So taking a moment to settle in to get ready for a meditation that will develop our attentional focus.
So finding a position that's comfortable and supports alertness.
Allowing the eyes to close most of the way if you're comfortable with that.
And then finding your way to an object of meditation that resonates with you.
For many of us it will be the breath,
The in-breath and the out-breath.
I recommend that if you're comfortable with that,
But not everybody is comfortable with the breath.
Then if that's the case for you,
You're welcome to select a different object of meditation.
Some people use a part of the body.
Like the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet for example,
And they're just there with the sensations.
Such as touch or lack of touch,
Warmth,
Coolness,
Moisture,
Lack of moisture.
And for others of us,
We might prefer a different object of meditation such as sound.
Just that raw sensation of sound,
Not giving the sounds any meaning.
But being there with the pitch,
Near the volume,
How close or far away it is.
Those kinds of raw elements of sound.
Whatever object of meditation that you would like to be with.
Inviting it to be the breath if you're comfortable with it because most research has been done on the breath.
But many people also get benefit from using other objects of meditation.
So whatever you choose is fine.
But starting to find your way to be there with that object of meditation that you've chosen.
So if it's the breath,
Being there with that in-breath.
And the out-breath.
Maybe noticing how deep or shallow the breath is or how fast or slow it is.
Or being there with whatever object you've chosen.
And each time a thought arises,
Just noticing it.
Just noticing it without any judgement.
It's just telling us a little bit about who we are,
How we are.
It's good information.
And then inviting the mind to return back to this moment.
And to this object of meditation,
Whether it's this breath or this part of the body.
Like the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet or this sound or lack of sound.
We've got nowhere to go,
Nothing to do.
Just calming,
Stopping,
Resting.
Being here in this moment with this breath that's never been breathed before.
Or this sensation in the body that's never been felt in quite this way.
Or this sound that's unique to this moment.
And can we be here just without training the mind to be right here,
Right now?
Each time we notice the mind has wandered,
That in itself is a moment of mindfulness.
Because we're aware and we're present.
Just greeting the mind with friendliness,
Curiosity,
Seeing where it went.
It's okay wherever it went.
Noticing if it went to the future or the past.
Maybe noticing if the mind usually goes to the future or it usually goes to the past.
So that we're developing our self-awareness,
Coming to know ourselves a little better.
And training our attention control,
Being able to place our mind where we choose to place it.
And in this moment,
The invitation is to choose to place it on that object of meditation of the breath,
The body,
Or sound.
.
.
I feel like inviting the mindfulness quality of curiosity.
To be there with that object of meditation.
Perhaps exploring a part of the breath that you haven't yet.
Maybe the sensations of it in the tip of the nose or the mouth where it first enters the body and last leaves it.
Or if the sensation,
If the object of meditation is the sensations of the part of the body.
Perhaps noticing that with curiosity,
Seeing what's here in this moment.
How is it around the temperature,
The sense of touch or moisture dryness?
Are the sensations steady or do they shift and change moment to moment?
And if your object of meditation is sound.
Perhaps just with curiosity,
Inviting the story to unfold as the sounds appear that we don't necessarily have a lot of control over.
So what is appearing moment by moment in the soundscape and just being there for it.
Whatever your object of meditation is inviting you to bring in that mindfulness quality of curiosity as you engage with it in a fresh way.
Still allowing any unnecessary thoughts to settle out kind of like leaves falling from a tree in the autumn so that all that's left behind is the sturdy trunk and the branches of the tree.
All that's left behind is our relationship to this object of meditation of the breath,
The body,
Sound.
Fully engaging with it,
Allowing all the unnecessary thoughts to just settle up.
And then as this meditation is starting to come towards a close,
Taking a moment to just check in with the body and the mind.
Based on your experiences with this mindfulness practice,
Even considering what would be a skillful next step as this meditation comes towards a close.
And you can continue on with the rest of your day or your evening.
What would be a skillful next step as you move forward?
And as the meditation ends,
Inviting you to take that step.
The bell is elected.
You
