10-minute meditation.
Please sit or stand or lie back.
Find a comfortable,
Upright and alert posture.
Have your eyes open and stable and unfocused or close them.
Make the intention to stay awake and in touch with the present moment.
Find that experience of the present moment both as I am speaking and during the stretches of silence.
Focus all your attention to the sensations of breathing.
I want you to be very specific in the selection of these sensations.
So bring your attention to the coolness of the air on the edge of the nostrils or the movement of the abdomen,
Breath in the belly,
Or the chest as it rises and falls.
You can choose.
Select a very specific sensation.
Now that you've selected the sensation,
We're going to maintain our attention here.
You might notice very quickly your mind might wander,
And if it does,
Very gently bring it back to the breath.
Use as much kindness as is possible,
Just riding the waves of the breath,
Feeling the sensations of the breath coming in and out without any forcing,
Allowing the breath to be as it is moment by moment,
Breath by breath.
So staying with the breath,
Resting in awareness.
Sooner or later,
You'll notice that the mind has a life of its own,
A very active,
Busy life.
So even with the strongest intentions to keep the attention on the breath,
It's hard not to notice that that intention might get sidetracked or hijacked or diverted.
We become absorbed in some other activity of the mind.
It may be thinking about the future,
Worrying,
Anticipating,
Planning,
Or it may be thinking about the past,
Memories,
Or feelings.
This breath is what we come back to.
We notice those things,
And we simply return to the breath.
This breath that we're paying attention to,
Just rediscovering it again and again,
And it's not a problem that sound or a thought or a sensation in the body distracts us.
We just use that to bring us back to attending to the breath again.
Over and over,
Gently,
Kindly,
Compassionately,
Just noting what the mind is up to now and letting it be exactly as it is.
So in the last few remaining moments of this meditation,
See if you can find your posture again,
If you need to sit up straight or bring your attention back to your breath.
Breath by breath by breath,
Allowing ourselves to be available to each breath as it rises and falls,
Letting go of the past,
Letting go of the future,
And simply being present to this breath,
This moment.
