Welcome to meditation.
In the next few minutes we will cultivate a pause that allows us to just be,
Before we react.
Let's begin by finding a comfortable seat or lie down on your back.
Check your body temperature.
If you're cold,
I invite you to place a blanket over your body.
If you're warm,
Maybe remove a layer.
Get comfortable.
Softly close the eyes and arrive.
You deserve this time for you.
Everything else can wait.
For now,
Give yourself fully to this internal time and space.
Tune into your breath.
Notice the physical sensation of the inhale and exhale on the belly.
Expanding.
Softening.
As you key into the breath without changing it,
You might notice that the breath effortlessly begins to slow.
We think of the breath as having two parts.
Inhale.
Exhale.
But there's a third element to the breath.
After your exhale,
There's a pause.
Place your attention on that little space at the bottom of your breath before the inhale.
It might be brief,
But there it is.
It's not a deliberate holding of the breath.
It's simply a gap.
Stay with the breath,
Giving special awareness to the silence between the exhale and the inhale.
What does it feel like to you?
Quiet.
Calm.
Stillness.
Silence.
A little intermission to gather yourself.
It's the extra beat that we give ourselves before reacting.
Maybe before we come to anger,
Before we make an important decision.
The pause.
Continue in meditation as long as you like by staying with the breath,
The sensation of the breath,
The sound of the breath,
The pause.
Thank you.
