Welcome to day two of our nervous system reset.
The quality of our experience in
any given moment is shaped by a complex array of biochemical messengers.
Our
inner pharmacy is perpetually forming and releasing neurotransmitters,
Neuromodulators,
And endogenous opioids and cannabinoids in response to the
world around us,
And indeed the world within our state of mind.
The character
of this moment's conscious experience is colored by the composition of these
chemicals.
And like a complex orchestra,
The song of our experience is the sum of
all of our components working in synergy rather than isolation.
Some of the
instruments in this orchestra include dopamine,
The movement chemical,
Oxytocin
referred to as the love chemical,
And serotonin,
The keep-me-here chemical that
just wants to stay in this moment.
The more we guide our attention to the
individual instruments,
The notes they play,
And how those notes make us feel
more empowered,
We are to embrace our role as conductors of this great
symphony.
In music,
It's the moments of silence between the notes that allows us
to recognize the role each note plays in the broader piece that we're listening
to.
Today,
We'll work with a practice known as noting so that we can get a
glimpse into the space between our thoughts and emotions and gain a greater
awareness of the symphony of our own existence.
So,
Just like before,
Let's start by finding a comfortable meditation posture,
Preferably seated and aware,
A posture that allows your spine to be long,
Your
shoulders to relax,
And your breath to flow nice and easy.
And we'll begin with
the breath together,
Inhaling,
Filling up slow and steady,
And then with an exhale,
Letting it go.
Breathing in,
Feeling the entirety of your body with a broad sense
of awareness,
And then releasing the breath.
And let's tune into how your body is breathing today.
No need to change or
manipulate the breath in any way,
You're simply noticing it in its natural state.
And for the next little bit,
Just staying with the gentle ebb and flow of your
breath,
Aware of how it feels through your body,
And just experimenting with
breathing deeply on the in-breath,
Really feeling that oxygen as it enters your
body,
Fills your lungs.
Try holding it at the top of the breath just briefly,
And then letting it go with a deep exhale.
And just continuing this,
Beginning to have a
deeper awareness of your full body,
The way it feels to be seated,
Sensation of your back against the chair,
Your hips and legs in the seated
position,
What your feet feel as they touch the floor.
And as we practice,
Distractions are inevitably going to arise,
Stray thoughts,
Things you have on your mind,
And just practice observing them with curiosity,
Noting those thoughts,
Noting those distractions,
And then returning your
awareness to the breath.
There's nothing to be done,
You're not shooing them away,
You're not judging them,
You're simply aware that they're there,
And you're
choosing to return to the breath.
This practice of noting is just a simple
acknowledgement.
You may find things in your body that need acknowledgement,
You
may feel thirsty,
You may have an itch on your nose,
And once you name what it is
you're sensing or feeling,
Just returning right back to the breath over and over
again.
Again,
Without judgment,
Instead with curiosity.
And if you're new to a meditation practice and you have some of these
sensations in your body,
For example an itch,
You can tend to the itch.
We're not
trying to have you seated in pain.
Scratch the itch,
Move on,
Just like a
stray thought entering your awareness,
You're observing and moving forward so
that you can refocus your attention.
And as we endeavor to be more aware,
We're likely to catch ourselves thinking,
Noticing thoughts as they come in.
You may sense a glimmer of a thought as this
next thought arises,
Just allowing yourself to make space for it.
And maybe just pondering the idea of what that space in your mind would be
like without the presence of those thoughts,
Because they're certainly part
of us.
And as you attend to this awareness of thoughts,
Distractions,
Notice if this curiosity,
This investigation ends up creating more
thoughts.
Oftentimes we'll immediately try to conceptualize our experience to
understand it,
And then our minds are off to the races again.
Instead,
Experiment
with your breath and awareness,
And imagine breathing a little more space
into these gaps between your thoughts.
Imagine utilizing that breath to bring
space between the thoughts.
And if you notice you're lost in a thought,
Just noting that and returning
once again to the thought.
Breathing deeply,
Just treating yourself to this
moment of peace and quiet,
A focused awareness.
What a luxury it is to give
yourself this sort of calm in the midst of what's likely a busy day.
And let's take a few final deep breaths,
Breathing in deeply,
Filling your chest,
Filling your belly with that beautiful air,
Holding it a bit at the top,
Just
allowing the oxygen to really percolate into your body.
And then a deep exhale,
Expelling any stray thoughts,
Anything you need to let go of in the breath,
Just
letting go anything that's on your mind,
And then returning your breath to the normal cadence.
And as you step back into
the world today,
Notice how this quality of attention draws you into that
chemical orchestra that's always present.
This orchestra is played on instruments
of chemistry and energy,
And this is the song of existence,
The symphony of you.
When life feels dissonant,
Create space to quiet the mind,
And the melodies will
make themselves known.
You don't have to do anything,
They're always there.
Just
enjoy the music.
Thanks for joining me today,
And we'll see you again tomorrow.
