Greetings friends,
Let's meditate.
Bring the body to stillness,
The voice to quietness,
Close the eyelids,
Redirecting the flow of attention from forward and out to in and back.
As you make this shift,
Do not be concerned at all if in the beginning you're aware of restless energy,
Impulses to fidget,
Or excessive thinking activity behind the eyelids.
Just notice this and allow it to be.
And then begin to observe the continuous movement of your breath.
This movement is already going on.
It's always happening,
Usually in the background as you give your attention to other things.
But for now,
Just begin to observe it.
Notice the breath flowing in,
Flowing out.
There's no need to change the way that you're breathing.
There's no need to interfere with the breath in any way.
Simply begin to observe it exactly as it is.
Observe it very closely,
Following the breath from the beginning of the inhale all the way through to the end of the exhale.
Following the breath very closely.
Not making the breath louder or bigger.
Rather,
Sensing the breath in its subtlety,
Deep at the core of your body.
Sensing the inhale,
Sensing the exhale,
Sensing the inhale,
Sensing the exhale.
Continue now to follow the breath very closely.
And as your awareness becomes more closely attuned to and connected with the breath,
You may also begin to detect the pauses built into every breath cycle.
There's a pause right after the inhale and a pause right after the exhale.
These pauses are very brief,
But they're there.
Begin to observe them.
Observe the pause right after the inhale.
Observe the pause right after the exhale.
So now all four components of the breath cycle are being noticed.
The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause.
The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause.
Practice this for a few moments,
Observing the four parts of each breath cycle.
It's nice to consider that in this moment,
You are not responsible for making the activity of thinking cease,
Nor do you have any obligation to give the activity of thinking your interest.
The activity of thinking will come and go,
Appear and dissolve as it always does.
Although as you pay more and more attention to the movement of your breath,
The movement of thinking may seem more distant,
Less prominent,
More like white noise occurring in the background somewhere.
You You You You You You You And if at any moment You notice that You've become entangled with the activity of thinking In that moment simply come back to your breath Tracking all four components of the breath cycle The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause The inhale,
The pause,
The exhale,
The pause For the next few moments begin to gradually deepen your breathing Sensing the breath in the body Noticing the breath energizing the arms,
The legs,
The hands,
And the feet And in a moment you'll hear a bell ring three times As the bell rings and you feel ready You'll open your eyes and move on with your day Bell
