Here & Now Meditation

Brian Hyman shares a guided meditation based on Thich Nhat Hanh's teaching "Our Appointment With Life." In this practice, conscious breath pairs with intention and present moment awareness so that the Here and Now can lead us to Our Appointment With Life. (Inhale = Here. Exhale = Now). There is gentle guidance to enter the meditation, silent space for meditators to internalize the practice, and then guidance to finalize the meditation. Beautiful flute music plays throughout the track.

Transcript

Hello.

Today I would like to share a meditation based on a teaching from Thich Nhat Hanh.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen master,

A Vietnamese Buddhist monk,

A peacemaker,

A poet,

An author.

He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in the 1960s by Martin Luther King Jr.

One of Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings is our appointment with life.

Let's find a comfortable position.

Begin to settle in.

Close the eyes and begin to bring your awareness into the present moment.

As you settle into your posture for meditation,

Let's take a deep inhale together.

And exhale,

Let it go.

Again,

Deep inhale and exhale,

Let it go.

Last time,

Deep inhale and exhale,

Release the breath.

The teaching I would like to share today,

Based upon the idea,

Our appointment with life,

Invites us to look at the here and now.

What Thich Nhat Hanh teaches is that we have an appointment with life.

Our appointment with life can only happen at a certain time and certain place.

The place is here,

The time is now.

We should not miss our appointment with life in the here and now.

For today's meditation,

With every inhale,

We can repeat the mantra or word here.

With every exhale,

We can repeat the mantra or word now.

The first few times,

Let's do this together.

And then you will be on your own for a little while.

Together,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

Again,

Inhale here,

Exhale now.

Continue on your own,

Focusing on the inhale and the exhale.

The inhale,

Allowing us to be here,

The exhale,

Allowing us to be here now.

The next one,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

The next one,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

The next one,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

The next one,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

The next one,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

Let's begin to bring our awareness back to the physical body.

Bring some awareness back to where you are.

Start to feel the space around you.

Notice if the mind is a little more quiet.

Notice if the body is a little more relaxed.

Together,

Deep inhale,

Here,

Exhale,

Now.

When you're ready,

Gently blink the eyes open.

Thank you for sharing your time and your meditation in the here and now.

Have a beautiful day.

Reviews

I really like this meditation because after an introduction and instructions, I was allowed the silence to meditate with just beautiful music as a background. Thank you.

One of my favourite guided meditations. Brian keeps it simple, only offering as much guidance as is required. Thank you Brian.

Got me back to where I need to be. Here. Now. Thank you.

I find this meditation very grounding and relaxing I feel so peaceful and calm now. I keep coming back to here and now meditation when I need to slow down during a busy day. Thank you 🙏

So much swirls around, in the not here and not now. Thanks for focusing us here, now. Grateful 😊

It has been a while since I melded so thoroughly with a meditation practice. Its gentle simplicity has been very reassuring and consoling.

SWEET! Thank you for sharing Thich Nhat Hanh ❤️

Awesome.

Very relaxing and grounding. I liked that it was delivered simply, in a natural tone of voice. Thank you

It is a very calming meditation with plenty of space to meditate. I wish there would have been more of the wise sayings of Thich Nhat Hanh, though.

Amazing meditation

Really Soothing!!
Thank You So Much 😍

Thank you. Enjoyed the simplicity to connect with my breath & the moment 🙏🏼

I like that, “an appointment with life” thank you!!