Hello and welcome in this space,
A sacred space of silence and stillness,
Your inner sacred space.
My name is Carm and I will guide you through the steps of this meditation.
Take some time to find a comfortable position,
Possibly sitting with your back straight.
See if you can assume some sort of royal dignity in your posture,
Because you are royalty.
Gently close your eyes,
With your chin slightly tucked in.
Remember,
Comfort is gold,
So allow your shoulders to relax,
Allow your tongue and your jaw to relax and soften your forehead.
Here we are not trying to get something right or perfect,
So let's just put aside for the time being our usual habit of striving to do things well and the natural exhaustion that follows it.
I just want you to be here as you are and if you are bored or anxious,
Tired or restless,
This is how it is right now,
As it unravels from moment to moment.
Now place your attention to the breath and the sensations of it below the nostrils and above the upper lips.
Once you feel it,
Do not try to control it,
To make it smoother or deeper,
According to some idea of the perfect breath.
I just want you rather to observe it as it is.
If it is shallow,
Just acknowledge that it is shallow.
If it is uneven,
Let it be uneven.
We are not trying to get anywhere or achieve any special state,
We just want to be here as we are,
With all our little wondrous imperfections.
Now,
For a few moments,
Just focus on the sensations within the in-breath.
Now focus on the sensations within the out-breath.
See now if you can focus on both,
Noticing any difference in temperature or texture between the in-breath and the out-breath.
You might notice that sometimes your mind wanders away,
It's ok,
Simply acknowledge where the mind went and gently bring it back to the breath.
The mind will wander again and again,
Like a monkey jumping from tree to tree.
Don't give yourself an hard time,
Just bring it back to awareness.
Widen your perception now and follow the flow of the breath moment by moment.
Notice the path it goes through while inhaling from the nose,
Through the throat,
Changement in the chest region,
The abdomen,
And then out,
Noticing how gently the abdomen contracts while exhaling,
Then the chest,
The throat,
And out,
Through the nose,
Noticing the different texture between the nostrils and the upper lips.
So once again,
In from the nose,
Through the throat,
The chest,
Noticing the abdomen,
And out from the abdomen,
Attention to the chest,
The throat,
And then out through the nose and the texture between the nostrils and the upper lips.
Let's expand the awareness a bit more now,
To the whole body sitting here.
As you are aware that you are breathing,
You are aware of your body sitting.
Investigate with curiosity the sensations in the body,
As they happen in different parts,
One by one,
The contact on the chair or the cushion,
Sensations on the hands resting,
Wherever you put them.
Be curious,
As an explorer watching something for the first time,
Noticing,
But without adding any color or meaning,
Noticing and letting go,
And moving to the next.
If thoughts and feelings,
Perhaps of aversion,
Towards some parts of the body might come up and take the attention far,
Far away,
Just bring it back to breath.
If they go the same way,
To the same place,
Drop in the body.
Notice where in the body those thoughts and feelings bring tension or compression,
Allow it to be just as it is,
Or you might want to try to breathe into it.
Wherever I am experiencing right now,
I am open to it.
Breathing,
Opening and softening,
As if not to change it,
But just to explore the sensation,
Deeply,
With curiosity and compassion,
Again,
Opening,
Softening and compassion.
I will let you observe for a few more moments.
Each breath in is a new start.
Each breath out is a letting go.
We can only create space for new if we let go of our fear of losing,
Even with difficulties.
Each breath in is a new start.
Each breath out is a letting go,
An unclenching.
Whenever you are ready,
You can bring back your attention to your body sitting,
Gently starting to move your toes and fingers,
And then opening your eyes.
Thank you.
