This recording is for the more advanced meditator,
Those who are familiar with the basic practice of meditation,
And those who are familiar with the different anchors available to them to hold them into the present.
Perhaps somebody who is even familiar with what anchors they prefer to use.
This practice will be minimally guided in that in the beginning I will help get you settled in,
Help the body relax,
The mind begin to relax,
And then I hand the meditation over to you for several minutes with silence,
Allowing you to use the anchor of your choosing to guide the rest of your practice.
You will know when the meditation has ended when you hear the chime at the end.
And beginning to settle in,
Finding a comfortable position with the body,
One that allows comfort but discourages sleep,
Closing the eyes.
We'll begin with three deep cleansing breaths to signal to our body that we are starting this practice for ourselves,
Starting to settle in.
We'll begin with a deep inhale through the nose,
Filling up the lungs,
Expanding the chest and belly,
Filling up and holding,
Feeling that fullness,
And a slow controlled release through the mouth,
As if you're slowly allowing the air out of a balloon.
Once again,
A slow deep breath in through the nose,
Filling up,
Feeling your chest expand,
Your entire body expand,
Holding,
Noticing that tightness in the chest,
And as you slowly release through the mouth,
Notice that tightness in the chest,
Releasing,
Relaxing.
Once more,
Deep full inhale,
Filling up,
Filling up a little more,
Holding,
Noticing that pressure,
And then a slow controlled exhale,
Sigh through the mouth,
Feeling the shoulders drop down away from the ears,
The body relaxing.
We'll check in with the body,
Starting at the top of the head,
Releasing any tension being held through the forehead and eyes,
Releasing the jaw,
Allowing the tongue to settle down away from the roof of the mouth,
The shoulders drop down away from the ears,
The chest and belly loosen and relax,
The glutes and pelvis let go,
The legs,
The feet,
The entire body loose and relaxed.
Just checking in with the sounds that you can detect in your environment,
Those closest to you,
Those furthest away,
Noticing the most distinct sounds that your ears can pick up and the most subtle.
Notice how the sounds come and go,
Ebb and flow,
Just allowing them to pass through,
Noticing the mind beginning to settle,
Surrendering the mind and body to the present.
Attention is a practice of surrender,
Of letting go.
There's no doubt that thoughts will come many times over and direct our attention away from our practice.
There's no need to fight it because it will happen.
Simply greet thoughts with a kind awareness,
Perhaps thinking to the self,
Thinking,
Thoughts and gently directing yourself back to your anchor in the present.
This practice of noticing our distraction and coming back to our focus strengthens the mind,
Strengthens our ability to control our emotions,
Our attention.
It is very powerful and with more practice comes more reward.
Taking this time now to choose what anchor you'll spend the rest of your time with today,
Whether it's the breath,
Sounds,
Sensations in the body,
Or some combination of all three,
Floating through in complete awareness of your body and environment.
Taking the next few minutes here,
Peacefully surrendered,
Noticing when thoughts come up and gently directing your attention back to the present.
