Let's start by finding a comfortable seat.
Whether you're seated on a chair or on the floor,
Sit so your spine is upright,
Your sit bones grounding with your seat,
Your crown lifting towards the sky.
Allow your body to settle in and your mind to follow.
Now begin to notice some of the sounds around you.
You might label them or you might just listen.
Tune into what you hear.
Notice how some sounds are farther away,
Others are closer to you.
And observe this connection with your external environment through the sense of hearing.
And notice how the sounds perhaps resonate inside of you.
Begin to observe that connection between the outer and the inner.
You might bring your awareness now more into your breath and any sensations that you might experience inside of yourself.
Know whatever's there is allowed to be there.
Sit in the state of observing,
Of inquiry,
Curiosity.
And slowly turn your awareness away from the external sounds,
Like your awareness begins to expand through your whole inner body.
Here you feel your body expand a little bit as you inhale,
Soften and contracting as you exhale and observing those subtle sensations of your body.
It might just be the sensation of the fingers and the hands or the arms.
You might notice your heart beating or perhaps sensations in your abdomen if you've eaten recently.
As you tune into yourself in this way,
Connecting your awareness to your body,
Your breath,
Your mind might anchor into that sensation or your mind might still be busy with other thoughts.
Acknowledge what's present,
Trust what is and see if you can begin to redirect your mind away from thoughts that pull you from this moment and into simple awareness,
Observation,
Presence.
Watch the rise and fall of your breath,
Observe the sensation of the cool air flowing in your nose,
Transitioning to warm air flowing back out,
Observing your inner state,
Your physical body,
Sensations of your energetic body,
The awareness of your mind.
Now,
If this is easy,
You might just notice your breath deepening slowly as everything slows down.
If your mind is quite active,
Thoughts penetrating,
Moving through you frequently,
Try taking a few deep inhales and long sighs out as you exhale,
Allowing your body to relax and to subtly ease the movement of the mind.
And it's okay that the mind is thinking.
We simply want to practice observing thoughts,
Not attaching to the thought waves and the emotions that they bring,
But to become aware of our patterns of thinking,
Of the movement and energy in our bodies,
The connection between the two,
And how observing and not being in it can help to shift you out of reaction.
So just as we began the practice with listening to the external,
Noticing the sensations in our body from the external sound,
Now is your opportunity to observe and listen to thought,
To notice movement in the mind without labeling,
Judging,
Criticizing,
Or attaching to those thoughts,
But being a state of openness,
Acceptance,
And surrender as you let thoughts come and go.
So take a few moments now to sit with this awareness of observation,
Of acceptance.
And grounding in your breath as an anchor into the present moment,
Feeling the sensations in your body as we slowly release the thinking mind and all of its attachments.
Whenever you notice your mind drift with thought,
Simply reground,
Connect with your breath.
And if you need an additional support for your mind to anchor with your breath,
Use the mantra,
So Hum.
So following your inhales,
Hum following your exhales.
So.
Now release the mantra.
Tuning into the awareness of your body,
Your breath,
Acknowledging any movement in the mind,
Noticing the mind's tendencies of what it wants to focus on,
Where your attention goes.
Without judgment and with compassion,
It's okay.
It's simply a practice of presence,
Of focus,
Mindfulness.
And observe now any sensations in your body.
Observe the flow of your breath.
Perhaps the rhythm of the breath has shifted slightly,
Expanded,
Lengthened.
As you've created space for yourself,
You've created space for your breath,
Your heartbeat,
Any other sensations in your body.
You might also notice if your posture has shifted slightly.
That's okay.
Just notice.
And while you have this attention of yourself,
Notice what you need here and now.
Notice what your heart is saying.
Listen.
And bring your hands into your heart,
Over your heart or into a prayer posture.
Take a moment of gratitude for yourself for taking this moment of presence,
Of inner focus,
Connection.
And whatever else you might be experiencing right now from this meditation,
Hold a space of gratitude for that.
Then keeping your eyes closed,
Rub your palms together.
Feel some warmth in your palms.
And then replace your palms over top of your eyes.
And take a moment to feel that warmth against your eyes,
The darkness,
The awareness of your inner world.
And then when you're ready,
Slowly wash your face with your hands,
Either in front of your face or along your skin.
Just have a sense of awakening,
Of renewal,
Refreshed and ready for the rest of your day.
Thank you for sharing this time with me today.
Namaste.
