Meditation for Noticing Experiences In this meditation,
We will work on being gentle with yourself.
We will be aware of what's going on around us,
Just experiencing without judgement.
We will notice with quiet awareness when we are distracted,
And we will be kind to ourselves in the distraction.
And we will sit in silence for 10 seconds a few times.
Find a comfortable way for your body to sit.
This might be on top of a stack of pillows,
It might be on a chair,
It might be kneeling or sitting with your legs folded.
Whatever you do,
Try to keep your back upright.
This will help you alert and keep awake and make the meditation easier so you won't fall asleep.
Unless you'd like to fall asleep,
And then you could lie down.
In fact,
If your body can't sit in these ways,
Or if you just want to lie down,
Please do that.
Listening to what your body wants is an important part of meditation.
Listening and responding,
Doing what is best for you.
Be easy with yourself,
Practice being kind to yourself,
Gentle with yourself,
Soft.
I'll be silent for a bit here as you get comfortable and settle into that deep listening.
Very nice.
It feels relaxing.
Now let's move to your eyes.
You may want to keep your eyes open with a soft gaze,
But not focus on anything in particular.
This can help you keep awake if you're feeling sleepy.
And alternately you could have your eyes closed.
However your eyes are,
Just connect with your sense of vision and take in whatever is available to see.
Do you notice light shining through your eyelids if your eyes are closed?
Are there any patterns or visual images crossing your eyes?
If your eyes are open,
Gently notice any textures or patterns in the light around you,
Any color softly.
Experience this moment without any judgment.
Just take a moment now to observe your vision.
Excellent.
If you're like me,
Your mind has wandered.
And as your mind starts to wander,
Just say thank you.
Every time that it starts to move away,
Your attention has helped you stay alert and focused and paying attention to what is most important.
Notice that right now,
You are safe in this one moment.
You might not always be safe,
But right now you are.
Assessing and recalibrating.
I say this.
Thank you,
Attention,
For making sure I am safe.
Attention,
Are you willing to come back and focus on meditation again?
You might just want to say thank you or just to smile when you notice.
Take a moment right now to decide,
Can I meditate some more now?
Practice being gentler with yourself.
Now listen to the answer.
If the answer is I really need a break,
Then take a pause from here or end the meditation and come back later.
If you can continue,
Just take a few breaths here and we'll go on.
Can you feel where gravity is holding you to the earth?
What is the feeling of sitting?
Where does it feel on your body?
Are you tight or tense anywhere?
Do you feel any physical pain?
Any tingling or numbing?
Notice if it's difficult to be still right now.
Just notice these things,
Gentle noticing.
Don't try to change it.
Just be with it.
Take a few moments now to sit with your body and assess how it feels.
Ah,
Excellent relaxation.
Our minds always wander and we can even find relaxation and relief in meditation with our minds wandering nonstop.
You are practicing meditation even as your mind wanders.
The wandering and the distraction and coming back to meditate is the practice of meditation.
My main goal is to find ways to be creatively kind to myself as I notice my mind moving.
Our minds always wander.
It's OK.
It's all part of it.
Let's move to the next sense now.
Can you hear sounds around you?
Notice how we identify the sounds without trying to.
We name it.
That's a person's voice.
That's a car.
Dog barking.
It's the sound of food cooking.
As our minds identify,
We attach meaning to it to understand and give ourselves context.
We try to find out what's going on all the time.
It's our mind's way of finding safety.
Let's practice noticing now that we know that we're safe.
Just take a moment to notice gently what's happening around you.
See if you can watch your mind tracking the sounds to notice it.
Yeah.
Let's connect with the sense of smell.
Are there any smells right now?
Do you smell the fragrance of food?
Do you smell perfume?
Can you smell flowers?
Has it rained?
Do you smell exhaust?
Maybe an unpleasant smell?
All sensations can be classified as positive or negative.
Let's see now if we can classify as neutral instead.
And however you feel about them,
Just noticing your feeling when it comes up.
And not trying to change or strive.
Or think about what you need to do.
Just notice it gently.
And as you bring awareness to it,
Bring neutral,
Calming.
Not needing to fix it at all.
Let's take a brief moment here.
Mmm.
Good.
Right now,
Let's take a moment to connect to taste.
Is there a taste in your mouth?
Did you just wake up?
Can you taste a lingering flavor in your mouth?
Can you taste something that you ate?
Identify anything?
If you can't,
That's okay.
Sit in this place of quiet,
Still awareness.
Let your mind wander.
Just allowing the wandering to happen.
And when you notice that your mind's wandering?
Thank you.
Thanks for noticing that I drifted away from my focus.
Thank you for noticing.
Now we'll have some quiet minutes of noticing.
That's very good.
Smile at the fact that your mind is always there to protect you.
As you're meditating,
Don't push yourself to go too long.
Because all we're trying to do is to stay attentive with where we're at right now.
Longer meditations can come later as you're able to connect and sustain connection with the present moment for longer periods of time.
In the spirit of not judging and saying positive or negative,
Were you able to be gentle with yourself during the meditation today?
Were you aware of noticing what was around you and experience without any judgment?
Did you have quiet awareness when you were distracted?
And when you were distracted,
Were you kind to yourself?
How do you feel about sitting in silence when we were silent?
Thank you for joining me for this meditation.
I hope to see you again.
