Hello,
This is a practice called activating the pause.
Often when we most need to pause,
To slow down,
To reset,
It feels least available.
The pressing nature of the items on our to-do list,
The sense of urgency that's alive when we're in the middle of activity,
Makes it really challenging,
Even at a physiological level,
To give ourselves the pause we need.
And yet it is possible.
So take a moment now to just notice yourself sitting here.
Where do you make contact with the chair or the floor?
Can you feel as you sit the tug of gravity,
Its weightiness,
The way it holds you here,
Connects you to your world?
Can you give yourself over just a little bit more to gravity to let it do its job?
And what's the quality of your mind in this moment?
As you tune in to the station,
Is it busy,
Racing,
Agitated,
Calm,
Slowing down,
Settling?
Just noticing,
How is it in my mind right now?
And is it possible just in this moment to see the activity of the mind as activity,
A show we can watch,
Like waves on the ocean or clouds in the sky?
Just phenomena appearing and disappearing.
And see if you can feel now the body breathing.
You might start under the nose,
That soft breath that comes in over the lip,
Slightly cool on the way in,
Slightly warm on the way out.
And then shift to the chest and the lungs as they expand and contract.
And then bringing your awareness into the belly to feel it rise and fall as you breathe in and out.
And if at any point your mind carries you away,
You get caught up in the play of those waves or the appearance of the clouds,
Taking a moment,
Noticing,
Oh,
Yeah,
The waves are here again,
Or clouds have reappeared.
And when you're ready,
Just coming back to this felt sense in the body,
This rhythm of inhalation and exhalation,
Wherever you feel it most tangibly.
On the next exhalation,
Feeling again the body sitting here,
Noticing once more gravity,
Still here,
Still connecting you to your world.
And in a moment,
I'll ring a bell.
And that will be your call to slowly open your eyes,
Lift your gaze,
Take in the room around you,
Its forms and colors and shapes.
And in whatever way makes sense,
Thank yourself for taking this pause with me.
