Objects of Concentration to Open Awareness

So welcoming yourself now to our next sitting meditation practice.

This meditation will include awareness of the breath,

The body,

Thoughts and feelings,

Sounds and also an open awareness practice where we will be moving into silence and noticing the sound of the meditation bells.

So taking your seat in this moment,

Welcoming yourself to this posture.

Remember to have the hips a little bit higher than the knees,

Maybe sitting on a zaffu or a bolster.

Legs can be crossed or kneeling and also feel free to sit in a chair if that is right for you,

Perhaps sitting towards the front of the chair with a blanket under the sit bones,

Feet firmly on the floor.

Encouraging a neutral spine so that the head is balanced,

Shoulders are dropping down away from the ears.

You can also do this practice lying down,

However your body can be supported,

Encouraging a sense of alertness and wakefulness.

So sometimes when we do lie down there's a tendency to drift off into sleep so if you can be comfortable sitting upright using whatever props can support you,

Placing pillows under the knees or even using a yoga belt around the knees to support the back.

So the belt can be placed around the knees and the lower back to offer that lumbar support.

So making any final adjustments to your posture so that you can remain still,

However it's always an invitation to be still if there's any sharp shooting pain or any sensations.

Feel free to move mindfully however moving with intention,

Taking your time before you do decide to move.

So coming now to a stable upright open posture.

Noticing the lower half of your body from the waist down,

Perhaps sensing three points of contact,

One through your seat and two through the feet or the lower legs.

Sense of weight pressing down into the earth beneath you.

And out of your stable grounded base the spine extends out of the pelvis all the way up through the torso supporting the head.

Maybe dropping the chin down slightly,

Throat back,

Feeling a sense of ease through the jaw,

Tongue,

Throat.

Sense of openness through the chest,

Arms dropping down either in the lap or on the thighs,

Palms can be up or down.

Feel as we practice together particularly the joints,

The knees,

Ankles,

Hips and the lower back and the neck.

Taking a posture that is alert but also with a sense of ease.

Finding a place between effort and surrender.

So noticing now that you're breathing,

Trusting that the body knows how to breathe,

Allowing the body to breathe itself.

And finding a place inside your body where the breath is most vivid or obvious for you.

Where you can feel the sensations of the in-breath and feel all the tiny sensations of the out-breath.

So the breath becomes the object of meditation.

So as we breathe in we know that we're breathing in and as we breathe out we know that we're breathing out.

Resting in the awareness of breathing.

And when your attention wanders notice where it goes,

Reconnect with your breath.

And then coming home again to the body breathing.

And then coming home again to the body breathing.

And then coming home again to the body breathing.

And then coming home again to the body breathing.

And then coming home again to the body breathing.

And finding curiosity to your practice as you rest in the awareness of breathing.

Being curious about the rise and fall of the breath.

Feeling the sensations as you naturally breathe in and out.

So the body will continue to breathe.

Expanding your awareness now to the whole body.

Once again tuning in to your posture.

Points of contact.

Maybe pressure,

Warmth,

Tingling.

Touch of the air on the skin.

Touch of the clothing.

Perhaps a blanket.

Maybe warmth in the hands.

So the body is a container for the breath.

So when we pay attention to the body this includes the breath.

Maybe sensing expansion through the body as the body breathes in.

And a return to centre as the body breathes out.

So now the body is the object of meditation.

And opening to all the physical sensations that are present.

And as you pay attention you may be aware that the sensations are changing from moment to moment.

And you allow space for all of these sensations as they change inside the body.

Noticing now with bare awareness what is here inside your body as you sit and pay attention.

Directly sensing the physical body.

Some of the sensations might be pleasant.

Other areas there may be discomfort.

Some of the sensations might be unpleasant.

Maybe pressure,

Hardness,

Even pain.

Or you might notice other parts of the body that are quite neutral.

Grey areas where you can't feel much at all.

So as you investigate the body and the feeling tone,

Once again bringing this kind curiosity.

