For this meditation choose any position that's most comfortable to you.
A seated posture can help you harness an increase in energy for the day.
However if this doesn't feel right for you in this moment perhaps find a comfortable straight lying down position resting on your back.
So taking a few moments now to explore which posture will best serve you for this meditation time.
Making any adjustments necessary to help you settle to a place of stillness.
If you're sitting upright perhaps getting a sense of your head over the heart,
The heart over the pelvis.
If you're lying down perhaps tucking your chin slightly feeling that extra length in the neck and allowing the eyes to gently close if they haven't already.
Bringing your focus your awareness within and bringing your attention to the movements of the breath in the body to help you settle.
Expanding your attention to take in the body as a whole almost as if the whole body were breathing.
Using this to help you notice any areas of obvious tension calling for your awareness.
So relaxing the jaw,
Dropping the shoulders,
Sensing the weight of the hands resting,
The body settling.
Aware of those contact points between you and the surface beneath you.
Beginner's mind is what we practice in meditation.
So instead of sitting in meditation and thinking you know what your breath will be like or what the present moment in front of you will be like,
You pay attention observing it with fresh eyes.
So dropping any preconceived ideas and looking clearly at what's in front of you.
This is a chance to reconnect and reset,
To begin again.
Settling back to the breath,
Paying attention with genuine curiosity.
Notice the feeling of the breath entering and leaving the body.
Notice where you notice this.
Maybe the feeling of the air entering and leaving the nostrils.
Cooler air coming in,
Warmer air leaving.
Might be the rise and fall of the chest or the belly.
There's really no right or wrong.
Simply noticing where you become aware of the breath.
Each breath a new breath.
Each moment a new moment.
Knowing you can use the breath as a steadying anchor,
A place to return to.
Perhaps it's the feeling of your hands resting in your lap or the feeling of the body being supported by the surface beneath you.
Perhaps connecting with your feet on the floor.
A sense of a physical connection,
A sense of grounding as a steadying anchor to return to.
Whenever you notice yourself having preconceived ideas,
Wandering from the present moment,
Thinking you know how it will be,
Just noticing that.
A beginner's mind is empty.
It holds no preconceived ideas or rules about what is.
It is open,
Eager,
Receptive.
The Zen teacher Suzuki writes,
If your mind is empty,
It is always ready for anything.
It is open to everything.
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities.
In the expert's mind there are few.
And so we return to the breath,
The feet,
The seat,
The hands.
Not trying to change anything.
Simply observing with curiosity the complete cycle of a breath.
Noticing the pauses between breaths.
Dropping ideas and thoughts.
Dropping stories and images that are filling up your head.
Emptying your cup so you can see what's actually in front of you.
Noticing what your breath is actually like right now instead of what you think it will be or should be.
Each breath a new breath.
Each moment a new moment.
Expanding your attention to taking the body as a whole.
As if the whole body were breathing.
Being curious about how it feels to be in this body today.
Noticing whenever the mind wanders away to thinking or judging.
Bringing the awareness back to the feet,
The seat,
The hands,
The surface beneath you.
A sense of the space around you.
Allowing the edges of your mouth to turn up a gentle smile.
A gratitude for this time you've gifted yourself.
Remembering you can practice this beginner's mind throughout the day.
Whatever is in front of you.
With how your body feels.
How your breath feels.
Whatever else is around you.
You can practice beginner's mind whenever you do any activity from brushing your teeth to washing the dishes to using your phone and to walking.
You can practice whenever you talk to or see another human being.
Dropping your ideas of how they should be and instead emptying your mind and seeing them as they are.
Notice their good heart,
Their difficulties and be grateful for them as they are.
Finding compassion for their struggles.
This is the practice.
Let's see if we can take an empty cup forward into our days.
With a smile,
With love,
With fresh eyes and with a gratitude for this universe that we all share.
