Settling-In Meditation

So we begin to gather ourselves to the extent that we have selves coming from our day,

Filtering down into this set-aside time and place for practice,

It's kind of just an image I have when I come to meditation,

That it's real intentional,

Kind of zooming into the moment.

Consider the underlying intention of the wish for well-being,

That this is how we've arrived here on some level.

So we gather our bodies,

Gather our minds,

Give some attention to our posture,

Just make sure there is intention in how we're composed here bodily,

And then as an aid to the practice,

Begin to notice the sensations of the rising and falling breath,

And a few things we might notice about the breath,

It's as we make everything else still,

It's kind of the only thing that's really moving steadily,

And that we have some say in how it moves.

So a few deeper breaths at the beginning can be refreshing,

Grounding,

Exploring the range of the sensations,

The range of the results of this,

Steadily focusing on the breath.

We can generalize the calming,

Refreshing sensations of breathing,

And let that fill the whole body,

And I consider the sense of the whole body breathing,

Loosening our conception of how breath works,

Play with the idea of the breath coming and going from all directions at once,

Every pore breathing,

The energy derived from the breath working in our nervous system,

Circulatory system,

Lymphatic,

Every cell benefiting from this inclination to stillness,

Well-being,

In this moment by moment,

Staying or returning if the mind happens to wander.