This week we're going to focus on the ability to be in the present moment,
Exactly as it's occurring,
Without needing it to be any way other than as it is.
And our ability to dive deep into the experience that we're having right now in the moment,
To be with everything that is occurring right now,
Because life is made up of moments of now and now and now.
And you may notice that your mind spends a lot of time in the past thinking about things that have already taken place,
And this is called memory.
You also may notice that you spend a lot of time thinking or worrying about the future and things that haven't happened yet.
This is a form of fantasy.
The only moment that is really happening is the one that's happening right now.
So wherever you are while you're listening to this,
Unless you're driving the car,
I'd like you to close down your eyes.
And as you close down your eyes,
There's this wonderful thing that takes place that you may have seen a little meme that floats around every now and again that my mind is like my computer and there are 19 tabs open and three of them are frozen and I don't know where the music is coming from.
When we close down our eyes,
We close down about 17 of those tabs.
So we restore about 80% of our brain's information processing capacity just by closing down our eyes,
By no longer needing to figure out what on earth we're looking at,
But instead to draw our focus inside.
And as we draw within,
We can start to cultivate this greater sense of present moment awareness.
With your eyes closed,
Your other sensations will be heightened.
You might even be able to feel the texture of the air moving over your skin right now.
Perhaps the feeling of your clothes resting on your body.
Perhaps you can take in the subtle sensations from your body in whichever way you're arranged.
You might be seated or lying down as you listen to this.
And as you begin to observe the nature of your physical state,
Noticing that this physical body is taking place right now,
The sensations from your physical body are happening right now.
You may notice some subtle movements that take place in the body as you breathe.
And when you turn your awareness to your breathing,
Notice each breath as it happens.
The inhale that happens now and the exhale that's happening now.
Each breath happening in the moment that's happening now,
In the present moment.
And as you drop into the physical sensations that are happening right now,
You may notice that there are thoughts,
Emotions that are also happening right now.
And the purpose of present moment awareness as a practice is not to try to resist the thoughts or the emotions.
It's simply to witness what's happening right now without needing to add a story or a narrative or a judgment.
Just accepting that they're happening now as part of your present moment experience.
That everything is as it is right now.
And as part of the present moment experience,
There may be sounds that are happening right now.
And with your attention on your ears,
Let each sound be a reference to the moment that's happening right now.
Some of the sounds that you experience may be close by.
The sound of my voice.
Some of the sounds that are happening right now in your environment might be far away.
And as you notice the full range of sounds that are happening in this moment,
We come into present moment awareness.
And just this moment that's happening now,
What do you notice?
What is your experience of this moment?
And for the next few minutes,
Simply tuning in to your physical being,
Your breath and the sounds that you can hear.
And each time you notice yourself drifting into memory or fantasy,
Simply returning to your easy observation of the present moment,
Taking it in through your senses,
Physicalness,
Breath and sound.
And I'll let you know when it's time to come out.
You Thank you.
Keeping your attention on your ears,
The sounds that you can hear right now are referenced to the present moment.
Begin to deliberately deepen your breath.
Breathe in through the nose,
Down into the belly,
Up into the chest.
Hold for a moment and then release.
Repeat this two more times.
Using these deeper rounds of breathing to begin to bring energy back to the edges of your physical body,
Perhaps rubbing the thumbs over the fingertips or wiggling the toes to bring feeling into the edges of the body and notice how your body is feeling.
If it makes sense and feels appropriate to take a stretch of the arms way over your head and really beginning to lengthen through the spine.
Before gently blinking open your eyes and returning your vision to the moment that's here now.
This experience of presence that we've cultivated today to allow us freedom from the past,
Freedom from worrying about the future and to experience the moment that's here now exactly as it is now,
Without expectations or preferences or judgment and simply to allow ourselves to be right here,
Right now.
