Hey there,
I'm Sarah and I'm here to guide you through your five senses to presence.
This is a practice that can be done anywhere,
Anytime.
And however you've arrived here is totally welcome.
You don't need to be feeling super zen to practice or sitting at a meditation altar.
You are safe and welcome here as you are,
Wherever you are.
And so to begin your practice you can be seated or laying down,
Just in a relaxed position,
However that is for you.
I'm just taking three really long deep breaths,
Longer and deeper than before.
Releasing any tension that you're holding and bringing yourself fully into this space,
Into this present moment.
And I encourage you to open your eyes if you haven't already and just look around.
What is it that you see?
Noticing this sense of sight,
Noticing the colours,
The shapes,
The textures and noticing everything without judgement,
Everything without labelling,
Just observing.
Seeing things that are further away,
Things that are closer.
Really focusing on every single object,
Every single thing that you can see.
Keeping your attention here and here only.
Now closing the eyes.
What do you hear?
What sounds can you hear around you?
Sounds further away,
Sounds closer to you.
Noticing without judging,
Listening without labelling,
Just really noticing everything in its fullest expression.
Really focusing on this one sense organ,
This sound,
This sense of hearing.
Now moving your awareness to the sense of touch.
What sensations can you feel on your skin?
Can you feel the breeze against your skin?
Can you feel your clothes?
Maybe the temperature of the air?
Just noticing,
Bringing your awareness to each individual thing that you sense.
Maybe you can sense the space around you.
Not exactly a touch,
Not exactly something that you can tangibly touch or grasp or feel,
But can you just sense it here?
Can you sense the spaciousness?
Can you sense the air that is within this meter bubble around you?
Now drawing your attention a little more inward into your sense of smell.
Is there anything that you can smell here?
Is there anything that your nose picks up on?
Maybe it's damp soil,
Maybe it's the smell of breakfast.
Just noticing without judgement.
And then bringing your awareness to this space just beyond the tip of your nose.
The air,
The breath here.
Can you sense this space just beyond the nose?
And now finally drawing your attention to taste.
What can you taste?
Maybe there's a residual flavor in your mouth.
Maybe it's what you can taste from the air.
Just noticing the tongue and the jaw,
Allowing them to soften.
Allowing the tongue to slide around the roof of your mouth.
Realizing the tongue as your sense organ.
And then finally here focusing on your breath.
Focusing all of these specific sense organs,
The specific senses.
And finally coming into the breath.
Focusing on the inhale and the exhale.
The movement of the air through your body.
Maybe even the sensations and the sounds of the air as it moves in and out.
From here you can slip off into your own meditation.
You could continue on with your day using this as a presencing practice in between tasks.
But I hope to practice with you again soon.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
