Hey!
Before we begin.
I want you to notice something.
You made it here.
And maybe that sounds like a small thing.
But at some point today,
Or sometime recently,
A part of you thought,
I want to try this.
Or even,
I should try this.
Maybe you want to feel calmer.
Maybe your mind has been running a little too fast lately.
Maybe you have been reacting more than you want to.
Thinking too much,
Scrolling too much,
Without being really able to stop.
Worrying about things that haven't happened yet.
Or maybe nothing is particularly wrong.
Maybe you're simply curious whether there is another way to experience your own life.
With a little more space,
A little more clarity,
A little less noise.
And whatever brought you here,
You don't have to figure it out right now.
Sometimes we come to meditation because we want to change ourselves.
We want to become calmer,
More focused,
More confident,
Less anxious,
Less reactive,
More something.
And there's nothing wrong with wanting to change.
But meditation begins somewhere slightly different.
It begins by noticing the person who is already here before trying to improve.
Because most of us spend a surprising amount of our lives somewhere other than where our body actually is.
The body is sitting in a room while the mind is replaying yesterday,
Preparing for tomorrow,
Solving problems that don't exist yet,
Judging something we said three hours ago,
Or planning what we will do when this meditation is over.
And none of that means there's something wrong with your mind.
Minds do.
Meditation is not about making your mind stop.
It is about noticing when it has gone somewhere and learning how to come back.
That is the beginning of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is not having no thoughts.
It is not becoming permanently calm.
It is not forcing yourself to feel peaceful.
Mindfulness is the ability to know what is happening while it is happening.
To know that you are thinking while you are thinking.
To know that you are becoming tense while the tension is arriving.
To shift perspective just for a brief moment.
So you see where you are with yourself and what you do next.
And that small shift can change a lot.
So for the next few minutes,
There's nothing you need to achieve.
There's no special state you need to enter.
And there's no way to fail this meditation.
Your only job is to notice and return.
Again and again.
That returning is the practice.
Find a position that feels comfortable enough.
You don't need to sit perfectly straight or you don't need to look like someone meditating.
You can sit on a chair,
On a couch,
On the floor and you can keep your eyes closed.
Or if it feels better,
Simply soften your gaze and look at one point in front of you.
Before we focus on anything,
Just notice that you are here.
Notice the room around you.
Maybe there are sounds.
Maybe there's a scent in the air.
Now notice where your body is making contact with whatever is supporting you.
The weight of your body against the chair.
A floor,
A bed.
Your feet touching the ground.
You don't need to relax yet.
Just feel the fact that you are supported.
And now bring your attention to your breathing.
You don't need to breathe differently.
There is no perfect meditation breath.
Simply notice that breathing is already happening.
Without you having to manage it.
Maybe you feel the breath around your nose.
Maybe in your chest,
Maybe in your abdomen.
Choose one place where breathing feels easiest to notice and stay there for a moment.
Good,
You just shifted your attention on purpose.
You moved the spotlight of your awareness from one thing to another.
And that simple movement is going to be the basis of everything we do next.
For the next few minutes,
We are going to give your attention one place to rest,
An anchor.
And for now,
That anchor will be the breath.
Not because there's anything magical about breathing,
But because the breath is always happening in the present moment.
It gives us something simple to return to.
And your mind will leave that anchor.
You will start thinking.
Maybe you will forget about the breath completely.
That is not the part where the meditation goes wrong.
That is the part we are waiting for.
The mind wanders.
You notice it and bring your attention back to the breath.
That is one repetition.
That is the practice.
Not holding perfect focus,
Not clearing your mind.
The repetition of noticing and returning.
You can think of it almost like training a muscle.
You are not training yourself to never become distracted.
You are training yourself to recognize distraction sooner.
And that is a very different skill.
So let's give that practice a chance.
Focus on your in and exhales.
And return again to the breath.
Nothing dramatic,
Just this inhale.
Followed by an exhale So once more,
Notice where your attention is.
If you are with the breath,
Stay there.
If you've wandered somewhere else,
Recognize it gently and return.
You might think,
Wow,
I have so many thoughts right now.
The meditation must not be working,
Huh?
Those thoughts were probably there before.
You are simply noticing them now.
Just return back to the breath.
Did it happen again?
Good.
Another chance to return to your anchor point.
The slow rising and sinking of your chest.
And another time.
Let's bring your attention back.
Now allow your attention to widen slightly.
Still notice the breath.
Then the body.
The sounds around you.
The room.
Nothing needs to disappear.
You don't need perfect silence in order to be present.
Take one slightly deeper breath now and let it go naturally.
Before we finish,
Notice how you feel.
Not how you should feel,
How you actually feel.
Maybe calmer.
Maybe unchanged.
Maybe restless,
Maybe curious.
Or maybe you don't know.
All of those emotions are valid.
Meditation does not ask you to manufacture an experience.
It asks you to notice the one you are having.
And today you practiced something very simple.
You noticed,
You wandered and you returned.
That is enough.
So later today,
Try this once without calling it meditation.
Maybe before opening an email,
Before answering someone who irritates you,
Before automatically reaching to your phone.
Just stop,
Notice what you're doing,
Take a deep breath,
And notice what is happening in me right now and then choose what you want to do next.
There is mindfulness to not sitting perfectly still,
Not becoming a different person,
Just becoming a little more present for the person you already are.
So,
Whenever you're ready,
Let your attention come fully back into the room.
Open your eyes,
If they were closed,
And continue your day.
Maybe not completely changed.
You don't need to be.
Just a little more aware of being here.
And that's a very good place to begin.
Thanks for joining me today.
Let me know.
What does mindfulness for you mean?
And what do you think is the most challenging part about keeping up your meditation practice?
