Welcome to this 15-minute sitting practice.
You're invited in this practice to pay attention to your experience as much as is comfortable for you with curiosity and non-judgmental awareness,
Observing the changes in your experience over time as you sit here in God's presence,
Open to whatever is present for you.
If you find that this is difficult at any point,
Feel free to move your attention to wherever you would like it to rest,
Giving yourself options as needed,
As best you can knowing what you are doing with your mind while you are doing it.
So finding a seated position in a chair or on a cushion,
Placing your hands on your thighs or in your lap if you choose,
And straightening your spine a bit without overarching,
The top of your head reaching up to meet the sky,
Holding your body here with dignity and quiet energy.
Closing your eyes if you choose,
Or you can close your eyelids halfway and allow your gaze to become soft,
Noticing where your body meets the surfaces where you are sitting and allowing yourself to become stable and grounded in whatever position you have chosen,
Inviting a sense of presence in your body as you come home to yourself in this moment.
You might take a couple of deep breaths here,
Focusing on the air entering and leaving the lungs and then allowing your breath to return to its normal rhythm.
No need to control or figure out the breath,
Just allowing yourself to settle into this moment as your body breathes itself,
Receiving the breath open to life in this moment just as it is.
And as you settle,
Receiving these words from Isaiah 30,
In returning and rest,
You shall be saved.
In quietness and trust shall be your strength.
And so resting here in this moment of quiet,
Here in God's presence,
Aware now of the sensations of the breath coming in and out of the body.
Noticing where you feel the breath most easily,
Most vividly.
This might be right beneath the nose,
The air cool coming in and warm,
Leaving the lungs.
It might be the chest or the shoulders rising and falling with the breath.
It might be the abdomen,
The movement of the diaphragm up and down.
Whatever is most accessible for you,
Allowing your attention to rest there as you tune into the physical sensations of breathing.
Seeing if it's possible to experience the breath directly without analyzing or controlling it,
Simply observing and receiving the sensations of breath with curiosity and openness.
Getting into this rhythm of the breath,
Moving through the body.
And as much as is possible for you,
Being present for the full cycle of breath.
Noticing this practice one inhalation and one exhalation at a time.
Noticing where the attention is now.
Perhaps it's moved away from this focus on the breath.
If so,
It's not a problem.
Nothing's lost.
You're not a failure.
Simply begin again with this breath.
Noticing if it's an in breath or an out breath.
Moving up close with the physical sensations of breathing.
Just being in the here and now as you breathe.
There's no place to go.
Nothing else to do except to be here now.
Allowing the breath to anchor you here in the present moment as it ebbs and flows,
Moving like waves of the sea.
There's no hurry.
Doing your best to allow your experience to be your experience,
Whether pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral,
Without needing it to be any other way than it is right now.
Aware of the breath and then if you choose,
Expanding your awareness now to include the whole body,
The whole body sitting here.
Paying attention to all bodily sensations,
Points of pressure or contact,
Temperature,
The touch of clothing on the skin.
Gently opening if you choose to all sensations in this moment.
Perhaps noticing where your body is making contact with surfaces that are holding you up,
Such as the floor or chair or cushion.
Aware of the weight of your body and the solidness of the support,
The earth beneath you.
Receiving,
Perhaps acknowledging this support and tuning into the physical sensations of contact wherever they may be found.
Aware perhaps of the touch of air on the skin,
The face,
The hands,
The top of the scalp if that's available to you.
Get aware also of sensations inside of the body,
Tingling,
Blood flow,
Points of tension or relaxation,
Whatever is here to be felt,
Just noticing.
No need to label or judge or do anything with these sensations.
Just becoming aware of what is present in this moment,
In this experience of the body right now.
Always moving throughout the body,
Coming and going,
Shifting and changing from moment to moment.
It's likely that your mind will wander during this practice,
Shifting away from the breath and body.
Thoughts are not a problem.
The brain generates an endless stream of thoughts in the same way that the heart pumps blood and the lungs breathe air.
As long as you are alive,
You will be thinking.
So we do not need to stop thinking.
Instead,
We practice noticing our thoughts,
Observing them with an attitude of curiosity and kindness,
And then gently bringing our attention back to wherever we intended to focus in the practice.
This act of bringing our minds back over and over is not a distraction from the practice.
It is the practice.
Over and over,
We bring our attention back to the present moment.
And so aware of the body and noticing any areas of discomfort that may arise as the body settles into the sitting posture,
Working with these sensations mindfully as a part of the practice.
If a part of the body becomes particularly uncomfortable,
You might see if it's possible to bring gentle attention to the sensation directly.
Noticing the shape,
The size,
If there is tingling,
Aching,
Or tightness.
Whatever it is,
Doing your best to allow it to be exactly as it is in this moment.
Or if you decide you need to move the body in order to release the tension,
Doing that with intentionality,
Moving carefully,
And following the movement with awareness.
In this way,
We are working with our limits with care and compassion,
Remembering that we have options when encountering challenging sensations in the body.
So continuing to practice in this way,
Bringing awareness to the whole body,
Following sensations,
And working with them mindfully,
Moment to moment.
And now releasing attention from the body as a whole and becoming aware of sounds,
Not searching for sounds,
But receiving them as they come and go moment to moment.
Seeing if you can hear them directly apart from labels or judgments.
Perhaps noticing this experience as hearing,
Hearing.
Moving your awareness now to thoughts passing through the mind,
Along with any feelings that might accompany those thoughts.
You may notice thoughts about the past or the future,
Perhaps judgments,
Opinions,
Daydreams,
Or planning.
Maybe there are thoughts related to this practice right now about whether you like it or not.
Whatever the thoughts are without judgment,
Seeing if it's possible to observe them with a light and open quality of attention,
Watching them pass by like leaves on a stream.
Perhaps noticing this experience as thinking,
Thinking.
Noticing where the attention is now.
Noticing where the mind is most drawn to.
As best you can,
Bringing a quality of kindness to the awareness as you observe these thoughts passing through the mind.
Experimenting here with a playful noticing,
A gentle observation.
Releasing any harsh,
Negative tone to your noticing as you simply observe thoughts and feelings arising and passing in each moment.
Releasing now this awareness of thoughts and feelings and gently bringing the attention back now to breathing,
If you choose.
Back to the physical sensations of the breath moving in and out of the body,
Watching the body breathe all on its own as you receive each breath from God.
Doing your best to cultivate an attitude of openness,
Acceptance,
And curiosity as the breath ebbs and flows in and out like waves of the sea.
As we prepare to close this practice,
Expanding the attention now to include the whole body once again.
The whole body sitting here,
All of who you are here in God's presence.
Noticing thoughts,
Feelings,
Physical sensation,
Noticing God's care for you.
Breathing here in the stillness that you've cultivated.
Seeing if it's possible to bring this attitude of openness and acceptance with you into the rest of your day.
As you're ready,
Slowly opening your eyes if they're closed,
Taking in colors and shapes around you,
If that's available to you.
Bringing some gentle movement into the body,
Perhaps taking a couple of deep breaths,
Stretching,
Moving around a bit.
Taking your time here as you broaden your attention to the space around you and gently move on to your next activity.
Go in peace.
