Cultivating mindful presence,
And instilling it in your world.
Hello,
My name is Jim Steed,
And I am your guide for this session.
Find a place where you will not be disturbed.
Find a place to sit down on a regular,
Non-comfy chair,
Like a dining room chair or a stool,
Or on a cushion on the floor.
If you are seated in a chair or stool,
Place both of your feet flat on the floor,
And your hands,
Palms up,
On your thighs.
If you're seated on a cushion,
You can attempt the full lotus position,
If you want,
But it's not necessary.
An easier position is just to sit with your buttocks on a cushion,
And your legs crossed just above the ankles,
And ankles and feet resting on their sides on the floor.
If you're sitting on a chair or stool,
Your hands can be placed on your thighs,
With your palms facing upwards.
Some people like to lightly touch the tips of their thumbs and their middle fingers together.
Another way people like,
If they are seated cross-legged on the floor,
Is to put their hands in their lap,
Palms up,
With one hand in the palm of the other,
And their thumbs slightly touching.
It's all a matter of personal preference.
What is important is to sit comfortably.
Comfortably enough to not be too distracted by pain or stiffness,
But not so comfortably that you fall asleep easily.
Once you have seated yourself,
Close your eyes and straighten your back.
You can do this by imagining your head,
The top of your head and spine,
Are similar to the car jack,
With the top of your head pushing the sky upwards.
Jacking it up with the top of your head,
Jacking the sky up,
Up,
And holding it there.
Now that you are straightened,
You can center yourself by leaning slightly to the right,
Letting your body return on its own to the center.
Do this a couple of times.
It will probably rock back and forth like a metronome,
Slowly coming to in the middle.
With your back straight,
Resting in the middle,
You are centered.
Now take a couple of breaths in and out,
And as you breathe out,
Let the muscles on your face and upper torso relax.
Relax from your skeleton as if they are clothes hanging loosely down from a clothes hanger,
Or a warm,
Wet towel hanging down from a towel rack on the wall.
The words drooping and sagging here are very good.
If you are totally relaxed,
You can even feel your relaxed facial muscles begin to flatten,
And your cheeks begin to hollow out.
If you are truly relaxed,
You can look inwardly,
Upwards towards your third eye.
You will discover that your eyelids are so relaxed,
They just prefer to stay glued shut.
If you try to open them,
Go ahead and try to open them.
When you are sure,
They would really prefer to stay shut.
Then take a deep breath in,
And gather that relaxation just above your head.
Then breathe out,
Sending a wonderful wave of relaxation down through your body,
Out your toes if you are seated in a chair,
Or sending it down and out your perineum if you are seated on the floor.
Feeling wonderful all the way down.
You have now settled in.
This meditation session can fly by like a movie or novel,
One that you really relish so much you hope it will never end.
You know,
The way time sometimes just loves to fly by.
With your eyes closed,
Use your inner eyes to recall the level of lighting in the place you are sitting,
The colors you saw there before you closed your eyes,
And the activities in the environment.
These make up your present environment.
You can accept them.
Notice any sounds of any background music,
Machines or vehicles,
Or people around you.
These sounds also make up your present environment.
You can accept them.
Notice any smells,
The temperature of the room,
The feeling of your body on the surface on which you are sitting,
The touch of your clothes against your skin,
The air going in and out of your nostrils.
These make up your present environment.
You can accept them.
Welcome to here.
Sitting still,
Bring your attention to your breathing.
Simply notice your breathing.
Do not attempt to change your breathing in any way.
Breathe simply and normally.
Notice the in-breath and the out-breath,
The inhale and the exhale.
Notice means to actually feel the breathing in your body with your body,
Not with your imagination.
Feeling the breathing in your body with your body.
Do not visualize your breathing or think about it in any way except to notice how your body feels and what it does as you breathe.
Remember to really feel into the act of breathing.
Each time your attention wanders away from the act of breathing or each time you have an intrusive thought,
Just say to your unconscious,
I know,
And bring your attention back to your breath.
Do this gently without judgment.
When you get off the path,
The important thing is to get back on.
There's no need for guilt or theatrics.
Just silently say to your unconscious mind,
Best presence.
We will continue paying attention to our breath for 90 seconds now.
I will give you further instructions at that time.
