That's important.
So settling into that comfortable and upright posture that we take for our formal sitting meditation practice.
Either be on a chair or on a cushion on the floor.
And as we always do in our guided meditations here,
At least for the most part,
We'll start by bringing awareness to the body.
It's just a way to kind of bring your attention down from the mind,
From the abstract world that we spend so much of our day in,
Down into the concrete,
The body.
Just feeling whatever sensations are present for you in the body.
Okay.
And if you notice any areas in the body that are holding tension or feel contracted,
It's allowing them to soften and release.
Trying to make them soften and release,
But just seeing if by bringing attention to that area some kind attention,
There isn't some softness that appears.
Okay.
And remembering that in meditation,
Especially in meditation,
But could also say in our lives and lives in general,
We're letting go of any agenda concerning how things should be or shouldn't be.
We're just being present for what,
What appears,
What arises to awareness.
Noticing,
Observing,
Witnessing in the present moment as it is.
And in this case,
In the body.
And as the body settles,
Shifting your awareness to the breath,
Feeling the breath where it's easiest and most natural for you.
Vector.
And remembering that the breath is always here,
Always in the present moment.
It's always there as your anchor or home base.
If you either get overwhelmed by some sensory experience that arises,
Or if you get lost in thought and simply want to come back and return to the present moment,
The breath is always there as a place to begin again.
When you're ready,
Allowing your focus to shift to hearing.
So bringing hearing into the foreground,
The breath can still be in the background,
But in the foreground,
Your awareness will be on hearing,
Allowing sounds to enter your field of awareness.
It's not necessary to go searching for sounds or listening to particular sounds.
Instead we're simply opening to the soundscape that's present for us in this moment.
We're not getting carried away by thoughts about the sound.
That happens simply refocus your attention back on sounds in the foreground and breath in the background.
And eventually we'll be able toearth the sound post.
And if you find yourself thinking about a particular sound,
Simply notice that this has occurred and reconnect the direct awareness of sounds rather than the particular meanings or implications of the sounds.
And when you're ready,
Letting go of sounds and bringing thoughts to the foreground of your attention,
Shifting your focus to the thinking process itself.
Just as you are aware of sounds as they arose,
Bringing attention to thoughts as they arise,
Perhaps linger and fade.
Simply perceiving thoughts as events in the mind,
The thoughtscape,
Just as you perceive sounds as passing events or the soundscape.
Simply perceiving thoughts as events in the mind.
Noticing how thoughts just arise to awareness on their own without your consent or any doing on your part.
Just as sounds just arose without your consent or any doing on your part.
If it's helpful,
You can bring awareness to thoughts in the same way you might watch a movie.
He's watching the screen,
Sitting and watching the screen,
Waiting for a thought or image to arise on the screen,
The thought screen,
Tending to it for as long as it's on the screen and then letting it go as the next thought or image arises on the screen.
You're in for a listen.
Just noticing thoughts as events in the mind,
Sitting and waiting and watching,
Waiting for a thought to arise,
To awareness.
If there are no thoughts,
That's okay too.
Simply wait in the stillness.
I suppose.
Perhaps how particular thoughts keep coming back.
One practice called noting or labeling is you put a light and gentle notation or label on the thought,
The persistent thought,
Just judging mind or planning mind or if it's around a story,
The boss story or mother story or father story and so forth.
The labeling is kind of light and gentle,
And then it's just you just let go.
Simply give the thought a label.
Let it be not following the content or thought train.
If we don't resist the thinking mind or resist thoughts,
Sometimes stillness arises.
And there's no struggling with the present moment.
We can,
We can drift into our natural state,
Natural state of quiet and stillness.
If you get pulled away by a thought train,
The content of a thought,
Simply noticing what pulled you away.
Putting that gentle label on it and then gently guiding your attention back to the breath in the background and thoughts in the foreground.
Perhaps noticing how the mind creates a self to be preoccupied with.
Thoughts about how badly or how good this meditation is going or how badly or good things in your life are going.
Such thoughts arising as if it's coming from a self.
Just noticing each passing thought without being carried away by it without identifying with it.
Noticing how when we disidentify or unattached from our thoughts that our natural state can reveal itself.
Natural state of peace and stillness.
Just allowing thoughts to be,
Just noticing them arising as events in the mind.
Nothing more.
Just as thoughts arise as events in the ear.
