45-Minute Open Awareness Practice

To begin the regular meditation practice,

Let's arrange to spend this time on a regular basis in a place where we can comfortably still the body and at a time when we will not be interrupted,

Allowing this to be a time in which we set aside our usual doing mode and just rest in being.

So finding a way to sit comfortably,

Perhaps bringing in that intention to stay still,

But to listen to the body.

So choosing a dignified posture,

One where we can sit up straight and feel alert and relaxed.

So if we're in a chair,

Just sitting a little bit away from the back of the chair,

Trying to sit up straight and just feeling into the body.

Feeling the supporting surface,

Feeling the contact between the supporting surface and the body.

Just paying attention to those points and how it feels to have that contact,

Bringing that beginner's mind.

So really feeling what it's like to just be sitting here and turning the attention towards the breath,

Wherever the breath is most apparent to you.

You may feel it in the abdomen,

The chest.

Maybe you feel it at the nose,

Feel the breath moving through the nostrils.

So just being aware of the breath,

Letting go of any temptation to take control,

Just knowing that your body already knows how to breathe perfectly well all on its own,

And just allowing it to do that.

And from time to time as we go through this practice,

Your mind will wander away.

You may start thinking about the past or the future,

Or you might be fantasizing about something,

Worrying,

Just wherever the mind goes,

Simply acknowledging and then without judgment,

Resisting that desire perhaps to be hard on yourself.

And just gently bringing the mind back to paying attention to that physical sensation and understanding the past,

And understanding what it's like to take control of that and take back all the content that comes out of it.

Okay?

And every time you find that your mind has wandered off the breath,

Just be aware as soon as you can be and gently bring the attention back to the belly or to the nostrils or to the chest or wherever you're following the breath to be present.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And then just coming back to that moment to moment observation of the flow of your breath.

And again,

Whenever you notice that your mind may have wandered off the breath,

Just be aware that your mind may have wandered off.

Just bring the attention back to the breathing and the sense of your body as you sit here,

Not going anywhere,

Not doing anything,

Simply being,

Simply sitting.

This is just gonna take a little bit of time but I need to sort of volleyball here.

You can do the stretching exercise.

You can go with any pace!

And of course,

And it happens with all of us,

There may be times when sensations in one part of your body become overwhelming and dominate the field of your awareness,

To the point where it becomes very difficult to stay focused and concentrated.

If this happens to you,

Then you have some alternatives.

One is to mindfully shift to a more comfortable position to relieve some of that intensity.

If you choose to move,

Just be aware of the intention to do so before you actually move.

But another way to work with this intensity is to try to simply stay here without moving and restricting the motions in these periods of intensity and just zeroing in on that region of the body and fully experiencing what it is with putting the attention right there and feeling and experiencing that intensity fully and completely.

It may be helpful for you to imagine that the breath can go into that part of the body.

So directing the breath,

If you can,

Into that region and just allowing the attention to reside fully in that space and turning towards those potential feelings of discomfort.

So instead of reacting,

We can respond by opening and softening rather than tensing,

Embracing,

And resisting.

So even with the intensity,

You may find some stillness and acceptance.

So it may be difficult for us to zero in on our reactions,

Just doing our best to observe them as well as the sensations.

And when the intensity subsides,

Just reestablishing the awareness on the body as a whole and noticing the breath as it moves through the body and coming back to this fullness of each breath and to that cycle of breathing.

And so allowing the awareness to expand to the body as a whole.

So noticing the breath,

As well as noticing others' physical sensations that may be present and may draw your attention.

So just being fully aware and fully present here.

So just feeling through the body here.

Holding the attention here in this present moment in this body.

And allowing,

If you like,

For your awareness to reach outward through sound.

Allowing ourselves to perceive through hearing what else is happening without ascribing any labels or meaning to what it is that we're hearing.

Just tuning in with a very high degree of awareness.

Catching any sounds that may be in the room,

In the space where we're practicing or outside.

So just tuning that awareness.

Tuning in as finely as we can to really hear all of the sounds in the environment around us without judging them or labeling.

Just noticing that impermanent quality of sound as well.

Sound arrives and then it's gone.

So just being fully aware and fully present here.

And allowing,

If you like,

For your awareness to reach outward through sound.

Allowing ourselves to perceive through hearing what else is happening without ascribing any labels or meaning to what it is that we're hearing.

Just tuning in with a very high degree of awareness.

Allowing ourselves to perceive through hearing what else is happening.

So noticing the quality of the attention now.

Noticing the sounds,

The bodily sensations of breathing.

And then if you like,

Turning the attention toward the mental objects.

Just noticing the state of the mind and what's going through the mind.

Just observing the thoughts.

Not getting involved in them.

As tempting as it may be.

Just noticing thoughts as they come and as they go.

May help to think of yourself like a person standing on the platform at a train station.

Just watching trains go by.

As tempting as it may be to get on the train.

Just resisting that temptation.

Staying here in this present moment.

Just observing.

Anytime we do get caught by a thought.

Just allowing the breath to be the anchor.

Returning to the anchor breath.

Grounding there.

So anytime this experience may become too vast,

Too difficult for you to hold everything in awareness.

You can always return to the anchor breath.

So just seeing these weather patterns in the mind.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Just allowing them to come and go.

The same way that we would observe the coming and the going of air as we breathe.

So just seeing these weather patterns in the mind.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Just allowing them to come and go.

The same way that we would observe the coming and the going of air as we breathe.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Just seeing these weather patterns in the mind.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Allowing it to ground us back into the body.

Just holding the attention there on the anchor breath.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

Recalling the impersonal nature of the thoughts.

And thanking yourself for having done this practice today.

And then perhaps bring an intention to be mindful throughout the rest of the day.