Begin by centering your attention in the present moment.
You can do this by simply focusing on the sensations of breathing.
Just allow the breath to rise and fall.
Just notice the sensations.
How does it feel to breathe?
You can't experience a future breath.
You can't experience a previous breath.
You can only experience the current breath.
So noticing the sensations of breathing is a powerful way to bring your attention into the present moment.
Go to the sensations in the body.
How does it feel to be a body?
What is the experience of physical sensation?
You just notice this.
No analysis,
No interpretation,
No mental image.
Just the experience itself.
The physical sensations in the body are also very immediate.
They are happening now.
See if the body is willing to relax.
Will the body release a little tension?
Maybe it will,
Maybe it won't.
There is no rush.
There is no hurry.
The body does not have a clock or a calendar.
It operates according to its own natural rhythm,
Its own natural law.
So just notice the sensations of the body and the sensations of breathing.
And if the body is willing to relax and release tension,
Then just let it do so.
Now visualize you are holding on to a helium balloon.
And this helium balloon has a very strong upwards pull.
It's trying to escape your grasp.
So it does take some effort to really hold on to this balloon.
And really visualize this.
Have a strong,
Vivid,
Mental image of the balloon.
What does it look like?
And in your experienced imagination,
You can feel this balloon trying to pull itself out of your hand.
But you are holding on.
Keep a firm,
Steady,
Tight grip.
We're going to attach some things to this balloon.
First,
Attach your name.
Your first name,
Last name,
Any titles you have,
Any nicknames.
Just securely attach these to the balloon.
Next,
Any numbers that you feel represent you in some way.
Your phone number,
Your height,
Your weight,
Your age,
Your salary,
Your savings.
These are all just numbers.
They are symbols.
They represent something,
But they are not reality.
So we are going to attach these to this balloon.
And the balloon is still pulling tightly,
Trying to escape your grasp.
Next,
Attaching any thoughts about the past,
Any memories,
Any history.
Just attach to the balloon.
And along with those memories,
All imagination regarding the future,
All predictions,
All apprehensions,
Any ideas about where the story is going to go.
Just attach to the balloon.
Also attaching the entire narrative that you have about yourself.
The story so far.
The predicted outcome of the story.
Ideas that you have about your personality or what sort of person you are.
Whether you're doing things right or wrong.
Whether you are a good person or a bad person.
Just attach this entire story to the balloon.
And lastly,
The mental image that you have in your mind about your physical body.
What the physical body looks like,
Its colour,
Its shape,
The clothes that it wears,
How it appears.
Be as though you're just taking an imagined Polaroid picture of this visual mental image that you have of the body.
And just pull that off of the body and attach to the balloon.
And it's as though the pull of the balloon to escape your grasp is increasing.
It is getting stronger.
So that it's quite an effort to hold on,
To grasp tightly to the balloon.
But keep holding on.
So just running through the checklist again to make sure we have attached everything to this balloon.
Your name.
Any numbers that you feel represent you.
The entire past,
All of history.
And the entire imagined future.
The story of you.
And the visual image that you have about yourself.
What your body looks like,
How it appears.
All of these things now securely fastened to the balloon with its strong upwards pull.
Now,
Let go.
In a moment we will be leaving the formal aspect of this meditation.
Although you may wish to sit a while longer in this silence.
Either way,
Thank you for meditating with me today.
Take care,
Be well,
And stay present.
