Thank you for joining me in this meditation today.
We're going to practice mindfulness using the acronym WORLD.
Welcoming,
Observing,
Releasing,
Letting go,
And doing it again.
So in preparation for today's practice,
Find a comfortable position.
If that means today it's best suited in a lying down position,
Please do so.
If you're lying down,
See if you can lengthen the spine.
So you might need to prop yourself up with some pillows or blankets,
Have something under your knees.
And whether you're lying down or seated in a chair,
See if you can keep the head and neck lengthened.
If you need to,
Cover yourself with a blanket.
We want to make the body as comfortable as possible so that throughout the rest of the practice,
We don't need to adjust to cover ourselves,
To warm ourselves up.
So find this upright or lengthened posture,
But nothing too tense or tight.
Ask yourself before we begin if there's anything else you can do to make yourself 5% more comfortable,
And then do so.
And we'll begin the practice with the sound of the bells.
As you continue to settle into your posture,
Before closing your eyes,
Let's take stock of where we are in time and space.
Look around the room.
Look at the familiar objects,
Simply name them.
Notice the colors,
The shapes,
The textures.
Orient to the room.
Know this is your space.
Know where you are.
Know what time it is.
And then when you are clear where you are,
Feel comfortable.
You can either allow your eyes to close or if your eyes remain half open,
Allow the gaze to be soft,
Landing on some nondescript spot where you can just settle.
Let's all take an intentional breath and hold it for the moment at the top.
Feel the energy in the body with the inhalation,
And then as you let it out with a sigh,
Feel the experience of the body with the outbreath.
We're going to be using the acronym world.
We begin with welcoming.
We welcome.
This is where we direct our attention to an area,
To an anchor,
To an object.
But we do so in an invitational,
Curious,
And open way.
We open ourselves to the experience.
Then we observe it.
Observing without judgment,
Without needing to criticize or elaborate,
We observe the direct experience.
Without judgment requires us to release expectation,
Release expectation that our mind stays focused,
Release expectation that the experience is any different than it appears to be in this moment,
Right now.
One clue that we are struggling with expectation is we experience it in the body.
The body may tighten,
Grip,
Brace.
So after we release expectation,
We let go of our physical tension.
And then we do it all over again.
So we'll begin with a body scan.
I invite you to direct your attention to your feet.
Welcome the experience that's living in this moment in your feet,
The heels,
The arches,
The instep,
The toes.
Turning your attention with curiosity to your feet,
Observe what is arising there.
And see if you can rest in the direct experience.
This doesn't need to have a name to it.
It doesn't seem need to have language,
Although it may.
Warmth,
Coolness,
Pressure,
Stretching,
Throbbing,
Buzzing.
Note when the mind has an expectation of how it should be,
Or how much you should be able to focus on the experience.
Release the expectation.
And as you do so,
Practice letting go of any tension in the feet.
And we do the process again.
Welcome each moment.
Observe,
Release,
Let go.
And do it again.
We're going to move more quickly through the body now.
Allow your attention to drift up to your ankles,
To your calves,
Your shins,
To your knees.
Welcome the experience here and observe it.
You don't have to force it.
You don't have to go hunting for an experience.
And that is an expectation itself.
I have to feel this.
Notice and observe the sensations of the body.
Let go of the physical tension.
Let's move now from the knees,
Up the thighs,
The hamstrings,
To the hips.
We're simply stabilizing our attention.
We're saying hello.
What's the experience in the upper legs right now?
Welcome it,
Observe it,
Release the expectations.
Let go of any bracing or gripping.
A strong sensation might be present.
As we observe it,
We don't have to like it.
We don't have to enjoy it.
But we observe it with kindness.
Let's move up now,
The pelvis.
Now we're moving into organs in the body as well as bones and muscles and tissues.
What are we feeling,
Experiencing in the pelvis?
The belly,
The sides of the waist,
The low back.
Welcome with curiosity.
Observe.
Observe by releasing any idea of how it should be.
Moving up to the chest,
To the back,
The spine,
The armpits,
And the collarbones.
So many sensations might call for attention.
You might observe the tendency to grasp onto one,
To cling to it as if your palms were open.
Can you just observe?
You might make that mental note,
A name.
Pulsing,
Aching.
Welcome the sensations of the entire torso now.
A strong sensation might grasp your attention.
Note it.
If you find your mind starts to wander,
Welcome the wandering,
Observe it.
Should you find yourself judging yourself for the wandering mind,
Release that expectation and let go of any associated bracing,
Gripping.
And then return your attention to the torso.
Notice the shoulders now.
Another way of welcoming and observing is to simply ask with curiosity and wonder,
What sensations are here?
What am I experiencing in the shoulders?
What is this?
What sensations are in the upper arms?
What's the experience of the elbows?
What sensations are in the forearms,
The hands,
The wrists?
The palms,
The back of the hands,
The fingers?
It's as if meeting a new friend and wanting to know intimately how they experience the world.
Let's shift our attention now to the neck,
The throat,
The jaw,
The lips,
The tongue.
The entire head around the ears,
Around the nose,
Around the eyes,
The scalp.
