Hello.
Welcome to today's meditation.
Find a comfortable resting position in an easy seat or on your back and allow your mind to settle as you take in your space keeping your eyes open.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long exhale out.
Look around.
Notice your physical space in front of you.
And then begin to connect to the other senses apart from what the eyes can see.
That sensory information that is in and on your body.
I invite you to begin to ask yourself questions that maybe an eight-year-old would.
What do you hear in your space?
What does the sound of your breath sound like?
How do your clothes feel on your body?
How does your breath feel in and outside of your body?
What do you feel in your body that connects you to the knowing and the presence of I am here?
As a musician,
I take auditions quite frequently.
In an orchestral setting,
These auditions are what are called blind auditions,
Meaning they're taken behind a screen.
There's no interview,
No talking or asking questions.
And we even have to take our shoes off because that can indicate our gender.
And this is,
Of course,
To encourage fairness during the audition process.
And they only form their opinion based off of our sound.
And why I'm bringing this up is that to prepare for these auditions,
As a musician,
We constantly think about the sensory experience for the judges.
What they will hear,
Not what they will see.
And their auditory senses will be in overload.
They'll hear everything.
And this often makes me question my own individual sound.
What identifies me not only to others,
But to myself.
What is that knowing presence of I am here?
What brings me back to my body?
Do I feel like I'm wearing a mask in front of others?
Or can they see my essence?
And most of the time,
What brings me back to my body is the fact that I'm here.
And most of the time,
What brings me back is these simple sensory questions.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
How does your breath feel in and outside of your body?
As you breathe,
What do you smell?
What do you smell like?
As you breathe,
How does your breath feel?
Controlled or congested?
Forced or fluid?
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
As you breathe,
What does your breath sound like?
Or what do the sounds around you feel like in your body?
How do those sound vibrations feel inside of your body?
Take a deep breath in.
And a long exhale out.
As you breathe,
Do you feel comfortable?
How does it feel to be resting in this space?
Is your mind wandering and wondering?
Are you comfortable with the thoughts that arise?
Are you comfortable in your own skin right here,
Right now?
Knock,
Knock.
Is anyone home?
Are you here?
What does it feel like to be here?
Breathe in.
And breathe out.
What does it feel like to be in your body?
What makes you authentically yourself?
If you were in front of an audition committee,
What would you sound like when you spoke your truth?
And what energy would you bring to that space?
Connect back to your body and back to your breath.
Maybe it's that breath that tells you that you are here.
That you are alive.
Take a deep breath in.
And a long breath out.
Take the last few breaths to stay in inquiry with your body.
Asking questions that ultimately lead to where do I feel the most comfortable in my body?
When do I feel the most like myself?
What feels genuinely like me?
What allows me to feel the inner knowing that I am here?
