Hi everybody,
You're welcome.
So we are going to do a mindfulness practice on bringing our awareness to our thoughts and emotions.
So let's take a moment and let yourself sit in an upright and comfortable way.
Again,
If it's helpful to do some stretching or movement,
Do whatever is needed for you to find a comfortable position.
And when you feel ready,
Go ahead and either close your eyes or lower your gaze.
We can start by taking a few cleansing breaths.
And then let your breath settle into its natural rhythm.
Take a moment and notice if there's any obvious tension in the body that you can release.
And if you can,
Go ahead.
Just relax those areas.
Letting the eyes and the face be soft.
Relaxing the shoulders and letting the arms and hands rest easily.
And let the belly be soft and the breath be natural.
Let the heart be soft.
Ready to receive whatever arises with kindness and compassion.
Accept now this embodied presence.
Bring a kind and gentle awareness to the breath.
Or a chosen anchor for the practice.
If bringing your attention to the breath,
You can notice it is coolness in the nostrils.
Swirling,
Tingling in the throat.
Or the rise and fall of the chest or belly.
And as you feel each breath,
Invite a sense of calm and ease to grow.
When you notice that your attention has wandered,
Which is a natural process and it absolutely will.
Without judgment,
Just return gently to the breath or the anchor.
Just let all other experiences,
Sounds,
Sensations,
Thoughts,
Images,
Rise and fall.
Like waves of the ocean around the breath.
Now we can include mindfulness of thoughts.
In the general meditation.
So as you follow the sensations of your breathing or the sensations in your body,
You will inevitably notice.
A stream of thoughts in the background.
Sometimes that might feel like they're in the foreground.
So just let them be.
Let them rise and fall like waves of the ocean around the Bradbury.
And periodically,
Whether after three breaths,
Or six breaths,
Or 10 breaths,
A strong thought will arise and carry the attention away.
So as soon as you notice this spot,
You can name it gently.
According to its predominant quality.
So you could name it with notes like planning.
Remembering Judging.
Worrying or fearful thought.
Happy Thought.
Interested thought.
Painful thought.
So you're not getting caught up into the actual thought.
You're just naming the quality of the thought.
And simply naming and acknowledging the thought.
Is supportive of the witnessing quality of mindful loving awareness.
And once you have noticed a thought gently for some time,
You might notice that it dissolves.
Like a cloud under sunlight.
Thoughts are ephemeral,
They're empty.
They have no substance.
Accept what we invest in them.
So after a thought is diminished.
You can return again to mindfulness of the breath and body.
Until another strong experience,
Thought,
Emotion or sound.
Holds your attention from the breath.
So when we step out of the stories that the thoughts tell,
Can start to see the common patterns of thoughts without being so caught in them.
And you begin to rest in the field of the awareness.
Rather than being repeatedly carried away by the thought.
So I'm going to offer some things that you can notice or investigate.
About your thoughts.
During the practice.
You can see if you want to try one of these out.
So you can notice how it feels the very moment you shift from being absorbed or lost in thought to simply naming it without being swept into it.
You can notice which type of thoughts really have an effect on your body.
What thoughts sugar you most?
What is the bodily effect?
You can notice how some thoughts automatically bring strong emotions.
And how some emotions automatically bring up certain thoughts.
You can learn to witness the interplay between a thought and emotion.
You can notice the experience of the space between the thoughts.
What happens between the thoughts?
You could also play around with deliberately bringing up a sad,
Angry,
Loving thought.
And notice how powerfully these bods move.
And their connected emotions affect the whole state of your body and mind.
And you could imagine that you're an open sky.
And thoughts float through like clouds.
So now we're gonna shift our awareness to become mindful of any emotions that call your attention.
Using the same loving awareness.
Gentle kind curiosity that you have to the breath or your thoughts.
So when emotion arises.
.
.
Cycle of the attention to the breath.
And receive the emotion kindly.
Can you be with it?
Can also help.
To name it softly.
So sad.
Sad or joy.
Bored,
Anxious.
I'm excited.
As you attend the emotion.
Notice where you feel it in your body.
How does it feel as a constellation of sensations?
How does it respond to awareness?
Does it dissolve?
Does it get stronger?
Does it change into another emotion?
Emotions are also impermanent.
You can notice this.
So you are the space.
Of kind,
Loving awareness.
That can notice the emotions as they come and go.
If you feel resistance to contacting the emotion or it feels very strong,
Just notice the story that the mind tells along with the feelings in your body.
Acknowledge it And then let this be in the background again.
And bring your presence to the emotion.
It can be really common to not be able to feel an emotion.
You might feel numb,
Disconnected.
That's okay.
If possible,
Bring some curiosity to that.
Notice what numb feels like.
Notice what disconnection feels like.
If you have awareness that you're numb or disconnected.
There's something there that's telling you that.
And you can be curious about it.
And when the emotions have changed or dissolved,
You can return back to the breath.
So we'll just take another minute or so.
And take care that you can choose.
Would you like to bring your awareness?
To the breath and stay with the breath or your anchor.
Would you like to play around with investigating my thoughts?
Do you want to see if you can be with the emotion and notice the sensations in your body?
Just take a moment and notice how you can toggle your awareness.
And as you alternate mindfulness of breathing with mindfulness of strong experiences when they arise.
Whether it's sensations,
Thoughts.
Emotions Notice that you can become a steady,
Loving witness.
To all that arises and passes.
You become.
.
.
The peaceful one sitting still.
Amidst the rising and falling waves of your experience.
Even if just for a second.
So go ahead and slowly.
Shift your awareness from your internal experience Coming back out into your room.
Opening your eyes.
Keeping that sense of mindfulness.
And noticing how you're feeling.
After attending.
To your thoughts and your emotions.
