Relaxed Open Awareness

So go ahead and get comfortable.

And this time,

As if you're hearing the word comfortable for the first time,

We're noticing are we really comfortable in this moment and settling in to our meditation.

So as you've noticed week after week when we place our attention on our breath,

It serves as the most convenient anchor point for our attention.

That's probably why most disciplines tend to use the breath as a beginner's practice because the breath is always with us.

We can use it as we sit and we can take it with us where we go.

It's very portable.

Notice that last breath is gone.

You don't have to worry about it.

The only breath is right now.

So the next one hasn't come yet.

So it's a great reminder to help bring our attention back to the present moment.

Like I said,

It is known as a beginner's practice,

But after we meditate for a while,

We start to notice that it's really not about the breath at all or any object that we choose from week to week,

Be it a mantra,

The breath,

Some visual cue.

What I hope we start to notice is that these objects of attention help us attend with greater stability.

Gradually,

We start to feel what attention is all about just by attending to this moment.

We see it's about the relationship between the perceiver and the perceived,

Between me and the object that I observe,

Between you and the objects you observe.

They're all the same.

They're all woven into this wholeness,

This pure awareness.

They were never separate.

Much like in the beginning of the practice,

We used our senses to connect more fully with that moment and each moment.

But what we really need to remember is how we feel in those moments.

That's the relationship.

And for me,

I start to notice that the hardest part about mindfulness is being present right now with the experience.

No matter how I feel in any particular pose,

I immediately want to jump right in and change it,

Force it,

Make it better.

Whatever the quality of our attention,

What's the most important part is our awareness of it.

How awake we are right now in this moment.

Can we open up right now to what's unfolding in our experiences?

Whether we like them or not.

Whether it's pleasant or not.

Can you rest in this awareness,

This open,

Spacious awareness for one breath?

When we choose to inhabit awareness in this way,

We're really cultivating a new way of living.

Whether it's sitting in meditation or out in the real world.

Our whole life becomes our meditation practice when we choose to approach us with this level of awareness.

It's really an essential dimension of our being that we've always had.

We can never contact because we're so used to reacting that we've forgotten how to use it when we most need it in our most stressful times.

Let's cultivate with our intentions and attention this new way of living.

Being gentle and kind with ourselves with regular practice on and off the mat.

Letting go like Betty said,

Going with the flow and finding that balance.

When our emotions need it,

We use our body as that barometer to right the ship.

Cultivating a new set point for mindfulness.

We let our attention drift.

We notice how do we feel in this moment.

Can we let it be?

Let our attention drift again.

How do we feel in this moment?

Can we let it be?

Touching each moment and letting go.

How do we feel in this moment?

Can we let it be?

As we let go,

In an effort to find that balance,

We can tune in to the breath in the body.

Not with that laser focus,

Not right in the nose or right in the chest or right in the abdomen,

But we can start with those three locations and expand out.

For a moment,

Let's place our awareness right at the tip of our nose.

Noticing how we feel in this moment.

What do we smell and how do we feel about that?

Can we expand this awareness to include the bridge of the nose?

Can you feel the vibrational quality on your face?

Can you relax into the awareness around your entire head and let it go?

Can you bring your attention back and rest it gently in your chest?

For starters,

Noticing as you rise and fall as you exhale.

Not staying rigid in our practice,

Expanding to include the chest,

The lungs,

The rib cage.

Can you feel a sense of expansion to include your whole upper torso?

Almost as if you're breathing in from that chest area and breathing out from that chest area.

Can you let that go?

Now to include the abdomen.

Again,

Not simply resting our attention in that space,

But to include the lower back,

The sitting bones,

Pressure,

Vibrational quality between you and the seat.

And letting it go.

Now imagining that you can breathe throughout your whole body,

Air coming in from your body as a whole.

Almost as if there's this sphere of awareness that surrounds your entire body.

And letting go.

We can expand back out to let our attention drift.

And whenever you notice a sensation or emotion or a thought that's hijacked your attention,

See if you can ask yourself,

What am I feeling or thinking right now?

And can I let it be?

And we'll keep meditating in this way and I'll mind the time.

So when you hear me ring the bowl,

You can continue to sit with your eyes closed.

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With your eyes still closed.

You can let go of the practice and just rest easy.