Hey friends,
Today I want to share with you a practice meant to help you connect or reconnect more deeply with those that matter most.
Too often these days there's too many distractions.
It can be hard to pull yourself away from work,
Pull yourself out of your phone.
We set ourselves on autopilot just to get through the day and we end up living life without actually being a part of it.
That's something that's great about a meditation practice,
Being able to be present a little bit more,
Be in the moment a little bit more.
That's even the better when you can share that with somebody who means a lot to you.
Let's check that out today.
If you would join me in a comfortable seat,
I'll give you a moment to get there.
Close down the eyes.
We'll just soften the gaze.
Look at the floor in front of you.
Get that nice sturdy upright position.
No matter if you're sitting cross-legged,
In the bed,
On the couch,
In a chair,
Standing up.
Give your body what it needs right now,
Whatever's comfortable.
Help us find stillness.
Help us find the present moment.
I'm going to use an anchor and we'll set that up first.
A very common anchor is the breath.
We'll work with that today if that's comfortable for you.
Put the focus on the breath now.
Every little part of it.
Inhale,
Feel the belly,
The chest rise.
Inhale,
Exhale,
The belly softens,
Deflates.
Inhale,
Feel the cool air in the nostrils.
Exhale,
Feel the warm air leaving the nostrils.
Continue in this way of just breathing and focusing on that breath.
Focus on the different aspects of it or choose one point where you can feel the breath and leave your focus there.
Just try to be as still as you can so that you can really dive deep into every little detail of the breath.
Just get curious about how detailed you can get.
Just be curious about how deep you can send your concentration into the breath.
Staying with the breath as it rises.
And falls.
Your breath just the same as the last,
Just rising and falling.
And if the breath isn't working great for you as a focus,
There are other options.
Focus on the warmth in the hands.
Focus on the feet flat on the floor if that's where they are,
Or the feeling of your bottom on whatever you're sitting on.
Even the spaciousness,
The volume in the room you're in,
Or the outside if that's where you are,
Just feel the space around you.
Once you have that anchor,
Once you have that object of focus,
Lighten up your hold on it just a little bit.
Keep a hold of it but it's just in the background.
As you float in the middle of this experience,
Invite the rest of your experience in.
Notice the sounds,
The sounds all around you.
Notice if there's any attraction or aversion to the sounds.
Some of them are pleasant,
Birds chirping,
Wind blowing through the trees,
Something peaceful.
Maybe you can hear traffic from where you are.
Maybe a plane in the sky.
Maybe you wish that wasn't in your experience right now.
But allow it to be anyway.
Let go of that attraction to the pretty peaceful sounds.
Go with the aversion to the sounds you don't want there.
Just let them all be.
Allow them to be part of this experience.
Notice any smells.
Notice if there's a like or dislike there,
But whatever that ends up being,
Allow it to fall away and just allow it to be part of this experience.
Notice any sensations in the body.
You're already uncomfortable sitting still for this long.
Maybe the back's hurting,
Maybe the knees are hurting.
Maybe you have an itch.
Maybe you have some pain,
Dull pain or otherwise it's always kind of there that you have to live with every day.
Maybe there's excitement,
A thrumming energy,
Like a buzz inside your body.
You can notice that energy.
Just notice what sensations there are in the body and notice if there's attraction or aversion there and then let it go.
So liking one thing and disliking another,
It's all just part of this experience that's meant to be here.
Don't take some time in this space just being.
There's nothing more to it,
Just being a body.
That anchor's there in the background,
If you start to get too distracted to float away,
It's there to bring you back.
You can put the attention back on the breath or whatever object you chose to focus on earlier.
But otherwise we just float just in the middle of this experience,
In the middle of our life,
In the present moment,
Just being a body.
Again,
Checking in with the sounds,
The smells,
The sensations,
Just giving it permission to be there.
Notice,
Too,
How those sounds,
Those sensations,
They rise and they fall just like the breath.
It rises and falls.
Just let them rise and fall in this experience.
And we talked about how important it was to be present.
But we talked about being present for others,
How important that is for our happiness as human beings.
So we worked on finding this place of stillness,
Of presence.
And it's time to invite somebody in.
So choose someone in your life that means something to you.
Imagine them in your mind.
Imagine them just right across from you,
Sitting,
You're looking at them,
They're looking at you.
Imagine them there in your mind.
Put a smile on their face.
Maybe you have a smile on yours now,
Too.
Notice what this feels like.
No distractions.
Something pulling you away.
This is what being present for someone else is.
This is what it feels like.
Take some time now just sitting with this person in your mind,
Again,
Both of you smiling.
Sit with them in this place of stillness.
Maybe there are still distractions.
That's what the mind does.
We have an anchor in the breath,
What we chose to focus on,
And now we have an anchor in this person that we're holding in our mind.
So if you feel yourself or notice yourself getting distracted,
Bring yourself back here to this moment with this person.
Just enjoy being in their presence.
Sha be king.
Take some time to consider what your relationship,
Your time with this person might be like if you had more moments like this.
Maybe not just in a meditation practice.
Maybe with them in the flesh.
Maybe you make a point to really remember what this feels like and you see this person or talk to this person later today,
Later this week,
Whenever that is.
Make a point to be really present for them.
In your mind,
Bow your head in thanks to this person for sharing this time with you.
Imagine them doing the same,
Bowing in thanks to you,
Still with a smile.
Allow them to go.
It's way back and forth in your seat.
Link the body up.
Slowly blink open the eyes.
Hope you found value in this practice.
Thanks for sitting with me.
