
Listen for it.
Bring your attention back to your breath now and see what you notice through the lens of experience rather than thoughts of description.
When we pay attention to our breath,
Our body,
And sound,
We anchor into the present moment.
These are ways that we can redirect our attention when we find our attention is lost in the thought,
The past,
Or the future.
And you might have already experienced your mind wandering somewhere.
So remember that it's natural.
When we notice our mind wander,
Or this inner narrative describing our experience,
Bring your attention back to one of these anchors.
What it's like to feel,
What it's like to breathe,
And what it's like to listen.
When we notice our self-thinking,
You can acknowledge that it's happening.
That's the reality.
Thoughts happen.
Try not to get caught up in the thought,
Because it might happen many times,
Again and again.
All we can do is redirect our attention back to an anchor,
Back to the direct experience of being present.
When we practice mindfulness of thoughts,
We practice this redirecting back into being,
Rather than conceptualizing the being.
And one of the most important parts of this process is how we relate to our thoughts as they come up.
So when you notice your self-thinking,
How might you regard them in a kind and curious way?
A way that allows your heart to stay open and accepting.
There might be a word that you respond to yourself with that transitions you from the thinking mind into the being experience,
Such as,
Oh,
Thinking.
You might mentally say thank you,
And then transition back to being.
With this process,
We're resting back into awareness again and again and again,
By anchoring into our breath the sensations in our body and the sounds that are around.
Sometimes our thoughts bring about a feeling or a strong sensation in our body.
This is also natural.
Every time you identify thoughts happening,
You come back into the moment.
So check in again.
Where in your body can you soften again?
Sometimes it makes sense to linger on a thought or a feeling if it's meaningful to you in this moment.
So use your own wise mind to make that decision now.
Knowing that you have your anchor to return to that lives in this present moment.
What it's like to experience our breath,
Our body,
And sound.
With this next breath,
Can you think what's showing up?
Whatever thoughts have come in and relax your body again.
Can you mentally say thank you?
Notice in your body how that gesture of gratitude feels as you stay connected to this present moment.
Use your breath to exhale the sensations that arise with your thoughts.
Allow them to flow in,
Accept them,
And then let them go.
Not resisting,
But also not grasping.
Relax your body again.
For the next minute,
There will be silence,
And I'll let you know when that time is up.
Take a deep breath in,
Fill your belly,
Fill your chest,
Take a pause at the top.
And as you exhale,
Relax something in your body.
Take another deep breath,
Awaken your body,
Inhale,
And then a big exhale again to let something go.
You might stay in your stillness in your practice,
Or you might be ready to move forward with the rest of your day or your evening.
I want to thank you for showing up for yourself,
And remember to keep returning back to your breath and to your body and the life that's around you.
Thank you.
