BELL Mindfulness of feelings practice.
BELL We begin again by bringing our attention to the breathing.
Just becoming aware of how our own breathing feels as it moves inside the body.
BELL Maybe having a sense in this particular day,
This particular time,
How does my breathing feel?
BELL We might notice whether the breathing feels deeper or more shallow.
BELL Or smooth.
BELL Allowing the mind and the body to come together through an attunement to the breath.
BELL So we can just take a few moments to see if we can become stabilized into the sensation of breathing in the body.
BELL Allowing the body to become still.
BELL And then we can begin to move the attention inward toward the feeling state.
Just seeing if we can have a sense,
What is my feeling at this particular moment?
BELL This particular day.
So we might notice just a general sense of whether our feeling state feels more or less pleasant,
More or less unpleasant,
Or maybe somewhat neutral.
BELL Just seeing if we could start by sensing in.
Does my feeling feel pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Neutral?
BELL So we could perhaps bring some of our curiosity to the kind of qualities of energy in the body.
So maybe just having a sense of whether the energy feels jagged,
Feels smooth.
BELL Whether there's an adrenalized feeling,
Whether the energy feels flat,
Heavy,
Bright.
BELL And sometimes it can be helpful to try and give this feeling a name.
Can I name this feeling?
BELL So just with a very gentle awareness.
I see that anger is there.
I see that sadness is there.
I see that excitement is there.
BELL So just allowing the awareness to recognize whatever is there.
BELL And our practice in mindfulness is neither to analyze where has it come from,
How long will it last,
Whether it's right or wrong to feel this way,
Nor to push a feeling away.
BELL Our practice is to open our awareness,
To really allow whatever is there just to be there.
And to take care of a feeling with the kindness of our breathing.
Breathing in,
I recognize that this feeling is there.
And breathing out,
I allow a lot of space.
BELL So we could bring some curiosity to how this feeling sits in the body.
Maybe the feeling is held in a particular place.
And if we find that,
We can really move our attention to that place in the body.
Really breathing into the jaw or the throat or the heart or the stomach.
Really breathing into the felt sense of a feeling.
And then with a lot of care,
A lot of kindness,
Really softening into the feeling with the out-breath.
BELL So much of the time we direct our attention outwards to take care of the feelings of others.
And now we have this time to bring our attention inward,
To receive the care of our own attention.
We have time where we don't have to manage feeling,
Analyze feeling,
Change feeling.
We can really just allow it to be there.
What does this feeling feel like?
How does it feel in my body?
Can I really just stay with it with the breath?
BELL We might begin to notice as we hold our attention on the feeling,
Whether it becomes stronger or softer.
Whether it stays the same or changes shape.
We might see a whole landscape of feeling,
One feeling emerging,
Remaining,
Passing away and another feeling arising.
BELL BELL BELL Seeing if we can allow the awareness to really remain in the felt sense of a feeling,
Without getting carried away into its storylines.
If we see the mind moving into evaluation,
Analysis,
Again we can just recognize thinking,
There's thinking.
And see very gently we can guide the awareness back into the body,
Really allowing ourselves to feel the feeling.
Breathing in awareness and breathing out to give space,
Really give permission to the feeling just to be there.
BELL BELL So as we sit for our last couple of minutes,
See if you can allow the energy of mindfulness to embrace the sensation of feeling.
Almost as though we had taken hold of the hand of feeling,
Just to sit with it and to take care of it with a breath.
BELL BELL BELL BELL BELL
