Welcome.
Today,
We're going to be practicing creating more space in the mind.
And finding peace within our own thoughts,
Within the busyness of our own lives.
I'm Katie.
And I want to start by inviting you.
To use your breath.
One breath in.
And then out.
As you imagine sinking a little more deeply into wherever you're seated or lying down.
Breathing so that.
As you breathe in,
You fill yourself with greater awareness,
Paying attention to this breath and this body.
And such that as you breathe out,
You let the body relax a little more deeply into where you are right now.
Growing a little heavier.
A little softer.
A bit more relaxed and rooted.
Connected to the ground or the seat.
Or whatever surface is supporting you.
Breathing in.
I am awake and aware.
Breathing out.
I sink more deeply.
Into a relaxed and grounded state.
Always following the natural rhythm of your breath.
Without effort to hold it or change it.
Just finding the cycle of breathing that supports your practice today.
Now begin to draw your attention to the mind.
What is the state of your mind right now?
You might notice many thoughts passing by quickly.
You might notice a feeling of slow or fogginess.
Maybe.
You're naming that a lot of thoughts have the color of worry or planning.
Maybe you're noticing yourself,
Rushing to think of what you'll do next,
Or something that has just happened already before.
Before we can work with the mind,
We have to understand its current state.
So we bring our awareness.
And our clear observation.
In watching.
What the mind and the thoughts are doing just right now.
Where does the mind go?
What is the speed and quality?
The clarity.
Or the weight.
That I perceive.
Of this mind.
Slowly and with repeated practice,
We also begin to observe patterns.
We get to know the tendencies and conditioning of this mind,
Within this body,
Within this life experience.
By bringing awareness to our patterns and our states,
We can then also bring more compassion and more understanding to why we feel and act the ways that we do.
And we also develop.
The power.
To begin changing those patterns and moving into the preferred states and actions that we would like to train our minds and our habits into.
Using our breath again now,
Imagine that the in-breath could create some space in the mind.
This visualization can look any way that you feel a connection to.
You can experiment with different visuals.
That one person might imagine.
Almost like a soothing bubble.
That slowly fills the mind and grows with the in-breath in order to create space.
Someone might imagine a wave that comes onto the shore.
To clear out some space.
As you breathe in,
You're creating more space in the mind.
And as you breathe out,
Experience within the body.
That the edges are just disappearing.
At the contents of this mind,
Just for now.
Continue to recede,
Fading slowly away.
Just experiment with this for a few breaths.
Monitoring how the body is responding.
And if you need to move your attention.
To remember relaxation of the body.
Then you're always invited to do what you need to take care.
Of this self right now.
Breathing in.
I feel myself,
My thoughts.
With more space.
More clarity.
Breathing out,
I relax everything that's there.
I watch as the thoughts fade away.
Breathing in.
I am filled with a calm spaciousness.
Breathing out,
I relax and release.
Everything that's here.
If it happens that the mind tries to tell one of its classic stories.
Such as something is too important to forget.
Just make a note.
And if you find that the mind is wandering or flooding back in,
That's okay too.
We simply renew our intention for creating more space with every fresh breath in.
I trust.
At what I need to do and remember.
Will come again.
But in this moment.
I allow my body and my mind to practice space.
Widening.
And a sense of ease.
With every breath in.
Expand to the space of your awareness.
With every breath out.
Relax and release even more deeply.
Even more fully.
Remember that you have the grace to always begin again.
Every breath.
A renewed opportunity for your mindfulness.
Taking three more breaths in this way.
Begin now to slowly move your attention back to your body.
Becoming aware of its position.
Seated or on the ground.
Maybe taking in one enlivening breath.
That you send through the whole body,
Down the arms,
To the fingertips.
Through the legs.
To the toes.
Beginning now to hear the sounds in the environment around you.
To come back to the place where your body already is.
And to just notice without judgment.
And with full compassion.
How is the state of my mind right now?
What is the quality?
Of my thoughts.
My speed.
A sense of clarity or heaviness.
How has it changed?
From when I started.
Through the middle.
And even now,
At the end.
This mind is always changing.
Although it also loves its habits and patterns.
And thanks to the wonders of learning,
Growth mindset,
And neuroplasticity.
We have the great joy of being able to train this mind.
Which includes practicing peace.
And learning.
An embodied feeling of inner spaciousness.
We keep practicing.
And we are new,
Not only every day.
But every breath.
Taking one more breath in and beginning to move the body in whatever way feels good.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
