This practice will be a choiceless awareness practice,
A practice of allowing our attention to rest on whatever is arising in our senses,
In whatever comes into our awareness.
But first we begin by taking that posture,
Either with our eyes opened just a quarter of the way with a light gaze,
Or we can allow them to close fully.
And we can begin by allowing ourselves to really anchor in the body,
Knowing what this present arising experience is like.
And one of the best ways to do that is through mindfulness of breathing.
So just establishing this mindfulness of the sensations of the breath as these sensations move into and out of the body with each inhalation and exhalation.
Certainly we've been breathing all day long.
Certainly our breath has accompanied us throughout our experience of life.
And so it can be a reliable anchor to come back and to just mindfully sense this is what it feels like when my body breathes in.
This is what it feels like when my body breathes out.
And knowing that those feelings of the in-breath and the out-breath might change,
Might be slightly different from breath to breath,
From moment to moment.
So embracing a radical curiosity with all of the experiences as they arise in practice.
So really establishing mindfulness of the breath,
Just taking a few minutes here together in silence to directly sense the body breathing.
And when you have established this mindfulness of the breath then let go of the breath as an object of meditation.
And notice when you let go of directing your attention consciously to the breath,
Where does your attention go now?
Perhaps it notices sound.
Perhaps it still notices the sensation of breath or another bodily sensation.
Maybe an emotion.
Or you may even notice simply a feeling tone of the experience as pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral.
And from moment to moment,
When we don't direct our attention,
We will find that it will land in different places.
One moment it may land in physical sensation.
In another moment,
Our attention may land in thought.
But wherever the attention lands,
Whatever you notice,
Each time you notice something new arising,
Allow that to be the object,
To be the focus for your mindfulness.
Just for as long as you can naturally maintain awareness there.
And when that attention moves again to a new sensation or experience,
As it will do many,
Many times,
Just mindfully paying attention to that new object.
So let's allow attention now to roam freely through all of the sense doors.
And if at any point you find that there's confusion or you've gotten tangled up in a sensation and mindfulness has waned a bit,
Then simply reestablish the mindfulness of the breath and return the attention there for a little while.
And when you feel centered again,
Allow the attention to roam,
Mindful of all that arises,
Simply allowing our attention to roam freely throughout the body,
To roam freely through all of the sense gates,
Just staying in touch with whatever is arising by noticing where our attention is landing moment after moment,
Again and again.
This requires a fresh interest,
An engagement in our unfolding experience.
So really embodying curiosity,
Everywhere attention lands,
Becoming mindful of the sense contacts,
Feeling,
Noticing sensations,
Noticing thoughts,
Noticing feelings,
And if you start to lose the ability to be present,
Just returning to that anchor of the breath,
Letting attention rest there for a time and then letting it open wide again.
Choiceless awareness,
Simply watching where it lands,
And staying with it until it lands somewhere else.
Noticing right in this moment,
What am I aware of?
What predominates in my awareness?
Staying with that object.
When a fresh experience arises,
Simply allowing attention to follow,
Maintaining mindfulness.
In these final few minutes of meditation,
Taking the reins and steering attention back now to rest on the experience of the breath.
And as you breathe,
Simply noticing body,
Noticing mind,
Letting that awareness just come to rest now in the changing rhythm of the inflow and outflow of the breath.
