Do you want to buy into the story?
Take a moment to be still.
Sit comfortably,
Relaxed.
Begin by noticing the path of your breath.
Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose with your mouth closed.
At the top of the breath,
Pause for a moment.
Then as you exhale,
Allow your outgoing breath to be slightly longer than your incoming breath.
Then at the bottom of the breath,
Pause again and then breathe in slowly as before.
As you continue,
This rhythm will become effortless and soon you will notice the body is breathing itself.
Now as you sit quietly,
Something familiar is happening.
Without you doing anything,
Thoughts are beginning to appear.
Images are forming and most likely a new or old story is foremost in your thinking.
And you are one of the main characters in that story.
Now,
This story is from a memory,
From an experience from the past.
Perhaps around a relationship,
A family situation,
A personal loss,
A misunderstanding,
A regret or something that has been left unsaid far too long.
Whatever it is,
There is an old pattern running here.
What is unfolding is what the mind habitually does.
It unconsciously identifies itself within the narrative of a me doing,
Feeling,
Wanting or remembering.
Now,
Sitting right where you are,
See if you can patch the next thought as it appears.
Now a moment ago that thought wasn't there,
But here now it is.
That thought can become a sentence,
Then a paragraph,
Then an expectation,
A complaint,
An emotional response.
And if you look closely,
You'll be aware all has arisen on its own accord unconsciously.
You didn't choose it,
You didn't create it and it's not the result of any conscious mental processes.
It is here,
Raw and uninvited.
Now quietly shift your attention from what the thought is projecting to the feelings it brings,
Perhaps those in the pit of the stomach or as a heaviness in the heart.
Is there tension,
Urgency,
Pressure,
Sadness,
Concern or uncertainty?
Often it is not the thought itself that captures us.
It is the familiarity with it,
The same thoughts,
The same story.
This is when clarity narrows as the discomfort felt is deeply personal.
And without noticing,
You are on autopilot,
Fully invested,
Immersed in the drama.
And without noticing,
The story has your full attention.
Of course,
There is nothing wrong with thoughts or thinking.
Stories and memories are natural aspects of the human condition.
They help us communicate.
They help us share personal experiences and feelings.
But not every thought requires your focus or investment.
Not every story requires your involvement.
Remember,
Thoughts are only groups of words.
Words have no independent authority or power unless you give that to them.
Now one very effective way to soften the emotional charge of thinking,
Of reacting,
Is to return to the longer exhalation in your breathing.
At the first sign of a noticeable rising of emotional heat or tension,
Rising from the pit of your stomach,
Come back to conscious breathing.
As you quietly breathe,
Extend the exhalation now.
And as you do so,
Notice how something begins to settle.
There is a softer energy rising.
The body quietens.
The mind begins to let go.
The emotional intensity slowly loses its grip.
There is less momentum behind the thoughts now.
Less identification.
Less heat.
Not because you forced anything,
But because the body naturally knows how to return to balance when given space around your deep breathing.
Stay with this awareness.
Now consciously observe as the next thought arises,
And instead of following it,
Being engaged with it,
Identify it for what it is and silently say,
Ah,
A story.
That's all,
Those simple words.
No judgements,
No analysing,
Just a recognition of what to say.
Ah,
A story.
A narrative is forming,
The identity is attaching itself.
And as you discerningly label it,
A story,
Notice what happens.
There is a space felt.
A subtle stepping back.
A breath between you and the narration.
A moment of quiet clarity,
Stillness and ease.
The light of awareness is appearing.
Stay with this a few moments.
Now another thought appears,
Ah,
A story,
And another feeling,
Ah,
A story,
A memory,
Ah,
A story,
A future scenario,
Ah,
A story.
Notice how simple all this is.
You are not stopping thought.
You are simply not identifying with it.
You are not investing in the character.
You are not required to follow the narrative.
Feel the difference between being inside the story and watching it form.
Inside the story,
Emotions activate quickly.
Now,
From this deeper presence of awareness,
There is space,
Freedom.
Inside the story,
There is imbalance,
Constriction.
From a deeper presence now,
There is awareness,
Clarity,
Ease,
Flow.
Now bring attention back to the body,
Right here where you are sitting.
All this is happening without a story,
Lightly,
Freely.
Breath does not need narration.
Feelings do not need interpreting.
The rhythm of your breath is simple,
Not complicated.
Life is so simple and natural before commentary begins.
Rest here,
Breathing,
Sensing,
Being aware.
If another thought arises,
Ah,
A story.
No resistance,
Just non-participation.
You may begin to notice something very subtle here.
Even when thoughts arise,
Something remains unchanged,
Unaffected by their presence.
Something quiet,
Something luminous and silently aware.
Thoughts arise within it.
Emotions arise within it.
Narratives form and dissolve within it.
But it does not move.
It does not hold an agenda.
It does not contest.
It does not defend.
It simply is the unmoving background,
The presence of detachment and non-involvement.
Rest here now,
As this presence of inseparable awareness.
You do not have to fight the story.
Just notice before you buy into it.
You are not limited to the character in the play.
You are the open field of discerning awareness,
That which is present before any thought.
Take one slow,
Long breath now.
Feel the power,
Truth and simplicity of this awareness.
Before the next thought forms,
Remain just this,
Silently aware.
When I had recognised stillness,
When I had experienced deep calm,
I began to see something simple.
The story only continues if we keep telling it,
If we keep listening to it,
If we keep reacting within it.
When I choose to sit in stillness instead of reacting,
When I allowed myself to feel love without fear,
When I stopped fighting the narrative and gently stepped out of the role of its central character,
Nothing was lost,
Only the tension dissolved,
The urgency faded,
And what remained was an open awareness,
This quiet presence.
Now,
Be aware of the body again,
The room around you,
And as you return to your day,
Carry this quiet recognition.
A thought appears that does not make it true or yours.
Let thoughts and stories rise and fall.
You are not a thought,
You are not the story.
Remain just as you are,
The silent,
Open awareness in which all temporarily appears.
