Hello and welcome to The Daily Insight.
Today's meditation focuses on building insight on the power of attention.
What is attention?
Attention is the streamline of awareness.
Your awareness is what gives birth to the world around you.
Without awareness,
There would be no way to measure reality.
Take a moment now to get comfortable in your position.
Start by taking in a few deep,
Long breaths.
Fill the lungs up full of air and exhale slowly.
Take in a long,
Deep breath and slowly exhale.
Allow the body to relax,
Let go and give your body permission to relax.
Feel a wave of easiness take over your physical form.
Now ask yourself,
Where is my attention?
Follow your attention back to its source.
Merge your attention with your body's aliveness.
Feel your body being alive right here and right now.
Keep your attention in your body.
If your mind manages to pull your attention back,
Simply bring your attention back into the sensations that you can feel.
Focus with the body's intelligence.
Where is your attention?
Now focus on your breath.
Allow your natural,
Easy breath to take place.
Stay focused.
Where is your attention?
Keep moving your awareness through the body.
Keep moving your attention back to your breath.
What does the body feel like?
What can you sense?
Go deeper into these sensations.
Feel every little cell.
Observe where your attention is.
If the mind tries to seduce your attention,
Simply bring it back immediately to your breath and then back to your body.
Stay present.
Attention is a focused channel of awareness.
Attention can also be called consciousness.
In order to be conscious,
You first must be aware.
You might like to think of attention like a spotlight.
You can shine that light upon any part of your body,
Any object,
Any moment,
And your attention draws information back into your mind.
Where your attention goes,
Energy flows.
When we channel our attention through the instrument we call the brain,
It becomes the mind.
The mind is the brain in action.
The brain is designed to process information.
It's next to impossible to stop thinking when our attention is in the brain.
This makes it easy for us to get lost in our thoughts,
Constantly identifying with the influx of thought process,
Leaving us unconscious and captive in the state of the ego.
Use the next few minutes to stay in the body's intelligence,
Feeling and embracing the sensations of the body.
Now,
Be aware of each breath.
Breathe in and out.
As you breathe,
Feel the oxygen nourish your cells.
Where is my attention?
Allow your energy to stay within the container of your skin.
Ego will try and take your attention.
Be aware of that magnetic pull from your ego and then bring your attention back into your body.
And it's normal to find yourself lost in thoughts.
Just realize it's the ego seducing your attention.
Gently bring yourself back.
Keep your attention within your body.
Focus on your breath.
Connect to your body's wisdom,
Your body's intelligence.
Each cell craves for your attention.
Your attention is recharging your body.
What can you feel?
Stay in this feeling for the next few breaths.
The great teachers direct us to move our attention within ourselves.
To connect to our bodies,
Connect to our breath.
This allows thoughts to subside,
Allows the mind to relax,
And allows our attention to be in the body's energy system.
Think of this like stepping into yourself.
A quiet,
Deep space.
By learning how to keep our attention in the body's intelligence,
We harness more creative energies,
Allowing all of our channels to open up.
I ask you now to again scan the body.
Visualizing your attention like that spotlight.
Lighting up different sections of the body.
Start with your eyes.
And fill your eye muscles full of attention.
Then your forehead.
Your cheeks.
Your chin.
Your face.
Your lips.
Your ears.
Your whole face.
Fill it up with attention.
Release any tension that you find in the face.
Direct your breath to the area that you're focused on.
Relax all the muscles in your forehead.
Feel your eyes getting heavier and heavier with each breath.
Welcome the energy of relaxation.
Allow it to take place.
Now scan the front side of your body.
Direct the light to your chest.
Your abdominal region.
Your neck.
Your shoulders.
Your upper back.
Your mid back.
Your lower back.
Your arms.
Scan your upper body with all of your attention.
Now scan your lower body.
Your hips.
Your thighs.
Your knees.
Your ankles.
Your feet.
Every single toe.
And then feel your whole lower body.
Fill it with all of your attention.
Now bring your attention to your spine.
To send your attention down to your coccyx,
Right at the base.
And then trace your awareness up the spine.
All the way up to the base of your skull.
Feel the spinal column.
Now feel your whole body.
Keep your attention in your soft belly.
And then spread that relaxation to all parts of the body.
Feel yourself relaxed and at ease.
Coming now to the end of our practice.
Take in a few deep breaths.
Gently bring your awareness back into the space that your body is in.
Center your attention into the space around you.
Into the present moment.
When you feel ready,
Gently open your eyes.
To conclude today's practice,
I will leave you with a quote.
Through meditation and by giving full attention to one thing at a time,
We can direct our attention wherever we choose.
