Welcome to this guided meditation,
An introduction to open awareness.
So when we practice,
We can either focus on an object,
The breath,
The body,
The sounds,
The thoughts,
The feelings,
And when we keep coming back to an object,
This is known as a tranquility practice,
Sometimes that allows us to become more tranquil.
We have another way of practicing called open awareness or choiceless awareness,
Where we don't focus on an object,
We allow our attention to wander.
So when we allow our attention to wander,
It's more of an insight or a wisdom practice where we can see clearly into our own experience.
So this practice will support you to notice the difference between focusing on an object and moving gently into open awareness,
Including some silence with the bells.
So finding a comfortable posture for you,
That might be sitting or lying,
Wherever you feel comfortable,
Alert and awake.
So begin by noticing that you're breathing,
Breathing naturally,
Wherever the breath is most alive in your body.
Sometimes we can add in some phrases to support this felt sense of the breath.
You might say quietly in the mind,
Breathing in,
I smile,
Breathing out,
I let go.
Just notice how that feels.
Might even make a half smile with your mouth.
You might prefer breathing in ease,
Breathing out tension,
Or breathing in,
I'm here in my body,
Breathing out,
I'm home.
If the words don't resonate with you today,
You might prefer just to sense and feel where the breath is most alive or pleasant inside your body.
Noticing and feeling one breath at a time.
It's difficult for you today to be with the breath,
It might be easier for you to expand out to the physical sensations in the body.
So we'll try that now,
Expanding out maybe to the hands or the feet,
Observing,
Noticing.
Or it might be more available for you to notice gravity or touch in the body.
Maybe warmth,
Cool,
Aliveness,
Flow.
And as the body breathes,
You may notice that the space inside the body changes.
The in-breath might feel like expansion.
The out-breath might feel like a letting be or a letting go into gravity or heaviness.
Noticing how the sensations change inside your body,
This moment-to-moment awareness.
If any area of your body is difficult to be with,
Sometimes creating a bigger container or expanding out can be helpful.
So moving your attention away from the body,
Out to hearing,
So you might notice the sound of my voice.
You might be aware of sounds inside the space where you're practicing right now.
There might be sounds off in the distance.
Some might be pleasant,
Some unpleasant,
Some neutral.
Simply hearing without creating a story or a narrative around the sounds,
Allowing the sounds to touch the inner ears with bare awareness.
There might even be spaces between the sounds,
Moments of quiet.
So letting go of hearing and dropping back into the body,
Bringing your attention to the heart space.
And we're going to try this three-breath practice,
Gently noticing three breaths as the lungs expand around the heart.
When we meditate,
We're learning how to feel our feelings,
Learning to lean in,
So there might be ease,
There might be steadiness,
Maybe there's agitation,
Worry,
Restlessness,
Or something in between.
Sometimes when we let the mind know that we're going to take three breaths with our feelings,
Sometimes this settles the mind.
So noticing any feelings in the feeling center,
It might be the heart,
The throat,
The chest,
The belly.
Learning to be present with what is here,
What is alive in your body right now.
If it's difficult,
You might use some words,
I am alive,
I am present.
Moving from the heart space up to the mind,
Any thoughts that might be here,
There might be pictures at the front of the forehead,
The mind's eye,
Images.
You might be hearing your thoughts at the back of the head,
More between the ears and internal commentary,
Chatter,
Talk.
So just observing what is arising in your field of awareness,
And as you observe,
You might quietly note,
Thinking,
Thinking,
Or remembering,
Remembering.
Any thoughts that are difficult to be with,
Create a bigger container,
Which might be opening your eyes,
Or expanding out to different sounds,
Hearing,
Hearing.
So now we'll make this small shift where we let go of the objects of concentration and move into open awareness.
So it might feel something like this,
You might be aware of a sound,
A thought might follow,
And you might be aware that you're breathing,
Or the felt sense of the body.
But I'll ring the mindfulness bell occasionally,
Each time you hear the bell,
You might note quietly in the mind,
Where is my attention now?
Just to know,
There's no right or wrong.
If it's hard for you today to be with the stillness and the silence,
You can always come back to the breath as an anchor,
If that supports your practice.
But just moving now into open awareness,
Or choiceless awareness,
Letting your attention wander,
And seeing clearly into your own experience.
So know that you can drop below my words,
And just remain in this open awareness,
Or choiceless awareness,
If that is a comfortable space for you with your practice.
Or you might like to come back to the body.
Come back to the heart space,
And your three breath practice.
Just notice if there is anything here between love and fear,
Our two main emotions.
Has your practice supported you to see clearly into what is here,
Into the body,
The heart,
The mind?
So I hope this meditation practice has supported you.
Thank you for your practice today.
