Hi there.
I'm Darlene Wierski-DeVeaux and I'm so grateful that you're here.
I thank you for choosing this moment to pause with me,
To slow down,
To reconnect to yourself,
With yourself.
And in this short practice we're going to be exploring mindfulness not as something to achieve but as something to be felt,
Something to come home to.
We'll begin with a few reflections and then move into a guided meditation focusing on the breath and the body and the steady grounding of the presence of presence.
Mindfulness really at its heart is paying attention with care.
It's being with what's here.
So your thoughts,
Your breath,
Your body and without judgment,
Without rushing to fix anything or change anything.
And throughout the practice you might notice the weight of your body supported beneath you or the rise and fall of your breath or the quiet sounds around you.
And all of your five senses can gently guide you back to the moment,
This moment right here,
Right now.
And when your mind wanders,
Which it will,
That's what our mind does,
There's no need to worry.
It's not a mistake.
Again there's no judgment.
It's just simply part of being human.
And each time your mind begins to wander you can simply begin again,
Returning to the sensation of the breath here and now.
And as we tune into things we might notice that we're labeling things such as good or that's bad.
And mindfulness invites us to really soften those edges,
To simply notice is this pleasant or unpleasant or perhaps neutral with no judgment,
Simply awareness.
And instead of pushing things away or grasping for that ease,
Can we let things be and practice that acceptance and that beginner's mind,
Imagining experiencing it for the first time with a felt sense of curiosity and gratitude for what comes forward and what it's like to be with this breath,
This feeling,
Just as it is.
And when we're in that space I believe that something beautiful happens.
We begin to stop reacting and we create a pause,
A breath between a response,
Between sorry the feeling and the response.
So as we move through this meditation there's nothing you need to do but to arrive,
To breathe,
To be with yourself gently and fully.
And I invite you to be here one breath at a time.
These are all the attitudinal foundations of mindfulness,
The beginner mind,
The acceptance,
The non-judging,
The non-striving,
The patience,
The letting go and letting be,
The trusting and the gratitude for this experience.
And again I thank you for sharing this space with me.
So if there are any questions before we get started let's begin.
And settling in to a comfortable position either sitting or lying down and remembering that we are aware.
The intention here is not to fall asleep.
You might get sleepy for sure but not to fall asleep.
It is to be aware and awake and present with what's coming forward.
So as you sit and find that comfortable position,
Taking a breath and if it feels right allowing your eyes to close or simply soften your gaze if closing your eyes doesn't feel right.
Just soften your gaze within the room.
You have arrived.
Let's bring your attention to the places where your body touches the ground or the chair.
Feeling the earth supporting you.
Settling in.
There's nothing you need to do.
Nowhere you need to go.
This is simply your time to be here now.
And begin by noticing the gentle rhythm of your breath just as it is.
No need to shift it or change it.
Just gently moving with the rhythm.
Maybe taking a bit of a deeper inhale through the nose and a softer exhale through the mouth.
Letting the breath return to its gentle rhythm,
Its natural rhythm.
And here right now letting the body be held.
Knowing that you are supported.
Knowing that this is time for you.
Taking one or two fuller breaths in if it feels right,
If it feels comfortable.
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
And gently bringing your attention if you can to your senses.
Perhaps noticing the sounds in your room or the temperature of the air on your skin.
Exploring with a felt sense of curiosity.
If your eyes are closed,
What does the light look like behind your closed eyelids?
Can you feel where your body meets the floor or the chair?
Breathing in that gentle natural rhythm of breath.
Here we'll begin to scan through the body starting from the crown of the head down to the shoulders.
I'm just feeling any sensations that lie here.
Serving them,
Being with them.
Moving from your shoulders to your hands and your heart,
Legs and your feet.
Noticing what is here.
What sensations are felt?
Again,
Not with judgment,
But with gentle interest.
Incorporating the body as a whole,
What sensations are arising?
And can you let them be just as they are?
Now bringing your attention to your breath.
