Welcome to your meditation session.
This is a space where we'll be practicing building our focused attention back up.
I don't know about you,
But I have certainly noticed my own attention span waning in recent years.
And so many of us blame ourselves or chalk it up to an idea that there must be something wrong with us.
As though it should be easy to hold our attention on one thing at a time.
And yes,
Maybe it could be.
In a world that helps us train our brains for that.
But in the world that we live in today.
We are bombarded with information that makes its way into our awareness so quickly.
That we often don't even consciously realize that we're taking in something new almost every second.
What we practice becomes stronger.
So,
If we're practicing splitting our attention,
Doing multiple things at once.
And moving from one piece of information to the next every few seconds.
We're going to get really good at inviting distractions in to keep our shorter attention spans occupied.
But when we practice slowing down.
Softening into a moment long enough for it to breathe.
And even letting ourselves get bored sometimes.
We can re-teach our bodies and minds that urgency doesn't have to be the way we move through our lives.
We can relearn that it is safe to sit back and smell the roses.
And our minds will actually serve us in a much more robust way when they don't feel like they're running at 90 miles an hour all the time.
Let's practice.
Find a comfortable place to sit.
And let's start our meditation today with our eyes open.
Take a deep breath in to arrive for your practice.
And a deep breath out,
Landing in this space for yourself.
Let's begin by finding something that you can rest your eyes on.
Something that feels soothing.
Something that is calming or unmoving.
Maybe it's a line on the floor.
A branch of a tree.
Or perhaps your hands resting in your lap.
And as we rest our gaze on that one thing.
Let's set an intention for our practice today.
And intention to bring our focus back to the present moment.
We aren't here to do anything perfectly.
It's normal for the mind and our eyes while they're open.
To wander.
You're human.
It's totally fine for this to happen.
And We are going to continuously invite our attention back to what we're focusing on.
In the moment.
So right now.
Gently name to yourself.
What you're looking at.
I'm looking at the windowsill.
I'm looking at my dog.
I'm looking at a flame of a candle.
Soften your body.
Breathe naturally.
And just focus on the one thing that you're looking at.
And if it's helpful.
Gently repeat what you named to yourself in your mind.
I'm looking at the windowsill.
I'm looking at the windowsill.
You Now,
If you'd like to close your eyes,
I invite you to do so.
If it feels more calming to keep them open.
Continue to rest your gaze on that something soothing.
Or unmoving.
To keep your focus present.
Start to notice where in your body you feel you're breathing the most.
And explore what your breathing feels like.
Naming to yourself what you're noticing.
My shoulders are lifting up.
And lowering down.
I feel the cool air as it comes into my body.
And warmer air as it leaves.
My muscles are relaxing.
The slower I breathe.
What are you noticing right now?
Now as you let go of noticing all of the things that come along with breathing.
Just begin to rest your attention.
On the place where your breathing feels most soothing.
For me,
That's resting my awareness in my heart space.
And simply feeling the rise and fall of my chest as I breathe.
And sometimes it even helps for me to place a hand on my chest.
And feel it moving.
Maybe you repeat to yourself in your mind.
I am breathing.
I am breathing.
If it helps to add a visualization to keep your attention present.
Imagine a gentle golden light.
Where you feel your breathing.
And imagine this light growing and softening.
With every breath in.
And every breath out.
Keep focusing on the breath you are breathing right now.
It's okay if your attention moves elsewhere.
Just gently bring it back to the simple task of noticing your breath.
Continue on your own.
Focusing on being here.
With your breathing.
Until you hear my voice again.
You you you Notice where your attention is right now.
There is no need for frustration with yourself if your mind has drifted off.
And if you did sustain your attention on your breathing.
Start to let that one-pointed focus go.
And let's just sit for a bit.
Without any technique.
Just bathing in the space we have created for ourselves.
You when we practice.
We have the opportunity to receive from both short and long-term benefits.
Maybe you feel more relaxed right now than when we first started.
A nice immediate effect that some of us feel.
But the great thing about meditation.
Is that the more often we practice,
The greater the long-lasting benefits we will experience.
And when we work on focusing our attention on the present moment,
The easier it will be to enjoy the slower moments in our lives.
Without racing to the next thing.
I encourage you to continue slowing down on your own.
And focusing on just one thing.
For a sustained period of time.
Let's start reversing what we've been training our brains to do within our fast-paced society.
And the thing is.
.
.
A practice like this can be done anytime.
There's truly no fancy techniques required.
Just hold your attention on something.
Even if it's just for 30 seconds at a time.
The more often you practice the art of focused attention.
The easier it becomes to gently rest in the present moment of your life without the need for your mind to be constantly entertained.
You've got this.
Keep practicing.
Whenever you feel ready to move back into your day.
Blink your eyes open if they were closed.
Take a cleansing breath.
And thank yourself for showing up for you today.
Have a wonderful rest of your day.
And I look forward to our next session together.
