Welcome to the 30-minute Turning Towards Meditation.
Our intention is practicing awareness to the whole of our experience.
Bringing attention to both the neutral,
Pleasant and the unpleasant aspects of our actual moment-to-moment experience.
And we do this with an attitude of openness,
Acceptance and kindness.
So just now settling into a comfortable sitting position.
And if you're seated on a chair,
Just making sure the feet are flat on the floor.
Perhaps moving the back away from the back of the chair.
And if you're seated on the floor,
Just experimenting with the height of the cushions or the stool that you're sitting on.
And just making sure the knees and the back are comfortable.
So we start by paying attention to what is actually happening in the present moment.
So asking ourselves,
How do we feel?
What is our experience?
I'm practicing to not get caught up in the thought of what is going on.
Or remembering events that happened earlier on in the day.
But just opening up to any physical sensations present right now.
And when it feels right,
Gently noticing the movement of the breath.
And just taking time with the breath now.
Feeling the sensations as the breath rolls in and rolls out.
Noticing in this moment where the breath is showing up for you.
Maybe in the tummy.
The rise and fall of the abdomen.
Maybe in the sense of the ribcage expanding.
And then going back to neutral.
Just being with the breath from moment to moment.
And now moving awareness to any physical sensations in the body.
Becoming aware of the sensations of touch.
Where the body makes contact with whatever you're sitting on.
Just exploring these sensations.
And when the attention has wandered off,
Which it may well do.
Noticing and making a choice to come back with kindness.
Just to the awareness of the body in this present moment experience.
And with that awareness comes choice.
And perhaps we might choose to stay with wherever our mind has wandered.
Or maybe you choose to come back to the practice.
And coming back to our anchor,
Which could be the breath.
Or the feet on the floor.
And exploring the moment to moment sensations with gentle curiosity.
Noticing thoughts and judgments.
Maybe there is a resistance to the practice or to sensations.
And as much as possible,
Practicing stepping back to observe.
And just give it space in our awareness.
And maybe imagining the breath as a vehicle for kindness.
Bringing kindness into the body with each in-breath.
Softening and then letting go with the out-breath.
And now we're going to gently turn towards our experience.
And just allowing whatever we may currently be finding to just simply be there.
Maybe it's an emotion.
Or a sensation.
I'm just allowing it.
I'm maybe saying it's okay to let me feel it.
I'm just practice allowing it.
And allowing our experience to unfold breath by breath.
And maybe we feel that there is nothing there right now.
No emotion or loud sensation in the body.
And just being curious to the changing movement of our experience.
As we ride the waves of the breath.
And if there are emotions or sensations.
Just allowing them to simply be in this moment.
And if any sensations,
Thoughts or emotions become too overwhelming.
And sitting with them feels too difficult.
Just knowing that we can shift our awareness to the breath.
Or maybe to the feeling of the feet on the floor.
Exploring onwards.
Perhaps unpleasant thoughts or emotions are here.
And again allowing it to be.
And practicing softening into any unpleasant thoughts or emotions.
And maybe it has an echo in the body somewhere.
Where does this unpleasantness show up in the body?
And just practicing holding it in our kind awareness.
And giving it the attention that it may need.
And just bringing the unpleasantness into the light of awareness.
And maybe choosing to breathe into it.
Perhaps breathing in kindness towards it.
And breathing out.
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
And just checking in with the body.
How is the body feeling?
And a reminder again if at any time sensations in the body become too uncomfortable.
Or thoughts or emotions are just too difficult.
Choosing to come back to the breath.
Or perhaps if it is too difficult stepping away from the meditation and returning later.
Just being gentle and kind to ourselves.
And now exploring onwards.
Maybe shifting the focus of our awareness to become sensitive to the pleasant dimensions of the moment.
Seeking out the pleasant.
And this might be a pleasant emotion.
Or a pleasant sensation in the body.
Finding this pleasantness.
And just bringing it into the light of our awareness.
And this pleasantness is already there.
We don't need to invent it.
We just need to gently practice it.
Practice allowing it in.
And seeking out the good and the simple pleasures of life.
The sound of rain on the window.
Pleasant.
Sunlight coming in.
Pleasant.
Warm hands.
Pleasant.
Practicing awareness of these moments of our experience.
And enriching this pleasant experience by exploring it with our senses.
Absorbing it down into the body.
And just staying with the sensation.
And now broadening our field of awareness to include and hold the neutral,
Unpleasant and pleasant aspects of the moment-by-moment experience.
So now we sort of zoom out into a much broader quality of attention.
And practicing sitting with neutral,
Pleasant and unpleasant experiences.
Allowing them to sit side-by-side.
And if the mind has got caught up in thoughts linked to pleasant or unpleasant experiences just coming back to the practice.
Bringing awareness to the movements of the breath.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Or maybe if it feels right for you bringing awareness to body sensations.
Sounds,
Thoughts,
Emotions.
And just giving ourselves the permission to dwell with an open awareness.
Attending to whatever arises.
And again coming back to paying attention to and really sitting with the pleasant aspects that are here for us right now.
And being fully present to the simple pleasures of our life.
And being spacious to whatever arises.
And just practicing being here now.
Being fully human with an open awareness and not trying to do anything.
Just practicing being.
Allowing this time for yourself.
Now returning the attention to the body as we sit here.
Again feeling the breath moving in and out of the body.
Noticing any sensations or emotions present.
And now grounding ourselves.
Earthing ourselves.
Using the feet on the floor to help us.
Perhaps breathing in all the way down the body.
Imagining it going out through the feet.
Breathing in and breathing out down into the ground.
Breathing in and breathing out down into the earth.
And just practicing being mindful of the whole of our experience.
And remembering that practicing in this way helps create a wider,
Deeper,
More open way of being in our life.
And maybe we may see more clearly making more conscious choices for our health and our well-being.
Maybe our freedom.
And now gently turning our awareness to sounds in the room.
Reminding ourselves not to get caught up in the thoughts of what the sounds might be.
Just allowing them.
Perhaps moving from sound to sound.
And maybe starting to bring movement back to the body.
Perhaps subtle movements.
Noticing how that feels.
Or maybe the body wants to make big stretching movements.
Just being aware of what feels good right now.
The turning towards meditation is now complete.
