I'm beginning with noticing the breath.
And with each out breath,
Letting go a little more deeply.
We may feel the stress and tension of the day in the body,
In the shoulders.
So just feeling those shoulders drop down on the exhale.
And feeling a little bit of an opening or a releasing of any other places in the body that are holding tension as we exhale.
Notice how the sensations change with every breath.
We may find that some breaths are shallow and others are deep.
And just noticing.
In order to connect more deeply to the present moment,
It can be helpful to align our thoughts with our direct experience.
So you can think a really simple neutral thought that is related to this moment.
Like I am sitting.
I am breathing.
Just keep it uncomplicated and unemotional.
Just a simple thought of what you're noticing in the body.
Without this practice of just coming home to ourselves in the body,
We may notice that thoughts arise and fall.
Sensations come and go.
Emotions come and go.
But there's nothing we need to do about any of that.
We can simply continue to notice.
I am sitting.
I am breathing.
And we can pay special attention to noticing how thought forms,
How it arises,
How it shifts,
And how it fades away.
And observe the brief silence that follows one thought and precedes another.
Just like the silent gap between every inhalation and exhalation,
There is a space.
There is a gap.
And as you practice,
See what persists through these gaps.
What remains even when thoughts and emotions and moods are changing?
Just savoring the silent moments between thoughts and letting our awareness rest right there.
Take your thoughts to your breathing.
Simple cues like in on the inhale,
Out on the exhale can help your mind maintain focus.
But surely thoughts will still arise.
And when they do,
Noticing how these thoughts dissolve,
How they arise,
And letting your mind rest in the quiet between the thoughts,
Perhaps with those gentle reminders of in with the in-breath,
Out with the out-breath,
Or labeling letting with the in-breath and go on the out-breath.
So we're simply watching our thoughts and our experiences as they arise directly so that we can better understand their fleeting nature.
This isn't about finding any answers,
But rather about observing the process of thought itself.
How thoughts emerge and disappear in the calm of your awareness.
Notice the lack of substance and solidity of thoughts,
Questioning what the mind is like in the absence of thought.
Noticing how words and phrases and ideas and concepts all dissolve into a silent field of inner listening.
Turning your attention now towards that inner listening,
That field of awareness and knowing.
Sensing that boundary-less field of awareness.
Let's practice together in this way,
Noticing awareness,
Noticing the nature of experience.
And now turning your attention inward,
Exploring the sense of self and asking the question,
Who is thinking?
Who is meditating?
Being aware of how attention turns inward to look for a sense of me or I.
Noticing how that question,
Who is thinking or who is meditating may momentarily stop the mind.
And if your mind offers an answer,
No need to react,
It's just a thought like any other.
Noticing its fleeting nature and returning to that state of deep listening.
Who is thinking?
Who is meditating?
Remembering it's not about finding the answer,
But encouraging the heart into a deeper questioning of our usual distinctions between subject and object.
Who is meditating right now?
Silently contemplating with the whole body-mind what remains constant amidst the changing nature of experience.
What remains constant amidst the changing nature of experience.
Then grounding yourself in that underlying womb of awareness that is always naturally present.
