Hi,
This is Reena Davis,
And this is a meditation about building awareness of thoughts,
Senses,
And the whole body.
Wherever you are,
Become still,
Either lying,
Sitting,
Or standing.
Choose a posture to be as comfortable as possible.
Lightly close your eyes or soften your gaze down your nose,
And bring awareness to whatever's going on for you right now.
Give the weight of your body up to gravity.
Allow your weight to sink into the points of contact between your body and the floor,
Chair,
Or bed,
Whether that's your feet,
Your buttocks,
Or your back.
What sensations are there right now?
If you notice any tension or resistance to painful or unpleasant sensations,
Gently turn toward them.
Accept them as best you can.
If you begin to tense around the breath,
Then let a little bit out with each exhale.
And again,
Soften into gravity.
Notice any thoughts as they arise and pass away in the mind.
See if you can let them go without becoming too identified with the content.
Look at your thoughts,
Not from your thoughts.
Observe them as if they were clouds in the sky.
Relate to them as a flow of mental events.
Remember thoughts are not facts.
Now notice any feelings and emotions as they arrive.
Can you let these come and go without pushing away those that you don't like or jumping on to the ones that you do like?
Include everything within your awareness with a kindly perspective.
Allow your awareness to gather around the experience of the breath in the body.
Drop your awareness inside the breath and feel the different sensations in the front,
Back,
And sides of the torso,
Inside the torso,
And on the surface of the torso.
Feel all of the different sensations of the breath as it flows into and out of the body.
Can you rest within the flow of the breath?
Let everything change moment by moment.
Use the breath to anchor your awareness in the present moment of the body.
Each time you notice your mind has wandered,
Remember that you are having a magic moment of awareness.
You have woken up.
Then gently bring the mind back to the breath deep in the body.
Now gently broaden and expand your awareness to include the whole body.
Feel the weight and shape of the body as it sits,
Stands,
Or lies.
Feel the breath in the whole body.
Imagine you are breathing in and out in all directions.
360 degree breathing.
If you have any pain or discomfort,
Make sure your awareness stays open to include this with a sense of compassion.
Soften tension and resistance with each breath.
Cultivate acceptance for all of your experiences.
Befriend it.
Now broaden your awareness even further to become aware of sounds both inside and outside the room.
Be aware of other people around you.
Then imagine expanding all of your awareness outward to include all humanity.
Imagine the whole world breathing.
And now gently open your eyes and move the body.
And as you re-engage with the activities of your day,
See if you can carry the awareness that you've cultivated within you.
