Welcome to the sitting practice.
In this practice,
I will invite you to settle into your moment-to-moment experience with curiosity and non-judgmental awareness,
Open to whatever is present for you as you sit here in God's presence.
You will be given options to focus on the physical sensations in your breath and body,
Being receptive to whatever comes up without resisting or clinging on,
Allowing your experience to change all on its own.
If you find that this is difficult,
Feel free to move your attention to wherever you would like it to rest,
Giving yourself options as needed,
As best you can,
Knowing what you are doing with your mind while you are doing it.
So beginning,
If you choose,
By sitting comfortably in a chair or on a meditation cushion,
Notice where your body meets the surfaces where you are sitting,
And allow yourself to become stable and grounded in whatever position you have chosen.
If it's helpful for you,
You might place your hands on your thighs or in your lap,
And straighten your spine a bit without overarching the top of your head,
Reaching up to meet the sky,
Holding your body here with dignity and quiet energy,
And closing your eyes if you choose,
Or you can close your eyelids halfway and allow your gaze to become soft,
Resting here in your seat in whatever way feels right to you,
Inviting a sense of presence in your body,
Allowing yourself to come home to yourself in this moment.
You might take a couple of deep breaths here,
Focusing on the air entering and leaving the lungs.
And then as you are ready,
Allowing your breath to return to its normal rhythm.
No need to control or figure out the breath,
Just allowing yourself to settle into this moment,
As your body breathes itself,
Receiving the breath,
Opening to life in this moment,
Just as it is.
As you settle,
Receiving these words from Psalm 46.
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Though the earth should change,
Though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
We will be still and know that I am God.
So resting here in this moment of stillness,
Here in God's presence.
Aware now of the sensations of the breath coming in and out of the body.
Noticing where you feel the breath most easily,
Most vividly.
This might be right beneath the nose,
The air cool coming in and warm leaving the lungs.
It might be in the chest or the shoulders,
Rising and falling with the breath.
It might be the abdomen,
The movement of the diaphragm,
Up and down.
Wherever is most accessible for you,
Allowing your attention to rest there as you tune into the physical sensations of breathing.
Seeing if it's possible to experience the breath directly without analyzing or controlling it.
Simply observing and receiving the sensations of breath with curiosity and openness.
Settling into this rhythm of the breath moving through the body.
And as much as is possible for you,
Being present for the full cycle of the breath.
We're taking this practice one inhalation and one exhalation at a time.
Noticing where the attention is now.
Perhaps it's moved away from this focus on the breath.
If so,
It's not a problem.
Nothing's lost.
You're not a failure.
Simply begin again with this breath.
Noticing if it's an in breath or an out breath.
Moving up close with the physical sensations of breathing.
Just being in the here and now as you breathe.
There's no place to go.
Nothing else to do except to be here now.
Allowing the breath to anchor you here in the present moment as it ebbs and flows.
Moving like waves of the sea.
There's no hurry.
Doing your best to allow your experience to be your experience.
Whether pleasant,
Unpleasant or neutral.
Aware of the breath.
And then if you choose expanding your awareness now to include the whole body,
The whole body sitting here.
Paying attention to all bodily sensations.
Points of pressure or contact.
Temperature.
The touch of clothing on the skin.
Gently opening if you choose to all sensations in this moment.
Perhaps noticing where your body is making contact with surfaces that are holding you up.
Such as the floor or chair or cushion.
Aware of the weight of your body and the solidness of the support,
The earth beneath you.
Receiving,
Perhaps acknowledging this support and tuning into the physical sensations of contact wherever they might be found.
Aware perhaps of the touch of air on the skin,
On the face,
The hands,
The top of the scalp if that's available to you.
And aware also of sensations inside of the body.
Tingling,
Blood flow,
Points of tension or relaxation.
Whatever is here to be felt,
Just noticing.
No need to label or judge or do anything with these sensations.
Just becoming aware of what is present in this moment.
In this experience of the body right now.
Sensations moving throughout the body,
Coming and going,
Shifting and changing from moment to moment.
It's likely that your mind will wander during this practice,
Shifting away from the breath and body.
Thoughts are not a problem.
The brain generates an endless stream of thoughts in the same way that the heart pumps blood and the lungs breathe air.
