Hello and welcome,
I'm so glad you're here.
Find a comfortable seat for your meditation practice.
The current state of the world can be quite noisy.
There are so many things that try and capture our attention,
Whether they are helpful or less than ideal.
And it's easier than ever to get distracted,
Not just in the moment when we're supposed to be finishing a task and the world's information at our fingertips pulls us away from finishing that task,
But in a more general way as well.
Because there's so much we're processing on a daily basis,
It can be very easy to get lost in the pull of life's tides and feel like we're drifting further away from who we really are,
Deep down at our core.
This practice helps us to bring awareness to what's here,
Including the distractions,
And then shift our attention to a singular focus.
When we train our attention to focus on just one thing for a sustained period of time,
Even if it's only for a few seconds at a time to begin with,
We help to reset our internal understanding of what's important.
This in turn helps us to pay attention to what's most important in our lives as well.
When we're having a conversation with a friend,
We can really hear what they're saying,
Rather than getting distracted by a previous conversation being replayed in our minds.
When we're working on something important,
We can continually focus on what needs to be done in order to complete the task,
Rather than give in to the temptation of checking our phone dozens of times.
Our meditation practice gives us the opportunity to,
Well,
Practice.
We are here to practice awareness of what is,
And then focus on what's important right now.
If you haven't already,
Feel free to close your eyes.
And if you need to take a little wiggle of the body to release tension,
Or stretch the neck or back to alleviate tightness before coming into stillness,
Feel free.
As you settle into your practice,
Take a few calming breaths to arrive.
Begin to notice what's here in this moment,
In the world around you.
It might be the things that you've heard about lately,
That are happening in the world,
Replaying in your mind.
It might be the energy you feel around you,
In the home or office you're in right now.
It might be what you can detect in your immediate surroundings,
With your senses,
The things you can smell,
Shapes or light you can notice behind your closed eyelids,
Sounds that are constant or make their way in and out of your awareness,
The vibration of a notification on your phone next to you.
We don't need to fix or change anything right now.
Or just becoming aware of what might be here right now,
That could possibly distract you.
Anytime you notice something pop into your awareness from the external world,
Just say to yourself,
Okay,
That's here too.
Notice what's here.
Take a deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Imagine setting the outside world aside just for now.
We're not ignoring things as they are.
We're simply creating space while in this meditation to turn inward.
Now start to notice what's here in this moment in your inner world.
Are there any thoughts floating around in your mind?
Are there any emotions present that are linked to stories or lingering emotions from interactions with the external world?
Are there any physical sensations that are noticeable in the body?
Ones that come and go,
As well as ones that are constantly there.
And again,
When you notice something else pop into your awareness from your internal world,
Just say to yourself,
Okay,
That's here too.
Notice what's here.
That might feel like a distraction for your attention.
Take a deep breath in again.
And as you exhale,
Start shifting your awareness from these things that might have your attention to your breathing.
We aren't ignoring how we feel or desensitizing ourselves from things within us that need attention.
We are simply creating space within ourselves during this meditation to settle our focus a bit more.
Notice your breathing.
Where in your body can you feel your breath the most?
Notice what it feels like to breathe in and to breathe out.
And let's stay with our breathing.
The breath is the most present thing that we have.
So be with this breath.
And now this one.
And this one.
And this one.
If you're an overthinking person,
Like myself,
It might be helpful to gently repeat to yourself breathing,
Breathing,
Breathing.
And if you're a visual person,
You might picture a golden light in the center of your heart growing and softening with each breath in and each breath out.
Just be here with your breath in the calmest,
Most present way possible for you.
And anytime you notice your mind wander,
That's okay.
Simply say to yourself,
Okay,
That's here right now.
And then return your awareness to your inhales and exhales.
It doesn't matter how many times your awareness gets distracted.
What matters is coming back home to your breath over and over again.
Continue focusing on your breathing and returning to it until you hear the sound of my voice again.
Gently return to your breathing if your mind has wandered.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Your breath is still here for you.
Breathing,
Breathing,
Breathing.
If you're still focusing on your breathing,
Begin to let it fade into the background.
And before you open your eyes,
Start to notice your internal world right now.
No need to compare it to how it was before.
Just notice.
Now begin to notice your surroundings again.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and look around the space you're in for a few moments,
Reorienting yourself in the world around you.
By practicing singular focus,
We give ourselves the opportunity to strengthen our resilience from distractions.
And the more we practice with our eyes closed in meditation,
The easier it becomes with our eyes open in our day-to-day lives.
Return to this meditation and your breath anytime you need to strengthen that focus and resilience.
As you move into the rest of your day,
I invite you to think about where in your life you can start to remove the extra distractions.
What pulls you away from your focus?
What takes you away from the present moment?
See if you can start guiding your awareness to the things that matter most to you more often.
Thank you so much for taking your time to practice with me today,
And I look forward to our next meditation together.
