This meditation that we're about to do is called Just Feel.
We will be narrowing our focus of attention to the physical body and the emotional body.
If you've done the See Here Feel meditation with me before,
You can think of this as a deep dive into the feeling aspect of that practice.
So,
Today,
We will be allowing attention to float freely between any and all bodily sensations,
Be they physical or emotional.
Thoughts will arise as images in the mind or mental talk,
And we will allow those to be there,
But we won't actively go towards them.
We won't deconstruct them.
We will just allow thoughts to be in the background,
And we will intentionally bring body sensations and emotions into the foreground of experience,
And I will show you how to do that.
By doing this,
We are cultivating mindful awareness.
Mindful awareness arises when three core skills come together and work in unison,
And these are number one,
Concentration,
Number two,
Sensory clarity,
And number three,
Equanimity.
Concentration is simply your ability to put your attention somewhere and have it stay there without too much effort.
Sensory clarity is the ability to notice details about your experience.
You can think of it as untangling the strands of experience in real time.
And number three,
Equanimity,
Is the ability to not be pushed or pulled by inner forces.
You can think of it as a kind of inner calm or inner balance.
In order to help us develop the superpower of mindful awareness and keep it locked on to bodily sensations,
We will use the techniques of noting and labeling to keep us on track.
In order to note an experience,
We will make contact with it mindfully.
You can think of this as pouring your attention into the sensation to really make contact with it,
To become intimate with it,
To notice details about it for just a few seconds until attention is naturally pulled to something else.
And it doesn't matter what the sensation is,
It could be an itch,
An ache,
Some tension,
The feeling of the touch of clothes on the skin,
Or the breath moving,
It doesn't really matter what it is.
And to label an experience means to say something,
Either internally or out loud.
In this case,
We will only need one label,
Which is feel,
And that will keep us tuned in to the experience of feeling sensations and emotions in the body.
Using a label is useful because it takes up space in the part of the mind where verbalized thinking normally happens,
And this quiets and calms thoughts.
When using a label,
It's good to use a neutral and relaxed tone of voice,
Like I'm doing now,
Because this promotes equanimity.
This will give us the inner calm and balance that we're looking for,
And we are training ourselves to be this way when we meditate like this.
Practicing in this way also develops Kanika Samadhi,
Which is a Pali phrase that loosely translates to momentary concentration.
So we don't need to fixate attention in any one place in order to meditate.
We can allow attention to move freely and still be mindful.
And this idea was developed by an enlightened Burmese master named Mahasi Sayadaw in the 1950s.
He wanted people who weren't monks and nuns to be able to cultivate mindful awareness while in the midst of their busy lives.
There are many physical and mental health benefits that come from working in this way.
Many people report an increased ability to manage stress,
Anxiety,
Worry,
And rumination.
People also report an increased ability to feel pleasure,
Joy,
And happiness.
So let's give it a try.
Let's see how it works for you.
Here is the guided meditation.
Please take a comfortable sitting position.
Ideally,
You will be sitting upright,
Awake and alert,
Yet relaxed.
Your eyes can be open or closed for this meditation.
If they're open,
Try to defocus the gaze.
And all you have to do is follow my instructions.
Let's start by taking some nice,
Slow,
Calming,
Deep breaths.
We will breathe in for 6 seconds and breathe out for 7 seconds.
So follow along with me.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
One more time.
Breathing in,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6.
Breathing out,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7.
Very good.
And now you can let that go.
Let the breath find its own natural rhythm.
You don't breathe,
The body breathes.
And you allow everything to be exactly as it is.
Allow attention to drop down into the body.
What can you feel?
Maybe you can feel the touch of clothes on your skin.
The chair underneath you.
The movement of the chest or the belly as you breathe.
Maybe you can feel your feet on the ground.
Your hands in the lap.
How about temperature?
Is anywhere noticeably hot or noticeably cold?
Can you notice anywhere that's particularly tense?
Or do you have an itch or an ache or a pain?
Try not to judge it,
Just notice.
Is anywhere in the body particularly relaxed?
And does it feel pleasant?
What can you notice right now in this moment?
Okay,
Very good.
Now see if you can experience your entire body as a cloud of energy.
A cloud of sensation.
Let the boundaries between body parts become less pronounced if possible.
Allow attention to freely float between any and all body sensations.
You don't have to control attention.
