Welcome,
I'm Amy and this is a mindful exploration of the senses.
We'll start by settling into a comfortable position.
Maybe sitting with your spine long and shoulders soft or maybe lying down.
Keeping eyes open to begin with.
Allow the body to soften and lengthen,
Sensing where you make contact with the chair or floor.
Becoming aware of the natural flow of your breath.
Allowing it to guide you back home to your body and to anchor you here in this present moment.
Now allow your gaze to soften and widen.
Aware of what's in front of you.
What's around you.
Without turning your head,
Sensing what's behind you.
Sensing the ground beneath you.
Spending some time fully here and aware of the space you inhabit.
Now gently closing your eyes and beginning to notice sounds.
No need to see them as distracting,
Simply make them part of the practice.
Let sounds become your anchor to the present moment.
Spending with sounds within your body,
They may be very subtle.
Expanding to sounds within the room.
Expanding to sounds outside.
Spending some time experiencing all sounds without judgement,
Attachment or avoidance.
Seeing that they are ever changing,
Rising and falling,
Appearing and disappearing.
Maybe you notice pauses between the sounds,
The unchanging silence and stillness beneath them.
Now becoming aware of any smells or scents.
These may be quite subtle.
Maybe they trigger memories.
Simply notice any reaction with kindness and without judgement,
Bringing your attention back to the scent.
If you can't sense any particular smell,
Maybe spending some time noticing the cool air coming in through the nose and the warmer air flowing out.
Now spending some time exploring taste.
Do you notice any particular taste in your mouth?
Any reaction to the taste?
Feel free to allow your tongue to explore your mouth and maybe moisten your lips.
Now coming back to your body.
Feeling where it touches the chair or floor.
Sensing its weight dropping down,
Grounded and stable.
Sense its length,
Light and spacious.
Sense the weight and temperature of your hands,
The contact they make with your lap or the floor beneath.
Sensing the weight of your feet and their contact with the floor.
The textures of your clothes or maybe your blanket.
So spending a few more moments here with these sensations as your anchor.
If your mind wanders gently and patiently bring it back to these sensations.
Now turning away from your sense perceptions,
Turning inward and beginning to observe your mind.
You may like to see yourself as a vast sky with your thoughts passing through like clouds.
You are bigger than your thoughts and sensations.
You are the infinite eternal sky of awareness.
So simply resting in this field of alive spaciousness.
Feeling the sensations that arise within you with kindness.
Prepare of the awareness as the background to your sense perceptions.
When the mind wanders,
Simply returning to this open spacious awareness.
You are the infinite eternal sky of awareness.
You are the infinite eternal sky of awareness.
And now returning to the body.
Wounded on the floor or chair.
Weight dropping down,
Spine rising up.
Whole body alive and awake.
So when you're ready,
Slowly opening your eyes and observing the space around you with a soft gaze.
You may like to spend a few more moments of stillness here before you move on with your day.
Thank you for taking the time to be here today.