What is my experience from the neck up?
If you feel a strong sensation,
Note it.
And see if you can be with it.
There's no need to label it or criticize the experience.
Try to get rid of it.
We welcome it,
We observe it,
And we release any of that self-talk around it.
If we observe tension that's no longer serving us,
Practice letting it go.
And we do this again,
Moment to moment.
Now see if you can expand your awareness now.
Just going to add more to the field.
The head,
The neck,
The shoulders,
And the arms.
Can you observe them as one energetic experience?
Now include the torso,
So the entire upper body.
Now add the pelvis,
Now the legs.
So can you welcome the experience of the entire body very broadly here?
Rather than searching and examining different parts,
Are you able to observe the body as just one energetic whole?
If you find your attention growing tight,
Your body tenses,
Your breath holds,
Shake it out.
Physically,
Take a breath out,
And we do it again.
Welcome the experience of the entire body.
Observe what arises.
In this moment,
We begin to see that everything changes.
Not only do our sensations change in intensity,
But even our attention to them.
A new sensation appears,
A new thought arises,
And we're somewhere else.
And this can give us some solace,
Some peace,
Knowing everything changes.
So can we welcome and observe our experience with this understanding that things change?
Let go of any tension and release the expectation of permanence.
What is happening now and now?
Now this body scan was a stabilizing practice.
We're gonna continue with just a few minutes now of breath counting.
You can always continue with just observing and welcoming the sensations of the body.
But to hone our skills at focus and concentration,
As well as releasing our expectations,
We're going to begin just a few minutes of counting.
And we can count in this way.
As we breathe in,
We say silently to ourselves,
Make a mental note to ourselves,
One,
One in.
As we breathe out,
We say two out.
As we breathe in again,
It's three in.
As we breathe out,
It's four out.
And we do so until we get to 10,
10 out.
One in,
Two out,
Three in,
Four out,
And onward.
Nine in,
10 out.
When we get to 10,
Simply begin again.
Now here's the caveat.
When our mind wanders and we observe it wandering,
Come back to one.
One in,
Two out.
Three in,
What's for dinner?
Oh,
I don't know.
One in,
We begin again.
This is a practice of releasing the expectations.
The intention here is not that the mind fails to stray,
It stays focused the entire time.
The practice is with kindness,
Compassion,
And equanimity.
When you catch your mind wandering,
You observe the mind wandering and bring it back to one.
If you never make it to 10,
That's the practice.
So we're going to do this until I ring the bell for just a few minutes silently.
Last piece is when you are breathing in and breathing out,
Count the breath that naturally appears.
Allow the breath to breathe you.
So we welcome the breath,
We observe it.
We count it as one,
Or two,
Or three,
Or four.
Release any idea of how this should be.
So at the beginning of this bell,
We'll begin until the next bell.
Take a moment here now just to observe.
Observe your state.
So welcome whatever's arising.
Observe your experience,
The sensations in the body,
The thoughts,
The feelings.
Notice if this practice of breath counting generated more softness or more tension.
Were you efforting,
Were you trying?
Could you simply allow the breath in?
Notice when the mind wandered and allow yourself to bring it back without any judgment.
For the final few moments of this practice today,
We're going to bring the same mindfulness skills to the breath.
Allow your attention to rest anywhere where you can feel yourself breathing most clearly.
Typically,
It's at the nostrils.
In certain traditions,
It could be at the belly.
Allow it to be anywhere where you feel this next breath in,
This next breath out.
Welcome the sensations of the breath.
And you can ask yourself,
How do I know I'm breathing in?
What tells me?
What are the sensations?
How do I know I'm breathing out?
What do I experience?
We welcome,
We observe.
There's no judgment.
We release the judgments.
We release the judgments about how we breathe.
Experience the next breath.
Let go of the tension that comes from forcing,
Efforting,
Trying.
Be curious and surprised about this next inhale,
The next exhale.
We allow every breath changes.
When your attention gets pulled away,
Welcome that.
See if you can bring the corners of your mouth up to your eyes as a smile.
Mind is wandering,
Thinking.
Welcome that.
Observe it.
Observe it without judgment.
Perhaps you follow it for a moment or two or longer.
Catch yourself.
Do it again.
Welcome,
Observe,
Release,
Let go.
In a moment,
We're going to return our attention to our outer world.
But before we do so,
I invite you to take a moment and imagine.
Imagine what would your day be like when you can bring some of this practice in your day-to-day experience?
What would it be like when intense and strong experiences come up?
And when you react,
You're able to pause for a moment,
Welcome the experience,
Observe it,
To see it clearly.
What would it be like when you can practice not judging yourself for having an experience,
But by observing it,
You're able then to choose how you would like to respond in the moment.
When you observe these things,
Welcome them,
But let go of the expectation and release and let go of the tension,
How will your day be?
How will your day be?
Take one or two more breaths,
Consciously,
Intentionally here,
Feel the change in your energy and your body.
And we will conclude with the three bells.
As we do,
Thank yourself,
Your body,
Your mind,
For showing up and doing this practice.
Thank you for being here.
