Welcome to One Million Meditations.
My name is Dom,
And I'll be guiding you in this meditation on conscious awareness.
Please take the time now to make sure that you are not going to be disturbed,
And we hope you enjoy this meditation.
And now,
Sit comfortably in a position that you can relax further into,
And we will start in a very simple way by consciously extending the breath in to the count of five,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
Followed by a slow out breath to the count of five,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
And now breathing in,
We make these longer and slower and deeper with each breath.
So you can feel the sensations of the exhale.
In for five,
And out to the count of five.
As you deepen the exhale,
Keep relaxing the body into stillness.
These deep breaths will help with this sense of presence and ease.
They're also very soothing to the mind.
In for five,
And out to the count of five.
To the count of five.
With your eyes still open,
Soften your gaze and let things just go out of focus a little bit.
And I invite you to take in the whole visual field in front of you,
Including your body.
As you keep breathing,
Notice the breath being drawn down further into your belly,
A softening belly with each in breath.
And as you follow the flow of the out breath,
Maybe softening even further in the belly.
Maybe softening even further in the belly.
And now allow the eyes to close softly.
Let the brow be smooth.
Unclench the jaw.
Allow the shoulders to drift away from your ears,
Down and relaxing further with each out breath.
And from the inside out,
Sense the relaxation spreading through your chest with the flow of your breath and feel the sense of letting go.
Let your breath find its natural rhythm now and just notice the quality of presence that is here.
And bring a gentle attention to the body while you keep softening,
Relaxing and opening.
Now notice the field of touch,
All the sensations on your skin that can be felt.
The feeling of clothes,
The temperature of the air,
Feeling it on your skin.
Maybe internal sensations that accompany your breath.
Maybe sensing the feeling in your hips and your legs and your knees.
And your calves and your shins all the way down to your feet.
Feel what it's like from the inside out.
What does it feel like in your feet?
Opening your attention now,
Wider,
Feel everything there is to feel across the whole body as a field of sensation.
A dynamic field of sensation all across the body.
It might tingle and vibrate or might feel hot or maybe cooling.
But let everything be just as it is.
Now bring your focus to the center of your chest,
The space at the base of your heart.
It doesn't need to be a certain point,
Just the general area.
It's where you can feel your own quiet presence.
Where you come to just rest in yourself.
And from this quiet center point,
Continue to allow your breath to find its own rhythm.
Continue to notice the whole field of sensation across the body and notice it as a field of across the body and notice it as a field of perception,
A field of consciousness.
And relax further into this field of consciousness.
If your mind has drifted or if your mind can't find it,
If your mind wants to try to control your breath,
Relax back into presence.
Make the choice to relax back into presence.
Allow the rhythm of your breath to continue without forcing or controlling it.
And as you allow your body to continue to breathe,
You continue to rest in this space,
This feeling of your own quiet presence.
Presence isn't something to achieve or grasp towards.
It's relaxed into.
When something diverts your attention away,
Deepen the breath a little more and return back to the resting space in the center of your chest.
And keep relaxing and settling into this space until you feel this sense of peace,
This sense of presence and contentment,
As if you could just sit in this serenity and enjoy it for minutes or hours at a time.
Now,
Bring your attention to all of the sounds you can perceive from this point of stillness.
To all of the sounds you can perceive from this point of stillness within you.
All the sounds in this field of perception from this center point.
From within this field of your awareness,
You can notice tiny sounds as well as louder,
More distant sounds.
No need to think about what they are or how they should be labeled by the mind.
Just notice them all equally.
Give everything your equal present attention.
And now,
Consciously soften the shoulders again.
Soften the hands,
Soften the belly,
And let the face go slack.
And become aware of all of the objects of consciousness equally and simultaneously.
The sounds,
The sensations,
Presence can be the quality of this moment.
So,
What is it like to perceive everything from this center point,
This still point?
Let yourself meet this center point.
Melt into this whole field of awareness.
Become this whole field of awareness.
By relaxing out of the conditioned mind and into your center point,
Notice the fullness of this moment.
It has stillness.
It has dynamism.
Everything you perceive is in some way a vibration.
All sensations are vibrations within this formless,
Quiet awareness.
Your own quiet presence.
And you're open to all of them,
Welcoming all of them.
A distant door might slam,
A dog may be barking,
Your skin might be itching in the breeze.
In the breeze,
Every sound and sensation is a vibration in awareness and it's welcomed.
What the mind likes and dislikes subsides.
And from your center point,
Notice how these sensations and sounds are experienced differently from this space.
Within this silent stillness,
Everything is welcome.
And as you deepen your breath and immerse into this presence,
Your own beingness,
Your own beingness,
Those sounds and sensations are experienced from the center of your being.
What happens around you,
What arises,
What sensations or feelings come up,
Will eventually subside back into the quiet presence.
This practice and awareness can be cultivated at any time in your day.
Presence can be relaxed into at any point of your day.
Now begin to move your fingertips and do so from this place of your own quiet presence.
Slowly start to move the jaw,
And relax the tongue with some gentle movement,
And slowly start to blink the eyes open.
Take the next few minutes of stillness to yourself as you transition out from this place within,
And transition back into the world with a new found presence.
And as you move back into the world,
Continue to give attention and reverence to all physical and mental perceptions.
Presence isn't achieved,
It's relaxed into.
This meditation is now complete.
Thank you for joining One Million Meditations.
