Welcome to this meditation.
This is a mental scanning.
During this session we will engage a mental scan,
Explore and observe our inner landscape,
Our thoughts,
Emotions and sensory impressions with a sense of curiosity and without judgment.
Just as a body scan helps us become aware of the body,
Mental scanning helps us cultivate clarity and calm in the mind.
This practice isn't about changing or controlling anything,
But simply being present with what it is.
So find a comfortable position,
Either sitting or laying down.
If you are sitting you can sit on a chair or you can sit on a pillow on the floor.
Or you can lay down on a yoga mat for example or in your bed.
Close your eyes if it feels right for you.
And let your hands rest gently in your lap or on the sides of your body.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and exhale fully through the mouth.
If you want to invite two or three more deep breaths like this,
In through the nose and out through the mouth.
We are going to let our attention rest on the breath for a while.
So feel the air that flows through your nose.
Let the breath be just as it is,
Natural and soft.
You don't need to change anything,
You don't need to do anything.
Notice how your body moves together with the breath.
The chest rise with each inhalation,
Softening with each exhalation.
Feel the abdomen and the belly expanding with each inhale.
And falling and contracting in each exhale.
And if your thoughts begin to wander,
Which they might,
Simply note without judgment and gently guide your attention back to your breath.
The breath is our anchor for this moment.
And from here we will now begin to scan the mind.
So first now bring your attention to the thoughts moving through your mind.
Imagine that you are standing by the edge of the river,
Watching thoughts drift like leaves on the surface of the water.
What kind of thoughts arise?
Are they fast or are they slow?
Perhaps they appear as single words,
Images or even a sense of emptiness.
You don't need to follow or analyze your thoughts,
Just observe them.
And if a thought feels intense or distracting,
See if you can let that thought float by and return to simply observing.
Just observing the thoughts.
You don't need to do anything except observing.
And now shift your attention to the emotion,
The emotions that is present in this moment.
What do you feel right now?
Maybe there is joy,
Calm,
Restlessness or worry.
Perhaps you don't feel anything in particular and that's totally okay too.
Explore these emotions as if you are seeing them for the first time,
Without judgment or any need to change them.
Where can you feel the emotion in your body?
Is it heavy or light?
Is it warm or cold?
Allow the emotions to be just as they are.
See if it's possible to welcome each emotion.
And now we're going to move our attention to the sensory impressions.
We're going to notice what we hear around us right now.
What can you hear around you?
Are the sounds close by in the room?
Maybe there are some sounds in the distance.
Notice what you feel in your body.
Perhaps the contact with the floor,
The chair or the cushion.
Be aware of any subtle impressions in this moment.
Observe how these impressions affect you without labeling them as good or bad.
Simply notice.
I'm going to stay a bit longer here with the sensory impressions.
Just observing.
And now we're going to take a deep breath in through the nose and slowly exhale through the mouth.
Allow your awareness to expand.
Expand to the entire experience in this moment.
Thoughts,
Emotions.
Sensory impressions in the body.
And the breath.
Just feel it all.
Explore it all.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly bring the body back.
The mind back.
Starting to move your fingers and your toes.
Maybe you want to stretch gently.
Remember this type of meditation is about cultivating awareness and acceptance of what it is and whatever it may be.
Let your palms meet in front of your chest and take a moment here to thank yourself for this moment of presence.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly open your eyes and return to the room around you.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
