Hi,
I'm Jeremy.
I work in brain and spine surgery,
Where there usually just isn't time to step away.
And this is the case for many of us.
Between notifications and meetings,
Incoming requests,
There's often no clear break in our days.
We just have these moments.
Moments before the next thing begins.
Moments as this thing is ending.
Maybe a space in between.
And today's practice is for that space,
That in-between space,
Where we might create enough signal and enough clarity to take in our breath.
And the theme today is going to explore creating just one moment.
Maybe a little clearing.
And if you'd like,
Take position.
Sitting,
Standing,
Waiting,
Lying down.
No correct posture here.
Nothing needs to change.
We're just settling.
We're just arriving exactly where you are.
And you might bring a little awareness to your feet,
Even inside shoes.
Noticing contact,
Pressure,
And weight.
Your feet have a lot of sensory nerves.
There's a part of you that's already connected.
Your feet are constantly sending information,
Whether you know it or not.
Feeling up towards your head.
Movement down towards your feet.
One circuit,
Back and forth.
Now take in your hands and rest them somewhere naturally.
You can be holding something and just sense the presence.
The hands are also a steady sensory input.
We can use these as tools.
Our hands and our feet.
We use the input to help stabilize attention quickly.
Now the breath.
You might notice an inhale arriving through your nose.
You might notice the exhale leaving unhurried.
Nothing to control.
Checking if it feels natural.
And if you'd like,
On your next exhale,
You might let it slow just a little more.
Two percent.
Unhurried,
Leaving the body.
Breath has its own rhythm.
Nothing to change.
We're not relaxing completely here.
Reducing noise.
Reducing background urgency.
Now notice what's still moving in the mind.
Fragments,
Maybe.
Thoughts.
Carryover from what just happened.
Anticipation of what's next.
That's all normal.
The system hasn't had a moment to reorganize yet.
So instead of trying to clear the mind,
You might try this.
Do something simpler.
If you'd like,
Anchor your attention just slightly into something that's real.
And you have small choices here.
You could go to your hands.
You could go to your feet.
Return to your breath.
And just choose one.
And for a few moments,
Stay with it,
If you'd like.
And if your attention moves,
Which it will,
As minds do,
You might notice it and gently return.
No correction.
Just witnessing and returning.
And this is how the brain can reorganize.
How the wiring can start to shift.
Not by stopping thought,
But by stabilizing attention around something consistent.
And if you'd like,
You might notice,
Even after a few breaths,
Things feel slightly more organized.
Not perfect.
Not 100%.
Just clear.
Maybe 2% clear.
And now taking a gentle inhale through your nose.
And a gentle exhale.
And you might take in whether there's a little more space between what just happened and what's about to happen.
Even a small gap is enough.
That's where choice returns.
And now returning to our intention.
Just a little clearer.
Just enough to continue to the next moment.
So as you move into the next thing,
You don't need to carry everything with you.
You can leave some of it here.
And you can return,
When you're ready,
To your feet,
To your hands,
To your breath.
And whenever you need,
Return to the signal.
