You're sitting in a firm and comfortable posture.
Your hips and thighs and sitting bones are grounded,
Heavy,
Sinking into your seat.
Your spinal column rises like the trunk of a slender birch tree from this firm base up through the crown of the head.
Your shoulders have softened down your back.
Your belly is soft.
Your neck is soft.
Your face is soft.
Your breath moves easily in and out through your nostrils.
Attentively,
Delicately,
Begin to explore the sensations within and around your body as you sit here with yourself in this moment.
Notice the sensations in your thighs,
In your hips,
The contact between your body and your seat.
Be aware of the sensations in your feet,
In your ankles,
In your knees.
Feel the sensations in your lower back,
Your belly,
Your chest,
Your upper back.
Feel the sensations through your body.
Feel the touch of your clothes against your skin.
Notice how the air feels against your face.
Listen to the sounds around you.
Let your awareness open to take in all the sounds.
Without naming the sounds,
Without holding on to any particular sound,
Let your awareness open to sound.
Be aware of the louder sounds,
My voice.
Be aware of the subtler sounds,
The background sounds.
Be attentive to the softest of all the ambient sounds,
The subtle hum within the silence between sounds.
Bring your attention inside your body.
With your inner tactile senses,
Feel your way into the sensations in your belly.
Without judging any of the sensations,
Notice what your belly feels like from inside.
You're observing.
You're attentive.
Your awareness moves lovingly through the body,
Noticing the sensations that arise in the heart,
In the neck,
In the forehead.
Feel the symphony of sensations inside your body.
Let your attention center in the breath,
The whole arc of the breath,
The arc of the inhalation,
The arc of the exhalation.
Where does the in-breath go in your body?
From where does the exhalation arise?
You're not trying to change the breath.
You're not trying to breathe.
You're simply letting yourself be aware of the flow of the breath.
It flows in.
It flows out.
You're anchored in the flow of the breath.
Now become aware of the field of your mind.
Be aware of the thoughts that arise and subside inside your consciousness.
Notice how some thoughts dart up,
Swim through your awareness,
And dart away.
Notice how others become a picture or a mood state.
You're simply with the thoughts,
Not following them,
Not pushing them away,
Simply observing.
Some thoughts grab your attention.
Some thoughts float by.
Observe them all with their different flavors.
Observe the deeper currents of mood or energy,
Pleasurable feelings,
Uncomfortable feelings.
Simply be aware of what is passing through the field of your mind.
You're not trying to change any of this.
You're simply being with it,
Holding this experience of being with yourself inside your awareness,
Your attention.
Now in this moment,
Be aware of the whole flow of your experience,
Aware of the sounds,
Aware of the sensations in your body,
Aware of the sensations in your body,
Aware of the breath,
Aware of the thoughts and feelings passing through your mind.
Now for a moment,
Become aware of your own awareness.
Pull your attention back to observe the inner knowingness that lets you perceive all this.
Turn your attention around and focus it on the inner spaciousness that holds all these thoughts,
All these feelings,
All these sensations.
Focus your attention on attention itself.
Be aware of awareness.
Now bring your attention back to the breath.
Follow the breath as it flows in and flows out.
The breath is your anchor.
It moves gently on its own.
There's no need to try to breathe.
No need to draw the breath in or push the breath out.
Breathing happens naturally.
Let the breath happen.
If you notice that your breath feels jerky or tight,
If different feelings arise as you center on the breath,
Notice them.
Be aware.
And very gently let these sensations or feelings flow out with the exhalation.
Let your awareness anchor itself to the breath,
Each breath,
Breath by breath.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
There's no need to follow the thought,
No need to push it away.
Simply label it,
Thinking.
And bring your awareness back into the breath.
Awareness of the breath.
Rest in the breath.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
And bring your awareness back into the breath.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
And bring your awareness back into the breath.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
As thoughts come up,
Label each thought,
Thinking.
