Sitting Meditation

When doing the guided sitting meditation,

It's best to be sitting with a firm base,

Either in a chair or if you prefer on the floor.

If you decide to sit in a chair,

Choose one with a firm but supportive seat and straight back and sitting forward in the chair if you can,

So that your back is self-supporting and letting your feet rest flat on the floor using a pillow or a book.

If you sit on the floor,

Find a firm cushion or pillow that lifts the pelvis high enough that the hips are positioned above the knees and the knees falling out to the sides are comfortably supported on the floor or on pillows.

Choosing a time and place that will allow you to focus your attention,

Eliciting support from others if necessary,

So that you will be undisturbed and able to devote your attention to this practice.

So now coming to a sitting position that embodies wakefulness,

Attentiveness and dignity,

And we call this a dignified position.

Moving now to your posture with the spine erect but not too stiff or too rigid,

Shoulders relaxed and the shoulder blades sliding downward and your chin tucked slightly in and head elevated gently on the neck.

Just imagining that someone is pulling a string on top of your head.

Making sure that the back is self-supported and resting lightly on the back of the chair but not slouched into it.

Allowing the eyes to close if that's comfortable for you or if you prefer to keep them open,

Letting your gaze rest on the floor in front of you,

About approximately two feet in front of you,

And dropping into stillness.

Allowing your awareness to settle lightly on the breath and focusing on the movement of the breath in the belly.

Allowing yourself to settle.

Having the opportunity of arriving to this moment.

Following the breath through the in-breath and the out-breath.

Also breathing in and breathing out.

And feeling the belly rise and the belly fall.

And staying with the breath.

Riding the waves of the breath.

Just like a leaf floating on a lake with the waves.

Breathing in on the in-breath and breathing out on the out-breath as best you can.

This attending to the breath allows us to connect the mind and the body.

Allowing us to be grounded in awareness to the present moment.

There's nothing we have to do,

Nowhere we have to go.

Just being with ourselves,

Befriending ourselves.

And continuing to follow the breath.

Observing the experience of the breath moving in and out of the body.

The breath bringing energizing life-giving oxygen as it enters the body.

Carrying oxygen in and cleansing the body by clearing carbon dioxide as it leaves the body.

This amazing life source which we access every moment.

Whether or not we are attending to it.

Not needing to make it happen since the body takes care of that.

Simply turning to it.

Observing it.

Feeling it.

Enjoying the healing power of the breath.

Just breathing in on the in-breath.

And breathing out on the out-breath as best you can.

And from moment to moment just asking yourself from time to time.

How is the breath in this moment?

And as you sit simply being with the breath.

And from time to time your mind will wander off someplace else.

As that's what minds do.

No problem reminding yourself that it is perfectly normal for the mind to wander off.

The mind will wander in regards to planning,

Thinking,

Zoning out or with judgment.

Can you become aware that this is happening,

Noting where your mind has gone and what has drawn it away and then gently but firmly with intention directing it back to focus on the breath.

The practice of mindfulness involves becoming aware that the mind has wandered and our job is to redirect our attention back to the object of awareness and in this case it's the breath.

And doing this over and over and over again.

This is at the heart of mindfulness practice.

So where is your attention now in this moment?

Is it on the breath?

In the belly?

Breathing?

If your mind has wandered just bring your attention back to the breath in the belly.

Continuing to follow the breath.

Breathing in on the in breath,

Breathing out on the out breath.

You may be most aware of the breath in the belly but now exploring other regions of the body where awareness of the breath may reside.

Perhaps it may reside in the chest,

Maybe the back of the rib cage,

Perhaps the throat or the nostrils or in some other part of the body.

So using this moment right now just to notice where's the breath in the body for you.

Where is it prominent?

And wherever your awareness of the breath is strongest now,

Bring attention here and following it here in this moment.

And noticing the breath in this moment and this moment.

And just breathing for the sake of breathing with no place to go,

Nothing to do other than just to be with the breath right here in this moment.

Noticing if your mind is on the breath right now and if not just noting first what has attracted it and then mindfully returning to the breath as best you can.

For some people it's useful putting the hand on the belly just to feel the sensations of the breath,

Breathing in noticing the expansion of the belly and breathing out noticing the fall of the belly on the out breath.

Using this opportunity to taste the breath just as we tasted the raisin.

And how is the breath in this moment?

Now as we sit here in stillness,

It may be that your attention has been drawn to sensations in the body.

Choosing now,

If you wish to,

To direct your awareness to the body as a whole,

Sitting here in silence and noting any physical sensations coming from the body into your field of awareness,

Especially the sense of touch.

