Sit in comfortably,
Rest your hands wherever they want to rest and either close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Starting by tuning into your breath,
Following your breath as it comes and goes,
In and out.
Noticing any movements with the rise and fall in your body.
Spending a few moments here following your breath and remembering you can return to your breath at any point during this practice if your mind feels too distracted or overwhelmed.
Letting your breath fade into the background now and shifting focus to hearing,
Tuning into sounds,
Noticing the sounds that come and go around you.
Sounds above and below,
To the right and left.
In front and behind.
There's no need to search for sounds or listen out for anything in particular.
As best you can,
Simply opening to the sounds as they naturally come and go.
Noticing how some sounds stay a while and others come and go instantly.
If your mind wanders away from the sounds,
Acknowledge where it went then retune back into the sounds around you.
Observing the whole soundscape just like you'd observe a landscape as a whole.
Hearing the soundscape you're in right now,
Noticing all the different sounds here.
Noticing any tendency to label sounds or to judge whether you like them or not.
Noticing how easily sounds can create a story.
And if you notice this happening,
Seeing if it's possible to be aware of sounds simply as sounds,
Allowing them to be as they are without labels or stories.
Seeing if it's possible to really hear the raw sensations of sounds,
Their pitch,
Loudness or rhythm.
And whenever you notice your mind has wandered off,
Acknowledge where it went and gently retune to the soundscape around you.
Noticing how sounds can appear from nowhere and seem random,
Arising and passing,
Coming and going without our control.
Letting the sounds around you fade into the background now and shifting your focus to your thoughts.
Maybe thoughts about what you're doing right now or what you're going to be doing.
Thoughts about the past or the future,
Worries or anxieties.
Sad,
Happy or neutral thoughts.
Seeing if it's possible to be open to them all as they come,
Stay a while,
Then go.
There's no need to control your thoughts in any way.
Just like you did with sounds,
Letting thoughts come and go on their own.
Whatever thoughts are there,
Seeing if it's possible to see them as events that are arising in your mind,
Staying a while,
Then passing again.
Mental events that come and go.
Sometimes thoughts can be sticky.
They don't want to go.
You might find it helpful to use some imagery.
Imagining thoughts are like clouds in the sky.
Your mind like the sky,
Your thoughts like the clouds.
Sometimes large,
Sometimes small,
Sometimes dark,
Sometimes light,
But the sky remains as it is.
Perhaps imagining your thoughts are projections on a cinema screen.
You sit watching the screen,
Waiting for a thought to appear.
When it does,
You pay full attention to it whilst it's on the screen and then let go as it leaves the screen.
Or you might like to imagine a waterfall,
With each thought approaching the top of the waterfall,
Travelling slowly down it as you pay full attention to the thought,
Then allowing it to drift by down the stream.
Spending a few moments using your chosen imagery to observe thoughts as mental events in your mind that come,
Stay a while and go again.
Sometimes we get caught up in thinking,
No longer observing thoughts,
But becoming lost inside them.
If this happens,
Congratulate yourself for waking up,
Then take a fresh start noticing these mental events coming and going.
Sometimes thoughts come with an intense feeling or emotion.
As best you can,
Become aware of this too,
Seeing if it's possible to be open to it all,
No matter what it is.
Noticing the tone of any feelings,
Pleasant,
Neutral or unpleasant,
And being open to it all.
Letting feelings come,
Be as they already are,
And go again in their own time.
Remembering you can return to following your breath in and out at any point.
Letting thoughts and feelings fade into the background now,
And finishing the practice by focusing on your breath again,
As it comes and goes,
In and out.
Noticing your whole body as it breathes,
And any movements with the rise and fall of each breath.
Noticing where your body meets the ground,
Feeling grounded in this moment.
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes or refocusing your gaze.
