The purpose of this meditation is to spend some time with the second foundation of mindfulness,
Which is feeling tone.
Pleasant,
Unpleasant,
And neutral as it arrives and passes away in our experience.
This is one of the most impactful practices I have adapted both on and off the cushion,
Mainly because it helps me let go of reactivity by not taking the flavor of my experience too personally.
Take a moment to find yourself in a comfortable and engaged posture.
No need to be too rigid.
If any additional support is needed,
Go ahead and grab that now.
Once you arrive into your posture,
You may close your eyes if it feels safe.
If you'd rather continue with your eyes open,
Allowing them to gently rest on a spot in front of you.
We'll begin and end with the sound of the bell.
Start by taking some time to just arrive in the space and settle in.
Letting the body,
The heart,
And the mind all catch up to each other.
Remembering there's nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
And no right or wrong way to be in this moment.
Bringing some attention to the very top of the head.
Just gathering the awareness,
Placing it on top of the head.
We'll start with a body scan.
Just soften any points of tension and really arrive here in this body.
Slowly scanning down from the top of the head,
Unfurrowing the brow,
Softening the cheeks,
Unclenching the jaw,
Allowing the muscles in the neck and the throat to soften.
Giving the shoulders an opportunity to fall away from the ears.
Feel so much tension in our shoulders,
Just letting them take a break for the time being.
And allowing the same softness into the arms,
All the way to the fingertips,
Just washing over the arms.
Noticing what it feels like to have the hand simply resting.
Continuing by letting softness into the chest and the upper back,
Into the abdomen,
Middle back,
And into the belly and the lower back.
Breathing in,
Calming the mind,
Breathing out,
Softening the body.
Allowing the soft ease to wash over the hips and into the point of contact with your chair or cushion.
Maybe even investigating what it feels like to be supported by that chair or cushion.
Noting the floor supporting you underneath that chair or cushion,
And the earth underneath the floor.
Inviting this element of groundedness into your practice.
Bringing this soft groundedness through the tops of the legs,
All the way to the very bottoms of the feet.
From top to bottom,
Being present in this body for this practice.
We still have movement in the body amidst this soft stillness.
And this is in the breath.
See if you can get curious about where you most feel the breath.
It could be in the rise and fall of the chest or abdomen,
Perhaps at the base of the nostrils.
Just taking a minute to see where you feel the breath.
Letting wherever you land be good enough.
Start by simply breathing in,
Knowing you're breathing in.
And breathing out,
Just simply know that you're breathing out.
Breathing in,
Know that you're breathing in.
Breathing out,
Know that you're breathing out.
And if the mind wanders,
Just gently return to the breath.
Continuing with anchoring in the breath,
We'll start to expand a bit.
So anchoring in the breath,
When we notice the mind wander away,
All on its own,
To thoughts,
Sounds,
Sensations,
Smells.
Any time we notice something other than the breath coming to focus,
Take a moment to just note the feeling tone.
Is it pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral?
The sound outside that's maybe a little jarring,
Unpleasant.
A pain in the back or the knee,
Unpleasant.
Feeling of my sweater on my skin,
The warmth,
It's pleasant.
And once you've noted,
Just come back to the breath.
No need to judge it or write a story.
Focus on the breath,
And as the mind wanders,
Note pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral in regards to where it goes.
And then gently and kindly come back to the breath.
And as we continue to practice and the mind continues to drift away from the breath,
Maybe allowing yourself to linger in the feeling tone even a bit longer,
Watching it arise and pass away.
If an unpleasant sound comes to the surface,
Noting it as unpleasant,
And then taking a little bit of extra time to really feel what it's like to be in that unpleasant feeling tone without wishing it were different.
Same thing if a pleasant memory or a pleasant plan comes to mind.
Use this moment to note it as pleasant and examine with some skillful awareness what it's like to have the pleasant tone without clinging to it.
And be cautious not to get too wrapped up.
And know that the breath is here to anchor.
And as always,
If you find it overwhelming or necessary to take a step back,
Remember you can always just come back to the breath for some space and refuge.
We'll take about the next five minutes to silently practice noting the flavor of our wandering attention as pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Or neutral,
And end the meditation with the sound of the bell.
