This is an eyes-open,
Senses-open meditation for moving through the urban jungle.
This process will help protect you from drains on your energy and help you remain in a light and easeful state even while in chaotic city environments.
You can listen to this while walking,
Commuting on public transport,
Or in any high stimulation setting.
Start by breathing gently in and out of your nose.
If comfortable,
You can place your tongue in its most natural position,
Gently touching the roof of your mouth.
See if you can slow down your breath just a bit while remaining comfortable.
Breathe in and breathe out at your own pace,
At your own internal rhythm,
And see if you can slow down internally,
No matter what the speed of things are around you.
As you continue to breathe in and out of your nose in the most effortless and silent way possible,
You can notice how no matter where you are or how you are,
You can always pay attention to your breath.
You can always control your breath.
Nothing in your external environment can ever take away from that.
However you happen to be right now,
Notice the points of contact between your body and whatever surface you're on.
If you're sitting,
Notice the feeling of your butt in the seat.
If you're standing,
Notice the feeling of your feet on the ground.
If you're walking,
Notice how your weight transfers from foot to foot.
Notice the pull of gravity on your body.
Notice the pull of gravity on your spine.
Is there a way that you can sit,
Stand,
Or walk that allows your spine to feel better?
Is there a way that you can be where you resist gravity less?
Imagine the vertebrae of your spine could expand and separate,
Where the crown of your head floats up towards the sky and your tailbone sinks effortlessly towards the ground.
So that no matter how you're positioned,
No matter what you're doing,
You can find an easeful and natural alignment.
Continue breathing gently and easily and visualize your spine expanding in this way,
Lengthening in this way,
Finding a more easeful alignment.
Now,
While breathing gently through your nose,
Direct your attention to the literal air you're breathing.
Is there anything you notice about the air entering your nostrils?
We tend to close off our senses when in high stimulation environments.
This can be useful sometimes to protect ourselves.
But when done over a long period of time,
It can cause chronic fatigue.
Our nervous system often gets confused by the stimulation of city life.
Sometimes our bodies think we're in danger when we're really not.
So we're going to use our senses,
Starting with our most primal sense,
Smell,
To reopen ourselves to our natural energy flow and to let our nervous system know that it's safe.
It doesn't need to close off.
It can allow our natural energy flow.
Take a breath in at your natural pace.
What smells or aromas can you detect?
Try not to judge what you perceive.
Some smells are more pleasant than others,
But none of them will hurt you.
See if you can take a nice deep inhalation and simply notice what you notice.
See if you can notice a flavor to the air.
Maybe you notice nothing,
And that's okay.
Maybe you notice so much it seems overwhelming.
Either way,
Just observe the quality of the air you are breathing and continue breathing through your nose.
Now we'll move to the sense we tend to overuse in the urban environment.
In the urban jungle.
Sight.
Take a moment to look around you.
Literally.
A gentle scan of your environment is fine.
Notice the space that you're in.
How big is the total area?
How far off can you see?
How many colors do you notice?
Is there anything in your physical vicinity that you maybe didn't notice before?
Now stop looking around with your physical eyes and use your mind's eye to visualize the entire space at once.
Scan everything around you only with your mind's eye,
Using the information your physical eyes just gave you.
See if you can put your attention on the entire space at once,
Including all the things and people that may be around you.
This practice alone can have a deeply calming effect as it tells your nervous system that your entire perimeter is secure and accounted for,
So it can relax.
Now we're going to switch to hearing.
If you'd like,
You can take an earbud out of your right ear so that you can listen to both this meditation and the environment.
Noise pollution is a part of city life.
Our nervous system tends to be most reactive to sound because it thinks loud noises mean danger.
But that's only when we are in a reactive state.
We can train ourselves to filter sound differently by approaching it in a proactive state.
Right now,
See if you can isolate the individual sounds around you.
You can start by listening to any sources of sound in your immediate vicinity.
Are there people having conversations?
Are there machines or vehicles making sound?
Are there footsteps or doors closing?
Or any faint sounds off in the distance?
You've already visually scanned your environment,
So use your mind's eye to listen to all the sounds around you.
Start with what's near you and listen further and further away.
And continue to breathe.
Imagine you're listening to a big band or orchestra.
Each sound around you is an instrument contributing to the total symphony.
See if you can tune in to the individual instruments.
Maybe there's some sounds that you didn't notice before.
And now see if you can listen to the total symphony all at once,
Without judgment.
Can you enjoy the orchestra of sounds that may be around you?
Can you enjoy whatever sights are right in front of you?
The colors,
The objects,
The people.
Can you appreciate the air you're breathing?
No matter what aromas.
Can you feel your body around you?
Can you feel the ever-present pull of gravity?
Can you allow your spine to expand and find its natural alignment,
No matter what environment you're in?
And can you continue to breathe?
The urban jungle may be surrounding you,
But nature still surrounds the urban jungle.
So you can always connect to nature.
You can always connect to your inner nature through this way.
Even if your environment is chaotic,
You can remember that inside of you,
You can always maintain peace.
So you never have to feel reactive to the stimulation around you.
Instead,
You can use your senses to reach out into your environment and enjoy it rather than react to it.
All you have to do is breathe,
Feel,
Look,
And listen.
As you go about your day today,
See if you can maintain this proactive awareness to remain connected to your inner nature within the urban jungle.
