Welcome to the practice of non-judgment.
I'm Alexa Sarna,
And today I'll guide you through a secular mindfulness practice that can be used by everyone,
Time and time again,
To tap into the blissful present moment.
Begin by finding a comfortable seated position,
Either in a chair or on the floor or cushion with your legs crossed.
Gently straighten your spine,
Relax your shoulders,
Your neck and your face.
Feel the tension melting away from your body and rest your hands comfortably in your lap.
To begin,
We'll take a few deep breaths together,
Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
With each exhale,
Release any tension or stress you may be holding in your body.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Focus on the sensation of the breath as it enters and exits your body.
Notice the rise and the fall of your chest with each inhale and exhale.
As you continue to breathe,
You may notice that your mind starts to wander.
You might notice seemingly unrelated thoughts come into your mind.
Thoughts about what happened yesterday,
What you might need to do later today.
Know that this is completely normal and very natural.
When you notice your mind wandering,
Gently acknowledge this and bring your attention back to the breath without judgment or criticism.
Through our practice,
The mind will continue to wander and perhaps it will begin to create narratives too.
Perhaps your mind will tell you that this practice is hard or that you're uncomfortable or maybe that you're not doing it correctly.
Notice how your mind starts to create judgment.
Allow yourself to simply observe these thoughts and feelings as they arrive without trying to push them away or hold on to them.
Just let them go like clouds in the sky.
As you notice your mind creating judgment or criticisms,
Practice just witnessing them.
Noticing the space between what your mind is creating and you,
The observer of the thought.
I want you to imagine now in your mind's eye,
A sense of distance between you and the thought.
Rather than connecting with the thought itself,
Notice that you,
The observer,
Are having a thought.
For example,
If your mind is saying,
I am bad at this practice,
Simply witness this and notice,
My mind is trying to tell me that I'm bad at this.
As we create space between us and our thoughts,
Our thoughts have less and less power over us as we begin to witness them without judgment and create distance between us and them.
Now return your attention gently to your breath.
Gently notice the rise and fall of your chest as you inhale and exhale.
Notice how the steady focus on your breath is slowly creating a sense of calm and relaxation in your body.
Now your mind may be telling you otherwise,
But know that you have nothing to do and nowhere to be other than right here and now in the present moment with your breath.
Continue to focus on your breath for a few more minutes.
If you find yourself getting distracted or caught up in your thoughts,
Simply bring your attention back to the breath with kindness and compassion.
Just notice the thoughts,
Acknowledge them and detach yourself from them and return to the breath.
I'm going to allow you space to be with your breath now.
Simply continue to focus your attention on the breath and gently return yourself home over and over again each time you notice your mind wandering.
Simply be with your breath and I'll keep the time.
As we draw our practice together to a close,
I invite you to become slowly aware of your body.
Feel where it meets the earth,
The chair,
The cushion or the bed.
Bring gentle awareness to the feelings inside your fingers and your toes.
Return slowly and gently into noticing your body.
Thank you for being with me in this practice today and please remember the goal of this practice is not to clear your mind of all thoughts and feelings,
But to simply observe them with non-judgmental awareness.
To create some distance between you and your thoughts so you can detach from being one with the judgments that your mind creates.
With regular practice,
You'll develop a greater sense of inner calm and peace and learn to respond to your thoughts and feelings with more innate wisdom and compassion and less judgment and criticism.
As you feel ready,
Slowly open your eyes and return to your surroundings.
Go gently through your day and remember your innate power over your mind and the narratives that it creates.
This is Gratitude,
Alexis.
