Hello,
My name is Autumn and this meditation will focus on releasing our obsession with productivity.
So you may have noticed that society has trained us to feel like the more productive we are,
The more valuable we are.
And this mindset can really get in the way of our well-being.
If you have the tendency to try to get as much done as possible in your day and find it hard to stay present in the moment,
If you find you're doing one thing while thinking about the next,
This meditation is for you.
If while meditating you notice the urge to go do something or you feel like you have to do whatever it is that comes to your mind right now or you'll forget it or won't have the motivation or the time later,
This meditation is for you.
So to get started,
Let's find a comfortable seat.
If it feels okay to you,
Close your eyes.
You can also cast your gaze downward.
We'll start by establishing an anchor.
First,
Take stock of what you're noticing in your body.
See if you notice your breath,
Sounds around you,
The feeling of the air on your skin,
Maybe certain sensations coming through your body.
And then don't worry too much about it being the perfect choice.
Choose something as your anchor point,
Something that you'll continually bring your attention back to.
So this might be your breath and you might feel it in a certain part of your body or maybe it's simply your senses.
You're noticing what you hear,
What you smell,
What you feel right here where you're sitting,
Seated.
Once you choose your anchor,
Let's take a few moments just paying attention.
Pretty quickly you'll probably find that there's an urge to get up,
There are thoughts racing through your head,
Maybe you're tempted to make a to-do list to keep a thought in your brain so you won't forget it.
Notice whatever it is is coming up and then bring yourself back to your anchor.
Maybe it's the breath,
Maybe it's the senses,
Maybe it's one specific sensation in your body.
It's okay if you have to bring your attention back to the anchor a million times.
It's okay if you have really strong urges,
Really loud thoughts,
If you feel really restless and distracted.
It can be easy to think that we're failing at meditation if we feel these things or notice these things but that's not true at all.
It's a part of the experience.
The key is to allow the thoughts to come.
They might latch on,
They might come back again and just continually come back to your anchor.
The key is to practice staying even when staying feels really hard and it feels like we're doing it wrong and eventually we start to learn that our thoughts don't always have our best interests in mind and that they don't have to have control over us.
So as you sit here coming back to your anchor again and again,
Those urges will come in.
They don't need to be pushed away but rather than following them,
Doing what they're telling us to do,
The goal is to watch them.
This creates some space between you and your urges,
Between you and that feeling like you need to accomplish more,
Be more productive,
Figure something out,
Get up and do something.
The key is to continually practice being,
Just being,
Even when it's very challenging,
Even when it's very uncomfortable.
Take a moment to check in with your anchor.
Does it feel like it's a helpful thing to come back to or do you want to maybe shift your attention to something else?
Another sensation,
Maybe opening yourself up to all of the senses or maybe coming to that breath.
Once you've re-established your anchor,
Notice the thoughts,
The urges,
The feelings that are coming up.
Let them be there.
They're not wrong.
They're not bad.
They're just not in charge of you.
See if you can notice a little bit of space between you and that need to be productive.
Your worth does not come from how productive you are.
Your well-being does not come from how productive you are.
And the fixation on productivity can actually get in the way of your well-being,
Can get in the way of you accomplishing things with intentionality and presence,
Gratitude and joy.
Noticing if you're lost again in a thought or an urge and rather than criticizing yourself,
See if you can welcome yourself back to your anchor.
It doesn't matter how many times you get swept up and drawn away.
It's okay if it feels like you're not doing it right.
All of that is okay.
All of that is welcome.
Take a moment to notice if you feel any tightness or gripping in your body and see if you can soften just a little,
Release just a little,
Let go just a little.
Practicing this meditation can help you remember to pause,
To breathe,
To not always follow your thoughts or your urges so that you can make more intentional decisions,
Slow down,
Feel less overwhelmed.
And that applies to both while you're seated in meditation and while you're going about the rest of your day.
So take a moment here to breathe deeply,
Send some gratitude to yourself,
Even if it feels challenging to do so,
For coming to this practice,
For sitting,
For staying,
For letting yourself be imperfect and human and for letting this meditation be imperfect,
For seeking greater presence,
Greater peace and a deeper sense of grounding.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
