Welcome,
My name's Paul,
And I'll be guiding you through the Senses Awakening meditation sequence today.
If you haven't already switched off notifications and vibration on your phone or other devices,
Please take a moment to do so now.
Closing down your eyes,
Checking you're comfortable and your back's supported,
At any time you wish to adjust your position,
Just do so,
Whenever feels good,
And taking a moment to acknowledge the effort you've made to be here,
And how you're feeling right now,
Recognizing that for the next 30 minutes,
There's nothing for you to do but simply rest.
I invite you to notice your breath as it is,
Not seeking to control it in any way,
But just observing it,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Noticing whether your breath is fast or slow,
Shallow or deep,
Continuing to observe your breath,
As I share the theme of the week,
And the theme of the week is the power of forgiveness.
The act of forgiveness is not always easy,
When contemplating whether or not to forgive.
Consider the power of forgiveness.
Forgiving can help us let go of anger and resentment.
Forgiveness can bring benefits to us both emotionally and physically.
Improved self-esteem,
Healthier relationships,
Improved mental health,
And a stronger immune system.
These benefits apply not only when you forgive others,
But also when you forgive yourself.
You may continue observing your breath,
Or you may practice a few minutes of belly breathing.
If you wish,
You may lightly place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly.
This is for feedback.
In your own time,
Take a slow and steady breath in through your nose,
Feeling your belly rise as you do so,
And breathing out through your nose,
Feeling your belly gently fall.
As you breathe in and out,
Keeping your chest relatively still,
A little bit of movement in the chest is fine,
But for the most part,
It's your belly that's doing the rising and falling with each breath.
Taking slow and steady breaths,
But never to the point of discomfort.
In the practice of effortless meditation,
Whenever you happen to notice your mind is on your thoughts or emotions,
Or just wandered away,
Choose to gently and effortlessly rest your awareness back on your anchor,
Such as your breath right now.
It doesn't matter how many times your mind drifts away,
Or how many times you rest your awareness on your anchor,
Allowing your thoughts and emotions to come and go,
Are an integral part of effortless meditation.
There's no place to get to,
There is no state to achieve,
And there's no such thing as a good or bad meditation.
We only assess the effects of a meditation after we've finished it,
And observe how we feel afterwards in our daily life.
Taking a few more belly breaths,
On your next exhale,
Allowing your breath to return to its natural rhythm,
I invite you now to scan your body with each exhale,
Feeling free to release any tension,
And relax your body further,
Starting by resting your awareness on your face,
Noticing any sensations in your forehead,
Around your eye,
And your cheeks,
And your jaw,
And observing whether there's any tension or tightness held in those places.
On your next exhale,
Letting go of that tension,
And letting your face soften,
Flowing your awareness around to the back of your head,
Gently floating your awareness down the length of your spine,
Drifting down between your shoulder blades,
All the way to your tailbone,
Softening your back as you go.
As you reach the base of your spine,
Allowing your awareness to expand across your whole back,
Noticing any sensations there,
Drawing your awareness around to your sides,
And then to your chest,
Noticing any movement there,
As you breathe in,
And out,
Noticing if your chest feels tight,
Or closed,
Or relaxed and open.
On your next breath out,
Letting go of any tension held there,
Lowering your senses to your belly,
Noticing any rumbling or other sensations.
On your next exhale,
Feeling free to release any tightness there,
Radiating your awareness from your belly button outwards,
Along to your arms and legs,
And fingers and toes,
And radiating your awareness down to the base of your spine,
And up to the crown of your head.
Now,
Noticing all the sensations in your body,
On your next exhale,
Releasing any remaining tension as you slowly breathe out,
Relaxing your whole body.
I invite you now to tune in to each of your senses,
One at a time,
Starting with your sense of hearing,
Listening to the sounds around you,
Noticing whether they are near or far away,
Resting your awareness on the different sounds,
The sound of the music,
Or sounds within the music,
Maybe the sound of your breath,
Or the sound of the hum of a fridge or other appliance.
You might hear sounds from outside the room,
Birds,
Wind,
People or traffic passing by,
Gently drifting from sound to sound at your own pace,
Moving to your sense of smell,
Breathing in and noticing the smells reaching your nose,
Resting your awareness on each smell,
Fragrance and scent,
Noticing any sensations in your nostrils as each smell reaches you,
Observing any reactions to the scents as you inhale them.
I invite you now to explore your sense of taste,
Observing any flavours on your tongue,
Maybe you notice the taste of a drink or some food from earlier on,
Resting your awareness on any taste,
Whether it be intense or faint,
Noticing any other tastes,
Noticing any thoughts or emotions that arise from those tastes,
Or maybe noticing there are no thoughts or emotions,
Moving to your sense of sight,
Noticing what you see behind your closed eyelids,
Becoming aware of any shapes or movements in the dark,
Gently resting your awareness on your eyes,
Maybe there are patterns or moving shapes,
Or maybe there's just stillness,
Noticing any changes as your eyes remain closed to what you see or perceive.
I invite you to explore your sense of touch,
Feeling how your body is resting in your seat,
Feeling your feet touching the ground,
Noticing where your hands are placed and what they feel,
Sensing your clothes against your skin,
Maybe feeling the air gently moving across your skin,
Noticing any other sensations on the surface of your skin,
Now taking in your observations from all of your senses,
Acknowledging them for what they are in this moment.
I invite you now to rest your awareness on one of your senses as your anchor for the remainder of the meditation,
It might be your sense of touch,
Or taste,
Sight,
Or smell,
Or you can just rest your awareness on a sound around you,
Not trying to hold on to what you are sensing,
Or trying to focus on it,
Just effortlessly and lazily resting your awareness on what you can sense,
Your thoughts and emotions will come and go whenever you happen to notice where you are,
Gently and effortlessly resting your awareness on your sense as your anchor,
Whenever you remember,
Continuing at your own pace,
Drifting away,
Drifting back,
Effortlessly resting your awareness on your sense as your anchor,
You are not your thoughts,
Your thoughts are just passing through you,
You are not your emotions,
Your emotions too are simply passing through you,
You simply are,
I invite you now to let go of your sense,
Releasing it as your anchor,
And simply rest for the last few minutes,
While you allow the effects of the meditation to sink in,
You may stay seated exactly as you are,
Or you can recline into a more comfortable position,
There's nothing to do here but rest,
I'll tell you when it's time,
Gradually starting to deepen your breath,
Starting to gently notice your body once more,
Sensing the tips of your fingers and toes,
Beginning to slowly wriggle fingers and toes,
Wrists and ankles,
Expanding this gentle movement to the rest of your body,
Stretching,
Twisting,
In whatever way feels good,
Thanking yourself for meditating today,
Noticing how you're feeling,
How you feel about the power of forgiveness,
And maybe setting an intention to carry these feelings throughout the rest of your day,
Whenever you're ready you may gently open your eyes,
Or keep them closed and rest a little longer,
Please take as long as you like.