You might perhaps notice the gentle fluid rise and fall of your belly.
And perhaps your breath moving in and out of your nostrils.
Let's see if we can follow a full inhale of the breath.
One breath at a time.
Gently inhaling and exhaling.
And if it helps,
You can silently perhaps say to yourself,
Either inhaling or exhaling or here and now.
And if your mind has perhaps wandered,
Which it will,
That's okay.
Let's simply notice where it went.
And with that breath,
Gently guide it back.
No need to judge or analyze.
As each return is really a moment of awareness,
A moment of practice.
We're practicing coming back to self.
Let's rest here.
With that breath,
Full breath for a few moments.
Now can we gently widen our awareness to include whatever else may be present here.
Perhaps you might notice your thoughts.
There might be emotions coming through or any body sensations that arise.
I'm not trying to change any of them.
Can you simply observe them?
Perhaps notice them as pleasant or unpleasant or neutral.
There's a felt sensation even in the neutralness,
The neutrality.
And remember,
This isn't about fixing or simply allowing.
And again,
Coming back to the breath,
Seeing if you can follow the inhale and the next full exhale.
One breath at a time in the presence of here and now.
If it helps,
Again,
Silently saying to yourself,
Inhale and exhaling or here.
And have you noticed your mind wandering?
Which again,
It will.
That's okay.
That's what our minds do.
Share some simple compassion,
Noticing where it went.
And can we gently guide it back to that breath,
Anchoring into that breath?
No need to judge or analyze.
Remembering that each moment back is a moment of awareness,
A moment of practice.
That's what this is.
It is a practice.
And letting yourself rest here with the breath for the next minute,
Seeing what you can observe within the breath.
And gently noticing in the body whatever else is present.
You might feel tension.
You might feel heat.
You might perhaps even feel resistance.
And any body sensations that are arising,
Again,
We notice them without the intention of changing them,
Just of observation.
And can we be in this present sensation?
Allowing,
Being.
Being.
And if there's tension,
Perhaps breathing with it.
And if there's calm that resides here,
Resting in it.
And if the mind is busy,
You can observe that busy mind and those thoughts like either passing clouds in the sky,
Gentle breeze,
To push them forward.
Or as balloons floating up into the sky.
And like the clouds,
Drifting off.
Anchoring into that breath,
Seeing if you can bring care and curiosity to your experience.
You might gently whisper to yourself,
If it feels aligned,
This belongs.
Or I can meet this moment with kindness.
And resting here,
Breathing with it all,
Fully.
If that feels right,
Inhale and exhale.
And this breath.
And another.
Now bringing your attention back into your body.
Feeling your feet.
Your hands.
Perhaps the top of your head.
Still with your eyes closed.
Still with the natural cadence of your breath,
The natural rhythm.
But coming back into the room gently as we start to shift out of this practice.
Feeling the space around you.
Taking a few deeper breaths in.
Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And if it feels right,
You might feel like placing a hand over your heart in gratitude.
If it feels nourishing.
A moment of self-compassion for the time that you have spent here in the present moment awareness.
Guided and anchored into your breath.
The breath that is there for you always.
Another breath in.
Feeling your breath completely and fully as it enters into your body and out through the exhale.
With a gentle whisper as we start to come out from this practice.
A gentle whisper of gratitude for our bodies and for this practice.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Never so gently releasing the hands and starting to gently open the eyes.
Coming back into the room.
And taking a moment to be as you gently reintegrate into your space.
Feeling your feet on the floor.
Your back or body lying or sitting on your chair or lying on the ground and coming back.
I share so much compassion for you as you have entered into this practice with me and so grateful to share space with you.
Knowing that this practice of embodying the breath and the presence and awareness and all that is around us as we get curious within our practice.
It's such a pleasure to explore with you and to come back home to ourselves.
And I appreciate you so very much.
And with kindness,
Light and love.
May you be well.
May you be happy.
May you be safe.
Until we meet again.
Thank you.