Allowing the body to take center stage and the breath to recede into the background.

Just being with the sensations without judgment.

Paying careful attention to this body.

Sitting here in this moment.

Allowing it to be just as it is.

Not expecting it to be any other way.

Not wishing for it to be the way it was at some time in the past.

Not comparing it with other bodies.

Welcoming it as best you can,

As the only body you have.

Letting it be as it is in this moment.

And now using this opportunity to check in with your body.

You may notice areas of tightness,

Discomfort,

Or pain as you sit here in stillness.

If so,

You may choose to stay with them.

Exploring them.

Seeing if they change.

Working with them as best you can.

At some point,

However,

You may choose to make an adjustment.

Perhaps it could be a small shift of position.

Or even a slight,

Some micro movement.

Or a gentle stretch to relieve tension in a particular region of the body.

And if you decide to make a change,

Do so with intention.

And then observe carefully the effects of the change.

Paying attention to your body and taking care of it in this way is an important aspect of mindfulness.

Now when you are ready,

Letting go of the sensations in the body.

At this point,

You may wish to change the focus of awareness once more.

This time from physical sensations to sounds.

The soundscape,

Including sounds in the room,

Sounds from outside,

Even sounds from within your own body,

Like the sound of your breathing.

Perhaps the sound can be in front of your body,

Coming from the sides of your body,

Or the back of your body.

We're not really looking for sounds,

But just allowing the sounds come to us through the ears.

And see if you can focus on the quality of the sounds,

Such as tone,

The volume of the sound,

The pitch,

The timbre,

The intonation,

The subtleties perhaps of variety of sounds coming and going.

And can you detect the movement of sounds?

Our job is not to interpret the source of the sounds,

Such that it's a fan,

That's a bird,

That's a siren,

But more about the quality of the sound.

So it's about directing your attention to the sounds as pure sounds.

Noticing their ability in pitch,

In tone,

And intensity.

And perhaps noticing for the first time some sounds that were present all along,

But previously unnoticed because not listened to.

Allow the focus on sounds to fill your awareness.

Noticing where your mind is,

And if it has wandered off,

Redirecting it to focus once again on sounds.

And now,

Allowing sounds to recede into the background,

And experimenting with another object of awareness,

This time namely thoughts.

Often we see thoughts as distractions,

Taking us away from the intention of our practice.

But now,

Letting them become the focus of our attention.

Noticing thoughts as they arise,

And then fade with the arrival of the next thought.

Bringing awareness to the process of thinking.

Knowing how the thoughts tend to come and go,

Just like clouds in a windy sky.

Another analogy would be watching it on the silver screen,

Just like a movie.

Your thoughts being projected,

And you're just watching it.

See if you can follow them,

One after another,

After another,

And after another.

Thoughts may be positive,

Negative,

Or neutral.

Often we get caught up in them carried away,

As they can be potentially captivating.

Our job is just to observe thoughts mindfully,

Allowing us to see more clearly when the mind gets carried off.

And then we can make wiser choices about whether to stay with given thought,

Or simply to let it go.

And noticing we have a choice,

To be with a thought,

Or simply to let it go.

And now,

Letting go of your focus of thoughts in the next few moments,

Allowing awareness to rest on whatever comes up.

Not focusing on the breath,

Sensations,

Sounds,

Or thoughts in particular,

But opening to whatever comes across the screen of awareness.

Whatever that's pulling at your attention now,

In this moment.

It could be anything.

It could be a thought,

An image,

A sensation in the body,

An emotion.

Whatever comes up for you,

Allowing space for that experience to come in.

And this is often referred to as choiceless awareness.

And now in this moment,

See if you can stay in awareness,

Remaining open to whatever arises.

If you find this difficult,

Or it is not right for you at this time,

It's fine to focus on the breath instead,

Or any other object of awareness that we have been practicing.

Just allowing yourself to be open to whatever your experience is in this moment.

If you're finding that you're unsteady,

And you need more of an anchor to focus on,

You can always come back to the breath at any time.

And in the last few moments of this meditation practice,

Returning to the breath when you're ready.

Just allowing the breath to anchor you.

Breathing in on the in-breath,

And breathing out on the out-breath.

Using the breath as an anchor for awareness.

Using the waves of the breath,

Just like a leaf floating up and down on the waves of a lake.

Just noticing the physical sensations of the breath in the body in this moment as you sit here breathing.

And as we end this meditation practice,

Taking some time now to congratulate yourself for making the time to do this practice.

It's a true act of self-care.

And following the breath for the next few moments,

Until the sound of the bells ends this meditation practice.