As long as you are alive,
You will be thinking.
So we do not need to stop thinking.
Instead,
We practice noticing our thoughts,
Observing them with an attitude of curiosity and kindness.
And then gently bringing our attention back to wherever we intended to focus in the practice.
This act of bringing our minds back over and over is not a distraction from the practice.
It is the practice.
Over and over,
We bring our attention back to the present moment.
And so,
Aware of the body and noticing any areas of discomfort that may arise as the body settles into the sitting posture.
Working with these sensations mindfully as a part of the practice.
If a part of the body becomes particularly uncomfortable,
You might see if it's possible to bring gentle attention to the sensation directly.
Noticing the shape,
The size,
If there's tingling,
Aching or tightness.
Whatever it is,
Doing your best to allow it to be exactly as it is in this moment.
Or if you decide you need to move the body in order to release the tension,
Doing that with intentionality.
Moving carefully and following the movement with awareness.
In this way,
We are working with our limits with care and compassion.
Remembering that we have options when encountering challenging sensations in the body.
So continuing to practice in this way,
Bringing awareness to the whole body,
Following sensations and working with them mindfully,
Moment to moment.
Thank you.
And now as you're ready,
Releasing attention from the body as a whole and becoming aware of sounds.
Noticing sounds inside of the room,
Outside of the room,
Perhaps even the sound of your breath or body if that's available to you.
Not searching for sounds,
But receiving them as they come and go,
Moment to moment,
Tuning your ears to the movement of sounds.
Noticing the tendency we have to label the sounds or to judge them,
About whether we like them or not.
And coming back to a direct experience of sounds themselves.
If it's helpful,
Labeling this experience hearing,
Hearing.
Noticing where the awareness is now,
Noticing where the attention is most drawn to.
Has it moved away from this focus on sounds?
If so,
Simply begin again,
Begin again with sounds in this moment.
Open to receiving sounds coming and going moment to moment.
And now releasing the attention from sounds,
Allowing them to move into the background as you become aware of thoughts passing through the mind,
As well as any feelings that might accompany these thoughts.
You may notice thoughts about the past or the future.
Perhaps judgments,
Opinions,
Daydreams,
Planning.
Maybe there are thoughts related to this practice right now about whether you like it or not.
Whatever the thoughts are,
Without judgment,
Seeing if it's possible to observe them with a light and open quality of attention.
Watching them pass by like leaves on a stream.
Recognizing the transient nature of these thoughts as you become curious about what is passing through the mind moment to moment.
If it's helpful,
Labeling this experience thinking,
Thinking.
If you find yourself lost in a stream of thoughts,
You might smile at yourself as you gently bring your attention back to the present moment,
Back to an observation of thoughts.
Giving yourself permission to begin again to start over with thoughts in this moment.
Noticing where the attention is now.
Noticing where the mind is most drawn to.
As best you can,
Bringing a quality of kindness to the awareness as you observe these thoughts passing through the mind.
Experimenting here with a playful noticing,
A gentle observation.
Noticing any harsh negative tone to your noticing as you simply observe thoughts and feelings arising and passing in each moment.
And releasing now this awareness of thoughts and feelings and gently bringing the attention back now to breathing.
Back to the physical sensations of the breath moving in and out of the body.
Watching the body breathe all on its own as you receive each breath from God.
Doing your best to cultivate an attitude of openness,
Acceptance and curiosity as the breath ebbs and flows in and out.
And as we prepare to close this practice,
Expanding the attention now to include the whole body once again.
The whole body sitting here.
All of who you are here in God's presence.
Noticing thoughts,
Feelings,
Physical sensations.
Noticing God's care for you.
Resting here in the stillness that you've cultivated.
Seeing if it's possible to bring this attitude of openness and acceptance with you into the rest of your day.
And listening now to the sound of the bell from the beginning of the ring until it can no longer be heard.
As you're ready,
Slowly opening your eyes if they're closed.
Taking in colors and shapes around you if that's available to you.
Bringing some gentle movement into the body.
Perhaps taking a couple deep breaths,
Stretching,
Moving around a bit.
Taking your time as you broaden your attention to the space around you and gently move on to your next activity.
Go in peace.
