Hello,
I'm Dr.
Candice Kreesman and this guided meditation is on deepening complete awareness.
The energy of consciousness can take many forms in our everyday experience.
Some of that energy arises as thought,
Some arises as physical sensation,
And some as emotion.
When a form has particular relevance to our sense of self,
It's easy to get stuck on it.
So if I see myself as a planner,
Someone who plans,
I may find it difficult to unhook from thoughts,
Feelings,
And physical sensations that I associate with planning,
Even when there's no real need to plan in a given moment.
This meditation will help you to build awareness of all levels of consciousness,
Noticing the predominant sensations and forms that arise.
This act of noticing allows us to experience thought,
Emotion,
And sensory forms without getting wrapped up,
And also helps us connect more deeply with the underlying piece of the present moment.
We will begin and end with a bell.
Sit comfortably and alertly,
Closing your eyes if that's comfortable,
Or allowing your gaze to rest on the floor or wall in front of you.
Take two deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Allow these breaths to bring some warmth and energy to the body.
Allow your breath to flow in through the nose and out through the nose.
Let's start by bringing awareness to the body.
We can use words such as tight,
Open,
Warm,
Cold,
Aching,
Stabbing,
Heavy,
Or tingling to describe the sensations as they arise.
You can also label bare sensory experiences as hearing,
Touching,
Tasting,
Or smelling.
These labels acknowledge sensation without bringing intense judgment or aversion to the lived experience.
Let's scan the body for the next three minutes,
Starting at the top of the head and sweeping downward.
Notice the physical and sensory sensations that grab your attention.
Hold each sensation briefly in awareness and then move to the next.
You might also notice the feeling tone of a sensation,
Whether it is pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral.
Let's continue noticing in silence.
Come on end.
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Now,
Let's move our awareness to the thinking mind.
Here we will notice forms of thinking such as planning,
Remembering,
Rehearsing,
Or judging.
You can also label any thought that arises as thinking,
Regardless of the theme of its content.
Stay with your breath until a thought arises,
Notice it,
And then return to the breath.
If you find yourself caught up in a thought that's been going on for a while,
Whenever you notice yourself being swept away,
Just return to the breath.
You will stay with the thinking mind for the next three minutes.
Stay with the thinking mind for this one more minute.
Let's shift awareness to the heart layer by becoming aware of emotions.
Feelings such as sadness,
Excitement,
Joy,
Fear,
And anger can be experienced as a combination of thinking and physical sensation.
Rest your awareness in your middle so that you can experience your heart space and your belly.
As sensations arise here,
Notice if they have an emotional pull.
Tightness in the heart might be an indicator of sadness.
Butterflies in the stomach may indicate excitement.
If you're not sure what emotion you're feeling,
Just notice whether the sensations are pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral.
Your ability to discern feelings will grow as you continue to bring your awareness to the sensations.
If you feel overwhelmed by an intense emotion,
Gently move your awareness to a place in the body that feels safe and neutral,
Such as your toes or maybe your ears.
We'll now spend three minutes with emotion.
The final layer we will contact is the layer of presence.
You might experience this as your spirit,
Your soul,
Your connection to the universe,
Loving-kindness,
And so on.
This is the layer that pervades all the other layers,
The space of peaceful,
Still awareness.
Take a breath and bring your attention to a place of spaciousness.
You can focus on the darkness behind your eyes,
The space between breaths,
The space between the molecules of your body,
The silence between sounds.
Try to notice these gaps without labeling them with thought.
Bear complete awareness.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Stay with this awareness of being for the next five minutes.
Now take a deep breath and gently begin to move your body.
Set your intention to check in with yourself daily,
Noticing the sensations at each level of consciousness,
Allowing awareness to grow and open you up to yourself and life.
