Come to an easy cross-legged position.
Come with your spine straight,
Your heart open,
And your chin slightly tucked.
Eyes are closed,
Gaze turns inward.
Sit bones root firmly down,
Connecting you to the earth as your spine lengthens upward.
Take a few deep breaths to gather your attention and land in this moment,
In this space.
The breath is a natural pathway out of your mind and into your body,
A portal into presence.
Each breath is proof of your presence.
Draw a deep breath in through the nose,
Filling the lungs.
Pause.
And now exhale slowly through your mouth,
Emptying the lungs completely.
Draw another deep breath in through the nose.
Pause.
And as you gently,
Slowly exhale,
Notice the softening.
One more deep breath in through the nose,
Opening,
Expanding,
And then exhale fully.
As your breath returns to a natural,
Tidal rhythm,
Easy and effortless,
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose,
Notice how you're already more present in your body in this moment.
Observe the sensations of the breath on the inhale,
The coolness of the air moving through the nose,
Traveling up through the nasal passage,
Down the back of the throat,
Inflating the lungs,
Expanding the belly.
And on the exhale,
The belly sinks back,
The lungs empty.
The warmed breath moves out through the throat,
Nasal passage,
And out through the nostrils.
Find stillness in observing the movement of the breath through the body.
Keep the breath as it moves through your body,
Rushing in,
Receding,
Filling,
Emptying,
Ebbing,
And flowing.
Imagine that your breath is the ocean.
Follow the tide of your breath with your attention.
If thoughts interrupt,
Let them pass without commentary or judgment,
And gently return your attention to the breath.
Guilty.
If your mind wanders,
Just bring your attention back to the breath.
Focus on the sensation of the breath moving through your body.
Now,
Focus your attention to the sensations in your body.
Awaken yourself to the constellations of sensations in the body.
Slowly traveling with your attention,
Notice the sense of tingling or vibration at the soles of the feet and the volume,
Spaciousness,
And length of the legs.
Traveling to the bowl of the pelvis and then upward to the constant subtle hum of the organs in your torso.
The length,
Weight,
And fullness of the arms,
Tingling or vibration in the hands.
Getting your attention up to the throat,
Head,
And scalp,
Effervescent,
Bright.
Pay extra attention to any areas of tension,
Tightness,
Or contraction in the body.
The hips,
Pelvic floor,
Belly,
Chest,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Jaw,
Inner ears,
Eyes,
Forehead,
Crown of the head,
Intentionally soften these areas.
Expand on the inhale,
Soften,
And unravel with the exhale.
Drawing your attention to your skin,
Noticing warmth,
Coolness,
Tingling,
Places of contact with clothing,
Hair,
The floor,
Or the cushion beneath you,
The field of air around you.
Turn your attention to the space around you,
Noticing sounds without attaching to them as they come and go.
Listen and follow the sounds without identifying with them.
Allow them to pass through your field like clouds in a sky.
Notice sound come in,
Notice sound go out.
Sense the divine space between sounds.
If thoughts barge in,
Take a breath,
Take a step back,
And choose to return your attention to what is real,
What is now.
Sounds,
Sensations,
Breath.
This is where you are.
This is what is real.
This moment,
Here and now.
Philosopher and mystic,
Simone Weill wrote that attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.
Pure presence is needed today.
Choose to make presence a practice.
As a check into presence throughout the day,
Consider these devotional reminders.
Repeat mentally.
This is where I am.
I activate pure presence.
Nothing is more important than what I am doing right now.
This is what I have.
I am grateful for all the many blessings in my life,
And I show gratitude by giving presence and showing up fully.
This is what is real.
I step out of virtual realities,
Rehearsals,
Recaps,
And replays so that I can give more to this moment.
There's any judgment about how you performed in this meditation.
Let it go.
Be generous.
Cheer yourself on like you would encourage a child.
Like all things in life,
The true reward is in the effort,
Not the outcome.
When the mind is clear,
Heaven is here.
May your day be filled with pure presence and the bliss of being in the here and now.
Namaste,
Peace,
Love,
And light.