You can sit back,
Relax and let your attention move freely inside the feeling space that is the physical body.
And wherever attention lands,
Just soak into that sensation for a few seconds.
Give yourself to it fully.
Pour your attention into it just for a few seconds before you are naturally pulled to something else.
You don't have to strain or try too hard.
We're just being gently aware of physical sensations.
And as you do this,
You can use a label,
Feel,
To help you stay tuned into the experience of feeling sensations in the body.
But labels are optional.
You can bring them in and drop them as you wish.
If you do use a label,
Use a gentle,
Relaxed tone of voice to induce equanimity.
And it will sound like this.
Feel.
Feel.
So give that a try now.
Let attention freely float.
Use noting and labeling and see how it goes.
If there are thoughts or distractions,
For example,
Images in the mind or sounds in the room or outside the room,
It's no problem.
If it feels like you're talking to yourself in your mind,
It's no problem.
You can allow all of that to be there,
But you just put it in the background and you bring body sensations into the foreground of experience.
You don't need to struggle against anything here.
We're just intentionally focusing on some things and ignoring other things.
So allow attention to freely float in the body.
Soak your attention into sensations for a few seconds and then be naturally pulled to another sensation.
Soak your attention into that for a few seconds.
Explore and enjoy and use labels if it feels appropriate.
What can you feel?
You might find that there is a rhythm to the way attention moves and this is effortless and enjoyable for you.
Or you might find that this is a bit tricky and you're struggling to stay with it.
Either of these is fine.
Either of these is productive.
And so is anything in between.
As long as you're doing the practice to the best of your ability,
Good things are happening.
What can you feel?
Keep exploring.
You don't really have to try hard with this technique.
You can sit back,
Relax,
And just see where attention goes when it's allowed to freely float between the various sensations in the physical body.
And when attention lands somewhere,
You just soak into that for a moment,
Make contact with it,
See if you can taste it,
Just for a few seconds,
And then allow attention to be naturally pulled to something else.
And if there's anything interesting that holds your attention,
No problem.
You can stay with that for even longer.
Investigate it and enjoy it.
If you feel some discomfort,
Some aches and pains,
For example,
You can allow attention to be drawn towards that and you can investigate it.
Or you can take your attention elsewhere,
Somewhere neutral,
For example,
The feet,
And allow the discomfort to be in the background.
So,
Just for now,
See if you can give up any struggle with discomfort,
If it's there,
And allow everything to be okay.
Allow everything to be included,
Just as it is.
We don't want to make this experience better.
There's no goal.
We're just innocently exploring body sensations,
Cultivating mindful awareness.
What can you feel?
If your attention is pulled to two things at once,
Just pick one and gently focus on that.
Let the other thing be in the background.
Also,
It's okay if your attention naturally rests in a particular place,
If you have a preference for something,
For example,
The movement of the belly or the chest as it gently flows with the breath.
That's fine.
You can go with that.
You can enjoy that.
If that's working for you,
Go with it.
Or you can allow attention to freely float anywhere in the body.
Just do what feels natural.
There's no need to make anything specific happen here.
What can you feel?
If it feels natural to be aware of the entire body all at once,
Feeling everything in a global way,
You can experiment with that.
Or if you want to zoom in to a specific location and go local,
That's okay too.
You can be playful with this.
Enjoy it.
Take the attitude that whatever is happening is just right for this moment.
But stay here,
Locked in,
Tuned into the body,
Exquisitely present.
Right here,
On the razor's edge of now,
What can you feel?
And now let's look at emotions.
Are there any emotions present in this moment?
Emotions always have a physical location We often feel emotions in the chest or the belly.
But we can feel them in other places too.
If I'm sad,
I might feel it around the eyes.
And if I'm happy and smiling,
I might feel emotion at the lips.
So feel into it now.
Is there any emotion present?
And does it have a location in the body?
If it does,
Put your attention there.
Be gently aware of this.
See if you can taste it.
Soak into it.
And if you're emotionally neutral,
Feel into what that's like.
What can you feel?
Explore this now.
And if you do notice any emotions,
Try not to judge them.
They're not good or bad.
You don't want any more or less of anything.
You're just exploring the feeling quality of what's there.
It might feel nice to breathe into the space where the emotions are present if they happen to be there for you.
Very good.
And now we will bring this meditation to a close.
But if you wish to carry on,
You can.
