Welcome to today's practice.
In a world that is very hungry for our attention,
Cultivating our capacity to be present with this moment can be quite a challenge.
So our practice today is one of presence.
As you get comfortable to sit,
Allow the body to find contact with the ground,
Either through your feet or your sitting bones.
Adjusting your chest to be sitting upright,
Softening the muscles of your face,
Relaxing your hands on your lap whichever way you like.
And then once you've learned it,
Take a full breath in through the nose and clear it out.
Using this conscious breath as a way to create a transition from whatever was part of your day arriving into this moment.
These first moments when you land in the stillness of your meditation are so precious.
It's really the moment where you meet yourself in the stillness.
A little bit like you would be meeting a dear friend.
And in the first moments most likely you'd be checking in with them and asking how they are.
The moment that you close your eyes and land in your meditation is this opportunity to check in with the state of you in this moment.
Not going through how was your day,
But really looking at what is present for you now.
Observing the state of the body whatever may come to your attention,
Simply observing.
Observing the state of the mind.
Maybe the mind is full,
Agitated,
Lots of ideas and thoughts going around.
Maybe it's pretty steady in attention and easily following my voice.
Just observe.
And then just come to pay attention to your breathing.
Observe the natural flow of breath coming and going through the nose.
Observe the quality of the breath.
Long,
Short,
Deep,
Shallow,
Even,
Uneven.
Just observing.
And then simply shift your awareness to the sounds around you.
Picking up on the sounds that are the furthest away from you.
Sounds outside of the building that you're in,
Or far away from where you are,
Even if you're outside.
And importantly here,
There's no need specifically to label what the sounds are.
There's no need for the mind to be able to identify what each sound is.
Simply observe that you can hear sounds far away.
Or let your attention shift to the sounds that are closer to you.
Maybe the sounds in the building that you're in,
Or in your closer surroundings.
Eventually,
Coming to become aware of the sound of your own breathing,
Maybe.
And let that go.
Bring your attention to the sensations around the nose.
Noticing the feeling of the air passing through the nostrils.
The fresh air coming on the inhale.
The warmer air of your exhale.
Then come to notice the smells that you can pick up.
And it's the same thing here.
There's no need to necessarily label and identify the smells.
Simply become aware that you can smell.
And then let that go.
Pay attention to the taste in your mouth.
It's the same thing here.
You do not need to label it,
Or to identify what it is you can taste.
Just observe your capacity to taste things.
Tune in to the sensations.
Then become aware of the sensations on your skin.
Notice the feeling of your clothes.
The feeling of the ground.
Or your seat.
Feel the touch of the air on your skin.
Notice maybe the warmer temperature where your hands meet your lap.
Notice the touch of your upper lip with your lower lip.
Of your eyelids against each other.
Become aware of your capacity to feel the sense of touch.
And then once again,
Become aware of the world within you.
Sensations in your body.
The mind.
The breath.
The feeling of your heart.
And as you connect that to what you can perceive from the world around you,
Maybe you can feel the constant interaction between the two worlds.
How the world around you has an effect,
A connection to the world within.
The world around you has an effect on the feeling of the body and the mind.
Maybe the breath and heart.
And how you perceive the world around.
And how you take it in.
And notice how the world within you may influence the perception of the world around you.
We tend to think of these two worlds as separate.
But in reality,
They're very much connected and very much interacting with each other each and every moment.
Staying there for a few more moments in silence.
Observing the sounds,
The smiles,
The taste,
The sense of touch from the world around you.
From the world around.
Paying attention to the body,
The mind,
The breath,
The heart of the world within.
If at any point you notice thoughts coming in the way,
Distractions,
Just pick any of this element from this moment to bring yourself back into the present.
Into the now.
With no force and no judgment.
Slowly letting go of this technique.
Becoming aware again of the space that you're in.
Where you are in that space.
Of how your body is on the ground or on your chair,
Whatever seat you have.
One of the best ways to describe mindfulness is composed of three elements.
Mindfulness being our capacity to pay purposeful attention to something in the present without judgment.
When we cultivate that state of mindfulness,
It frees the mind from the worries of the past or the future that tend to clutter it.
Brings us back to where we are right now.
How we feel right now.
To the interactions between the world around and the world within.
Whenever you feel a lack of presence in your day,
Come back to the senses.
The thing is we can feel,
Touch,
See,
Hear right now.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