For now,
Just keep noticing your breath,
Saying,
I know,
To the intrusive thoughts and redirecting your attention to your breath.
Good.
90 seconds is up.
Now notice how the air feels moving through your nostrils and throat on both the in-breath and the out-breath.
Continue to say,
I know,
To the intrusive thoughts and redirecting your attention to your breath.
If your breathing through your nostrils or throat feels slightly cold,
Raspy or even ragged,
That's normal.
Just feel into it.
Good.
Now,
Notice how the air feels as it fills and empties your belly and chest.
How your belly and ribcage expand outward with each in-breath and contract with each out-breath.
Allow your attention to fully enter the body sensation of the belly and ribcage moving with each breath,
Remembering to continue to say,
I know,
To intrusive thoughts before bringing your attention back to your breathing.
Now continue.
Good.
Now notice your back,
How it expands and contracts with each breath.
You can actually feel it shifting and changing as you breathe.
Continue saying,
I know,
To distracting thoughts before you gently bring your attention back to the movement of your back while you breathe.
Continue.
Now,
Allow your attention to cover your entire body all at once,
Also paying attention to how it interacts with the space around it as you breathe in and out.
Closely notice all the sensations at one time in the body as it breathes,
Remembering to say,
I know,
To intrusive thoughts.
Continue.
Continue.
Now,
As you notice all of your body sensations as it breathes,
Say the word presence as you feel it.
Put the word presence or a symbol of the word presence in something or on something that you can glance at in your living room,
Like a mirror or a vase,
Or put it on the door you use to enter your home,
Or both places if you wish.
Wherever you put it now,
Know that it will be there waiting for you to re-experience it.
After you have placed it,
You can return to your normal everyday state and get on with your day,
Or you can continue practicing two more sequences of this meditation and installing this presence in a couple of more places for you to re-experience at a later time.
Welcome to sequence two.
Again,
Notice how the air feels moving through your nostrils and throat on both the in-breath and the out-breath,
Saying,
I know,
To intrusive thoughts before bringing your attention back to your nostrils and throat.
Continue.
Good.
Now notice how the air feels as it fills and empties your belly and chest,
How your belly and ribcage expand outwards with each in-breath and contract with each out-breath,
And keep saying,
I know,
To any intrusive thoughts,
And then return back to your breathing.
Continue.
Now bring your attention to the movement of your back as it responds to your breathing.
Good.
Now notice all of your body's sensations at once,
All of the body's sensations at once as it breathes.
Feel it.
Really feel it.
This is presence.
Continue.
Now say the word presence,
And feel that presence as you're breathing in and out,
As your whole body moves.
And put that word,
Or a symbol of that word presence,
In something that you can glance at,
At your place of study,
Or work,
Or play,
Or even in something you can hold,
Like the steering wheel of your car,
Or something you can hold that you can wear,
Like your exercise shoes.
Wherever you put it,
Know that that presence awaits you there to re-experience later.
After you've placed it there,
You can return to your normal,
Everyday state,
Feeling good,
Or you can continue practicing this breathing sequence one more time and place it in another place to re-experience it in the future.
Welcome to sequence three,
The last sequence.
First,
Notice the movement of air through your nostrils and throat,
Remembering to say,
I know,
To intrusive thoughts.
Continue.
Now,
Notice your belly and ribcage moving as you breathe in and out.
Notice how they fill up and contract,
Expand,
Remembering to say,
I know,
To any intrusion.
Then,
Notice the movements of your back again as it moves with your breathing.
Continue.
Now,
Bring your attention to your entire body,
Everything moving at once with your breath,
And your body's interaction with the space around it,
All at once as you breathe in and out.
Closely notice all the sensations of the body as it breathes in your environment.
This is presence.
Continue.
Now,
As you continue to notice all of your body's sensations as it breathes,
Say the word presence and feel it.
And as you continue to feel it,
Put the word presence,
Or your symbol for it,
Behind the eyes of someone important to you.
Looking at their eyes,
You will just know it's there.
Or put it in the background of his or her voice.
Know that presence awaits you there to re-experience with that person you care about.
Being there,
Being present for him or her.
What a wonderful gift.
After you have placed it there,
You can use your own time and your own way to return to your normal,
Everyday state and enjoy the rest of your day.
And remember to thank yourself.
Thank yourself.
