Welcome back to this moment of mindful awareness you have chosen for yourself.
I invite you to find a position that offers you both comfort and a gentle state of awareness of your body.
For these moments that we will share,
There is nowhere else you need to be,
Nothing else you need to do,
Just for a little while,
Just for right here,
Right now,
Nowhere else to be,
Just this moment.
As you settle in,
Simply allow your breath to find its natural rhythm with each cycle of in and out,
Bringing you deeper into present awareness,
Breathing in and breathing out.
In our journey so far,
We've leaned into connecting with our inner power,
We've tuned into creating spaciousness,
And most recently,
We've experimented with developing healthy boundaries.
Right here,
Right now,
We will explore cultivating focused presence,
A practice especially valuable in environments filled with constant demands,
Interruptions,
And information overload.
Breathing in.
Let's begin by bringing awareness to your posture.
If you are seated,
Notice whether your spine can be just a little more upright while still remaining relaxed.
If you are laying down,
Tune in to see if you need to make any adjustments for comfort and for straightening your spine.
Just become more deeply aware of how this feels,
This alignment.
This physical alignment of your body supports mental clarity and focus.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Now let's bring your attention to the point where air enters your body and becomes breath.
Perhaps at your nostrils or the upper lip.
Notice the subtle sensations in this single small area of your body as air passes the threshold.
Focus your attention on this small space,
These small sensations.
Notice these gentle movements of air passing in.
For the next few breaths,
See if you can stay connected to just this one single point of focus on your body.
If your mind wanders,
Simply offer a gentle smile to yourself and gently guide the mind back without judgment to your breathing and the small sensations it creates.
In.
As you continue to breathe,
I invite you to notice how this simple practice reflects an essential skill in our daily work,
Learning to direct our attention deliberately,
Even as we're constantly pulled in countless directions.
Our work environments often reward constant availability and rapid context switching,
And yet our minds perform best when allowed to focus deeply on one meaningful task at a time.
In.
Let's expand awareness to include the entire breath cycle,
While still gently maintaining the same quality of focused attention.
Feel the air as it makes its way further into your body.
Notice the sensations of the beginning,
Middle,
And end of each inhale.
The brief pause before the beginning,
The middle,
And the end of each exhale.
Aware that you are breathing in.
This is the art of presence.
Not forcing concentration,
But cultivating a soft,
Gentle awareness of the right here,
The right now.
Nowhere else to be.
Nothing else to do.
Just here.
Just this moment.
When we are able to bring this quality of focus to our work,
Something remarkable happens.
Complex problems can yield to insights and knowing more readily.
Creative solutions emerge more naturally,
With more ease,
With less depletion of our energy.
Breathing in.
Imagine bringing this gentle focus,
This presence,
To one aspect of your day.
Perhaps a project,
A conversation,
A decision to be made.
Simply invite curiosity into how this quality of presence might transform that experience for you.
Not by changing the external circumstance,
But by bringing your full resources to it.
Bringing presence rather than fragmentation and distraction.
Breathing in.
This focused presence doesn't require perfect conditions in order to exist.
It can be cultivated in brief moments throughout your day.
In a single minute between meetings,
Or in simply taking just a moment's pause when shifting from one task to another.
A gentle allowing of a moment of stillness for yourself.
A breathing in.
A simple bringing back of you to yourself.
As you continue to breathe naturally,
Just allow this knowledge,
This knowing that this capacity for presence is always available to you,
To settle within you.
I invite you to gently wiggle your fingers and toes to take one more deep breath,
And if they've been closed,
To slowly open your eyes.
I encourage you to carry this awareness of focused presence with you into the rest of your day.
Remembering that your most valuable contribution to yourself and to others often comes not from doing more,
But from bringing your full attention to what matters most.
Thank you for sharing this practice with me today.
I look forward to continuing this journey with you.
Blessings,
Friend,
Upon your day.
