Hello,
My name is Amita Goel and welcome to today's guided meditation session on Awareness of Thoughts and Feelings.
Let's begin.
Sitting in a dignified and erect posture with your head,
Neck and back straight,
If that's possible for you,
Or sit cross-legged on the floor,
If that's possible for you.
Feet flat on the floor,
If you are in the chair.
Closing or lowering your eyes,
Whatever feels comfortable for you in this moment.
Always resting on your legs or on your lap and bringing your body to stillness.
And feeling the breath wherever it is most vivid in your body.
You can choose to sustain your attention in the nostrils.
Noticing how the breath enters the nostrils and perhaps perceiving the change in temperature when the breath enters and leaves the body.
You can choose to feel the breath in the chest.
Noticing how the chest rises and falls with the breath.
The easiest place for most people to feel the breath and to notice the rhythmic movement of the breath is in the belly,
In the abdomen.
If you like,
Bringing your attention to the belly right now and noticing how the abdomen expands with the in-breath and deflates with the out-breath.
Allowing the breath to flow freely.
You may notice as you sit here breathing that there are thoughts present in your awareness.
Noticing the thoughts is the focus of the concentration now.
Observing the process of thinking itself.
Noticing your thoughts to move to the foreground.
Taking center stage in your awareness.
Noticing how the mind may want to follow the thoughts,
Get trapped in the content of the thoughts.
Wanting to expand upon them or even construct stories.
Whatever the content may be,
Whether the thoughts are about the past or the future,
Whether they are judgments,
Opinions,
Fantasies,
Dreams.
Just being aware of how the mind is attracted to or repelled by certain thoughts.
Notice how some thoughts are pursued by the mind and some are rejected.
Notice letting the thoughts be.
Simply witnessing each thought as it comes up in the mind as an observable event.
A unit in the field of awareness with a beginning,
A middle and an end.
Observing the coming and going,
How thoughts arise,
Linger briefly or for an extended period and then pass away.
The thoughts fading and dissolving just like clouds.
If you find yourself being drawn into the current of thinking,
Realize that you are no longer observing the thoughts but that you are lost inside of them.
And when you become aware of this,
Just coming back to the observation of thoughts as separate elements,
As clouds in the sky drifting through the spacious,
Vast sky of mind.
Sometimes the thoughts may become disturbing,
Too charged for you to simply observe them.
If this happens,
Know that it was always possible to return to the breath.
Use the breath to anchor you,
To stabilize you in the present moment.
As these thoughts pass by,
You may notice that there are also emotions that are arising in the body and in the mind.
Allow yourself to feel that emotion that is present in this moment with the intention to make room for whatever is arising moment to moment.
Maybe there is a feeling of boredom,
Impatience or restlessness.
You may be experiencing peaceful feelings like contentment,
Happiness or joy.
Or even less peaceful ones like sadness,
Anxiety,
Frustration,
Anger or even fear.
Being aware of what you are experiencing as emotions in this moment.
Observing how some emotional states like happiness and contentment are welcomed and held onto.
Or how you may be running away or blocking or fighting your emotions like anxiety,
Fear,
Anxiety,
Or fear.
Observing whatever emotion is present with a sense of exploration and welcoming the emotion,
If that is possible for you.
Allowing whatever emotions are present to come and go without doing anything about them.
Notice how they arise,
How they occupy the mind for a while and how they fade away.
Knowing that if at any time emotions or feelings become too strong or too intense,
It is always possible to return to paying attention to the feeling of breathing,
Feeling the breath as it enters the body and leaves the body.
And now allowing if you like the breath to nourish you,
Nurture you for a few moments.
Knowing that the breath could become your home base,
Your ally to help you navigate moments of distress or difficulty and to help bring you back to balance your moments.
And allowing the benefits of this practice to flow into your entire experience of your life.
Now let's take a few moments to take it all in.
Be present in the moment.
Accept our body,
Accept our feelings,
Accept this present moment.
Notice the body,
Notice the moment.
Whenever you are ready,
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
Stretch your arms and legs.
Bringing awareness back to this room in this moment in the body.
Give all the peace that you feel.
Whenever you are ready,
Gently open your eyes with a smile on your face.
Thank you for meditating with me today.
Namaste.
