Filing Thoughts Meditation Settle into a comfortable position with your back upright,
Yet relaxed.
Your hands resting wherever they're comfortable.
Both feet flat on the floor.
Or if you like to lie down,
Lie down with a balanced posture.
Your back straight,
Yet relaxed.
Softly close your eyes,
Or softly gaze downwards.
And begin by taking three deep,
Relaxing breaths.
Inflating your belly as you breathe in fully.
Holding your breath for a few moments.
And then slowly exhaling all of the air.
Letting go of tension and tightness in your body as you do.
Really starting to pay attention to how it feels to breathe air in and out of your body.
And then whenever you are ready,
Let your breathing be natural.
Letting your breath find its own natural rhythm and pace over time.
Become aware of the sounds that you can hear.
Around you,
In the distance,
And maybe even the sound of silence.
Be open and receptive to sounds.
No need to actively seek sounds out.
Give your full attention to listening for a few moments.
And if the mind is busy,
Know that this is okay.
Just gently bring your mind back to listening whenever you notice it has drifted.
Notice how sounds have a beginning,
A middle,
And an end.
Notice how you cannot control sound.
But you can just allow sound to be there.
Allow sound to come and go when they are ready.
Without reacting,
Without judging,
Without thinking.
And now becoming aware of your body on the chair.
Feeling the contact and pressure where your body rests on the chair below.
And notice the contact and pressure of your feet on the floor.
Feel your clothing touching your skin.
Notice the sense of touch,
Pressure,
Perhaps warmth,
Where your clothing touches your skin.
And noticing the feeling of air on your skin.
Perhaps on your face or hands.
And feel your body on the chair.
And let your body have the sense of sinking into the chair.
As you let your body rest a little heavier.
And feel your feet on the floor.
Let your feet have the sense of sinking into the floor.
And now gradually become aware of the sensations of breathing.
Noticing where you feel your breath the most.
Perhaps at the tip of your nose,
At your nostrils,
At the back of your throat.
In the rise and fall of your chest.
The inflation and deflation of your stomach.
Or perhaps you notice the whole breath.
Wherever you feel your breath the most,
Just softly focus there on the raw sensations.
And let your breath come and go naturally.
There's no need to control it.
If it's deep,
That's fine.
If it's shallow,
That's fine.
Just feel the raw sensations of your in-breath and your out-breath.
As closely as you can.
And also notice the gap between breaths.
The space where the breath turns around.
Bringing your awareness back to your breath.
Using your breath as an anchor to the present moment.
And now begin to watch your mind with a gentle curiosity.
With a loving curiosity.
Allow thoughts to come into your awareness.
And visualize that you have three boxes in front of you.
One is for past thoughts.
One is for future thoughts.
And one is for judgments.
As you notice thoughts in your mind,
Practice labelling them.
And placing them in the appropriate box.
So you can reclaim this moment for yourself and for your peace of mind.
You may be thinking that you're not good at this technique.
That you don't like the guidance.
Or you find it hard or it doesn't make sense.
Inhale,
Label this thought as a judgment.
Judgment is just another thought.
Exhale,
Place it in the judgment box.
And reclaim this moment for yourself.
Keeping this present moment empty and airy and free from judgment.
Or maybe a thought crops up about something that happened earlier today.
Something from yesterday or another time in the past.
Inhale,
Acknowledge and label the thought past.
Exhale,
Place it in the past box.
Leaving the present moment in your mind free and empty and spacious.
And relax into it.
Maybe a thought pops up about something you have to do later today.
Something important that you mustn't forget.
Inhale,
Label the thought as future thought.
Exhale,
Place it in the future box.
You can take care of that later.
And again with your next inhalation and exhalation.
Notice the emptiness of the present moment.
And allow yourself to feel free in that open space.
Continuing to gently watch your thoughts.
Label them and place them in the appropriate box.
To whatever box seems appropriate to you.
It matters not how many times you get lost in thought.
This is what the mind naturally does.
All that matters is each time you notice,
You bring your attention back to your breathing.
Without judging yourself.
Without criticizing.
And gradually bring your awareness back to your body.
Back to your breathing.
Back to noticing the sensations of the in-breath.
The sensations of the out-breath.
And the space where the breath turns around.
Noticing if you or your body feel any differently now than when you started the meditation.
Feeling the chair supporting your body.
Feeling the floor supporting your feet.
Noticing the sounds you can hear around you.
Taking a nice deep breath and in your own time open your eyes.
Stretch fully and take a moment to readjust before continuing on with your day.
