So as we move into this next stage of mindfulness practice,
Bringing attention back to a sense of your posture.
Feeling the places in your body that make contact with the crown.
Feeling anywhere in your body where you find yourself bracing or tensing and just inviting your body to soften.
And then opening out your attention to the experience of sound.
Sounds in the room,
Sounds outside the room and perhaps even sounds in your own body.
Without particularly looking for sound,
Just letting sound come to your ears.
And noticing the mind's tendency to label sounds and judge sounds.
And as best you can,
Just staying with the experience of sound as sound.
Pitch,
Tone,
Texture,
Volume.
Sounds near,
Sounds far.
Sounds near,
Sounds far.
And just as with sensations,
Some sounds may be pleasant and some sounds may be more unpleasant.
Just as best you can,
Opening to sound just as it is with a sense of open mindedness and curiosity.
Noticing sounds arise and noticing them pass.
And perhaps even sensing the stillness or quietness between sounds,
Even if it's very brief.
And just as with sensations,
Some sounds may be pleasant and some may be more unpleasant.
And then shifting the focus of attention once again.
So we brought attention to the breath,
To the body as a whole and to sounds.
And now noticing the movement of thinking.
So rather than seeing thoughts as breaks in concentration,
Being curious about the whole experience of thinking.
Just waiting to see what's going to go through your mind next.
So where is your mind now?
Thinking and waiting,
All caught up with thoughts,
Plans,
Worries,
Daydreams,
Fantasies.
And again,
Where is your mind now?
Some thoughts may be pleasant,
Dreamy,
Interesting.
Other thoughts may be darker somehow,
Almost like stormy clouds,
Worrying or troublesome.
So in a sense,
This practice of watching is a little bit like the sky in the background.
Thoughts come,
Sometimes like white fluffy clouds and other times more stressful,
Like dark stormy clouds.
But all of them are rising and passing.
And the sky remains in the background.
And if you do find yourself caught up in a more stressful thought,
Then just gently noticing how that feels,
Noticing the experience of thinking,
Noticing what's happening in your body,
Which immediately pulls the mind out of the content of the thoughts.
So that we're no longer completely caught up and immersed in them.
Instead,
We're present with ourselves sitting or lying just as we are in this moment.
Sense of the body's posture,
Feeling the breath moving.
And then for the last part of the practice,
Just settling into stillness without any particular focus.
And just noticing whatever arises in your moment to moment experience.
If you do find that your mind keeps wandering off,
Then perhaps just coming back to a sense of your posture and your breathing as an anchor.
And then,
Just that one rehearsal,
One every other time,
To横 Mens何 dumper frot And then bringing to mind that we're going to draw the practice to a close.
So just taking stock of your experience as we come to the end.
As best you can,
Allowing yourself to be just as you are in this moment.
And then tuning into a sense of the room around you.
And listening to the sound of the singing bowl.
Taking your time to come out of the practice and open your eyes.
And then coming out of the practice.
