Coming into a seated position,
The body relaxed,
Yet distinguished,
Spine straight,
Chest open,
Gently closing the eyes,
Allowing the hands to rest in a comfortable position.
Bringing the attention to the breath,
The in-breath,
And the out-breath.
Just finding where you notice it the easiest,
Whether that be the nostrils,
The chest,
Or the abdomen.
And just keeping the attention on the entirety of the breathing cycle.
Just noticing each breath with the beginner's mind,
Recognizing that this is the first time this breath has arisen.
Trying to be curious here,
And just allowing the breath to be as it naturally is,
Not trying to change it,
Just being present with it.
And just keeping the attention on the breath through some silence here,
Remembering that if the attention drifts to something else,
This is part of the practice,
And just gently bring it back to the breath.
And when you're ready,
Releasing the attention from the breath,
Remembering that you can use this anchor to come back to at any time during this practice.
Shifting the attention to the body,
Not searching or scanning,
Just being aware of any sensations that may be arising in this moment.
And if you do notice a sensation arise,
Just taking some time to investigate it,
Noticing its characteristics,
Maybe depth or shape,
Noticing whether it's pleasant or unpleasant,
Noting whether there's tension or ease maybe,
Just exploring the sensation fully,
And then waiting for another to arise and exploring that one.
And if you notice that the attention has been hijacked to something else,
No matter what it is,
Just noting that,
And coming back to sensations in the body,
Seeing if you can just be with and be aware of whatever's arising,
Remembering here that if any sensations become too intense,
There is the option to shift the body intentionally and mindfully in a way that relieves the sensation,
And just continuing to explore.
And when you're ready,
Releasing the attention from sensations in the body,
And now bringing the attention to sounds,
Not searching for sounds or listening out for any particularly sounds,
Just as best you can,
Opening your ears so that there's receptivity to sounds that are far or close,
To the front or behind or anywhere around you,
Just opening to sounds maybe in the room or outside of the room,
Just noticing what arises as you open the attention to this.
And when sounds do arise,
Just seeing if you can pay attention to them through their characteristics,
Maybe without naming them.
So rather than naming,
Maybe notice the pitch or the tone,
The volume,
Whether the sound is constant or intermittent,
Just bringing awareness to what you find here.
And if there's no sounds at all,
Just noting that as well.
Just seeing sounds as objects of awareness,
Maybe trying to connect to the direct experience of sounds by recognizing that the only place the sound really connects and exists for you in this moment is when it comes into your eardrum.
Just sitting with that for a moment and being aware of what arises here.
Okay.
And if the attention starts to drift,
Just coming back to sounds as if this is the first time you've heard them.
And when you're ready,
Releasing the attention from sounds.
Now bringing the attention to thoughts.
Seeing here if you can be the observer.
And just recognizing thoughts as another object of awareness.
Not trying to have any specific thoughts arise.
Seeing if you can allow them to come as they do.
And seeing if you can view them the same way you would a body sensation or a sound.
Just another object of awareness.
As the thoughts arise,
Just noticing if maybe there's an emotion connected to it.
And if there is,
Just naming it.
Noticing where it's showing up,
If that's available.
I'm not exploring or striving for anything here.
Just naming that emotion and then coming back to thoughts.
Some find it helpful to view thoughts and emotions as leaves on a stream passing by.
Imagine you're sitting watching them by the river as they float by.
And occasionally as the attention wanders,
You fall in the river.
And when you do and you notice this,
Just climbing out to continue watching the leaves passing by,
Coming and going.
If you don't find this helpful,
There's no judgment.
And just returning back to the suggestion of being the observer of thoughts.
Just seeing here how quickly you can notice a thought arising before you get attached to it or lost in it.
And when the attention does get attached into a string of thoughts,
Just remembering this is part of the practice.
Coming back to this awareness,
Allowing the thoughts to rise.
And when you're ready,
Releasing the attention off of thoughts.
And just bringing it to the breath.
And then some silence,
Just being aware of the breath and allowing it to be as it is.
A few more moments.