Can you notice what is here?

Allowing the sensations to rise and fall moment to moment.

Coming into that with the body.

Funeral rites.

Allowing all the different sensations to be here in your body now.

So the body will continue to sit,

The breath will naturally rise and fall.

And we're going to change our object of meditation to sounds.

So as we sit and breathe we expand our awareness out to include sounds.

And the sounds are received in the inner ears.

So you may be receiving sounds internally from your own body,

Perhaps a sound of the out-breath.

Sounds of digestion or even the heartbeat in the ears.

There's also sounds from your external environment,

Sounds around you that will be received in the inner ears.

So once again bringing this kind curiosity to the world of sounds.

Opening to hearing,

Receiving the sounds.

You may notice the movement of the sounds arising,

Dissolving perhaps into a background of silence.

Maybe being curious about the movement.

Are there any spaces between the sounds?

Moving now to the next object of meditation.

The sounds will still arise and pass away around us and internally.

Noticing the state of your own mind.

A little bit like sounds the thoughts can arise and dissolve in our field of awareness.

So you may notice memories from the past or planning about the future,

Fantasies,

Dreams.

Whatever is here in the mind to be known,

Bringing once again this kind curiosity.

You may be aware that a thought has a beginning,

A middle and an end.

The thought dissolves or it may feel like a cascade of thoughts,

Never ending stream of ideas,

Worries.

The thoughts can have an emotional felt sense to them,

Often feelings erupt around the thoughts.

Can you be curious about this flow of feelings and thoughts in this moment?

Changing nature of your own mind,

Your own heart mind.

We're not trying to stop the thought stream,

We're bringing this curiosity to our own flow of experience.

So,

We're not trying to stop the thought stream,

We're bringing this curiosity to our own flow of experience.

Being intimate with the heart mind,

So we sit still and pay attention to what is already here.

No need to push the thoughts away or change anything.

Bringing the sense of non-judgment to the flow of mind states.

So,

We're not trying to stop the thought stream,

We're bringing this curiosity to our own flow of experience.

And are there any spaces between your thoughts?

So,

You may have a sense that the thoughts are like clouds passing through an open sky.

Breathing without judgement as the thoughts arise,

Dissolve.

You can always come back to the breath as an anchor,

It's always there to support you,

To feel like you're getting lost in your thoughts.

You can always come home to the body breathing.

So,

We've explored a few objects of meditation,

The body,

The breath,

Sounds,

Thoughts,

Feelings.

We're going to move now into open awareness,

Or choiceless awareness,

Where we let go of the objects of meditation and cultivate a sense of openness or spaciousness with our practice,

Maintaining our still sitting posture.

And we observe the flow of experience,

Whatever that is for you in this moment.

So,

You might notice a sound in the distance,

A thought might follow,

And then a sense of perhaps pressure through your seat,

Or an awareness of the breath at the belly,

A feeling might bubble up.

So,

We're not focusing on one object,

Sitting with open awareness,

Like the wide blue open sky,

Observing whatever is predominant in the heart-mind,

Perhaps cultivating a sense of balance or equanimity.

So,

Equanimity means a balance of the heart-mind,

So we sit and observe what is here,

Whether we like it or dislike it.

We notice with this kind curiosity.

So,

You can always come back to the breath as an anchor if you need to.

The breath is always there to support your practice.

Your breath can sometimes allow you to refocus back to the present moment.

Testing the process now of open awareness,

Sitting and being present and awake to this rise and fall.

Going into the stillness,

The body is still,

But your internal experience,

You may be noticing there's quite a lot of movement.

This rise and fall of the breath,

Sounds,

Physical sensations,

Thoughts and feelings.

So,

As we become intimate with the heart-mind and the body,

We're going to sit in silence and I'm going to ring the bell periodically as a mindfulness bell.

So,

Sitting with open awareness and when you hear the bell,

Just notice in that moment where your attention is.

It is predominating in your field of awareness in that moment.

Okay then.

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