Welcome to this presence and focus meditation.
Let's start by finding a comfortable position,
Closing your eyes,
And then begin to notice some sounds in the distance.
And then notice sounds that are closer in.
You might notice sounds coming from your own body.
And notice the scent in the air and the quality of the air around you.
It's moistness,
Warmth,
Coolness.
Notice any tastes in your mouth.
And notice the feeling of your body against whatever you're resting or lying on.
And bringing your awareness to your body.
Notice that you have a body.
Notice that your body is breathing.
And take a moment and just watch this breathing.
You might notice the air coming into your nose,
The rise of your chest,
Perhaps the rise of your belly.
But wherever it is that you notice your breathing,
Focus on one area just for now.
And watch your breath coming in and out for a moment.
And then begin to notice that brief gap between your in-breath and your out-breath.
And we are going to begin a focus exercise.
We are going to count these breaths,
These gaps between the breaths,
And see if we can count up to 10.
And the point of the exercise is not to be perfect.
So let go of the pressure to get it right.
Because very few people will count very high.
But what I want you to do is notice that gap after your exhale and before your inhale.
And you're going to count that as one.
So breathing in and breathing out.
One.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And that in that gap is two.
And now do this on your own and see how far you can count.
And if the mind wanders,
As it inevitably will,
You start again at one.
See how long you can focus just on that gap between your breaths and count them.
So let's do that now.
Again,
If the mind wanders,
Just bringing the attention back to the breath.
And we'll take another moment to continue this exercise.
And again,
If your mind wanders,
Coming back to the breath and just breathing normally now.
Just letting the breath fall back into its regular rhythm.
And notice what is present here in this moment.
What is here right now?
What are the sensations like in your body?
Is there any tension or discomfort?
And do you notice any emotions that you might be feeling?
So just take a look now,
Without judgment.
Are there any emotions present for you right now?
And if there are any emotions,
Where in the body do you feel them?
And when you notice these areas,
Just breathing into them.
Not judging them.
Just breathing into whatever body space that is.
And just letting your body relax and release.
Not trying to change anything or make these emotions other than what they are.
Just relaxing and releasing them.
Knowing that emotions are waves.
They pass through.
They come and they go.
So just accepting what is here.
Are you able to accept what is here?
Are you able to embrace the now?
The body is your gateway to presence.
It moves your attention to your inner energy field.
When you focus on the sensations in your body,
You are centered in presence.
And if your mind wanders,
Even as you hear these words,
That's perfectly fine.
Just bring your attention back to your body.
Notice its sensations,
What it's feeling.
Notice its weight against whatever surface it's sitting or lying on.
Just focusing on the body.
Focusing on what's here.
And for the next few moments,
Just notice the silence and the stillness.
And if your mind wanders,
Bring it back to this stillness.
You can focus on your breath.
And when you're ready,
Noticing the sounds around you.
Noticing sensations in your body.
Bringing some aliveness and gentle movement back.
Taking a deeper breath now.
And when you're ready,
Slowly opening your eyes.
