Welcome to sitting meditation.
Thinking of this as a time set aside entirely for you,
A time to be by yourself and with yourself,
This is an opportunity to take a few moments out of your life to dwell in the mode of being rather than the usual mode of doing.
A time where you won't be interrupted,
A time where you can be comfortably still in the body,
Setting aside constant activity,
Thinking and planning,
Using this as a time to make a little space in your life.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do.
Having the attitude of welcoming whatever should arise in the body and mind.
Welcoming what arises without judging as good or bad.
Cultivating an attitude of kindness to yourself and to the experience.
Giving up the idea of having to make things a certain way,
Rather allowing yourself to be exactly as you are,
Exactly as your life is in this moment,
As best you can.
With a sense of patience,
Kindness,
And steadiness,
Being with whatever arises in the mind and in the body.
Sitting with an attitude of presence,
Committing to accepting and acknowledging whatever arises moment to moment.
There's no particular state to be achieved,
Nothing to be fixed.
So now allowing the body to come still and sitting on a straight back chair or on a cushion on the floor,
Aligning the back of the head and neck,
If that's possible for you.
The back is straight without being stiff and having a relaxed but alert posture,
Embodying dignity.
If you're using a chair,
It may be helpful to sit away from the back of the chair so your spine is supporting itself.
Having your feet flat on the floor and if you're sitting on the floor,
It's helpful if your knees actually touch the floor.
You can experiment with the height of the cushion or stool until you feel comfortably supported.
Gently lowering the eyes or closing them,
Whatever feels appropriate for you.
Hands resting on the lap or on the legs,
Feeling the support of the floor,
The chair,
Or the cushion and settling into this stable seat,
Settling into this moment and beginning to become aware of the fact that you are breathing.
Noticing the movement of the breath as it flows into the body and as it leaves the body.
No need to control or direct or guide the breath in any way.
If you notice your mind attempting to change or manipulate the breath even a little bit,
Just noticing this tendency and allowing the breath to flow freely.
Allowing your awareness to be soft and open.
And receiving the changing sensations that accompany the breath.
Not trying to do anything or change anything or get anywhere,
Simply feeling the breath.
Maybe noticing the breath in your nose.
Noticing perhaps a change in temperature when the breath enters the body and leaves the body.
Perhaps becoming aware of the breath in the chest,
The expansion as the air enters,
And the contraction as it lets go.
And if it feels comfortable for you,
Bringing awareness to the belly.
Noticing the rhythmic movement,
Rising and falling of the abdomen with the breath.
Noticing sensations of the breath rising,
Staying for a while,
And passing away.
You may notice that your mind wanders.
And it gets distracted perhaps by sensations in the body or sounds,
Maybe thoughts or emotions.
This is natural.
It's simply what the mind does.
Simply noticing where the mind went and gently with kindness and compassion welcoming the mind back to the breath.
Not judging or giving yourself a hard time.
Just guiding your attention back to breathing.
Feeling the beginning,
The middle,
And the end of the in-breath.
The space between the in-breath and the out-breath.
Just noticing.
Where is your mind right now?
Maybe you've become distracted or lost in a thought,
Feeling,
Or emotion.
Just bringing it back to the breath.
The mind produces thoughts like the eyes produce tears.
Not judging.
Just simply coming back to the breath with kindness and compassion.
You You may be noticing as you bring attention to the direct sensations of breathing that sensations of the body are arising and intruding on your awareness of the breath.
These sensations may take the form of restlessness or discomfort.
They may be painful and intense.
And if you choose to do so,
Allowing yourself to expand your field of awareness to include not only your breathing but an awareness of the body.
Allowing yourself to become aware of the entire body from head to toe.
You're aware of the wholeness and completeness of the body.
You're aware of the awareness of the body.
Perhaps bringing to your awareness sensations of contact.
Noticing the feet resting on the floor,
The buttocks making contact with the cushion or the chair.
Awareness of your back,
Shoulders,
The arms and hands resting on the legs.
Just noticing these sensations in this moment.
You may notice that the mind has wandered,
Gently escorting the mind back to the breath.
If the mind leaves a thousand times,
Bringing the mind back a thousand times with kindness and compassion.
Allowing each moment to be an opportunity for feeling the breath and sensations in the body.
Noticing how sensations arise,
Perhaps linger,
Perhaps changing in intensity and then passing away.
Simply allowing things to be just as they are in this moment.
You may notice that there are times when sensations in one part of the body begin to dominate the field of awareness.
Maybe sensations that are uncomfortable or annoying,
Possibly intense or painful.
And you may be noticing that you are unable to stay focused and concentrated.
And knowing that this happens to all of us at one time or another.
You always have a choice on how to work with these sensations.
One way is to move mindfully to reduce or remove the intensity of the sensation.
To slowly and carefully readjust to shift the position to a posture that's more appropriate for you in this moment.
Another option is to simply choose to stay and investigating the sensation.
Focusing awareness on the sensation itself,
Bringing kindness and curiosity to the sensation.
Noticing if there's any holding or tensing,
Bracing or resisting,
Any restlessness or agitation,
And being present to anything that you may be experiencing.
Noticing any desire to run away from the sensation or to block it from your awareness.
Also noticing if there's any desire for it to be different,
Desire to fight it or to change it.
And if possible,
Allowing yourself to soften around the sensation,
To open to it,
To be curious.
Even with this intensity,
There may be a sense of stillness or spaciousness in acceptance.
And as the intensity perhaps subsides,
Returning the attention to the entire body and the breath in this moment,
Allowing the breath to flow freely.
And now once again allowing the field of awareness to expand,
This time expanding awareness to include hearing.
Seeing if you can notice the sound of the in-breath and the out-breath in this moment.
Sounds from the environment,
Perhaps even from within the body.
Noticing sounds near and far away.
And if you wish for a while,
Letting the mind focus on sounds,
Receptive to whatever enters the awareness as a sound.
Becoming aware of how quickly the mind creates meaning,
Stories,
And explanations of sounds.
Noticing how liking and disliking arise,
Judgments,
Opinions.
You're not alone.
You're not alone.
Receiving sounds without effort,
Letting sounds come to your ears without reaching or trying to hear them.
And aware of the silence between the sounds.
And if your mind wanders gently but firmly,
Bringing attention back to sounds with the intention to sustain the attention on sounds right here in this moment,
In this breath.
Now,
Once again allowing the field of your awareness to expand,
This time including thoughts and thinking.
Noticing thoughts not as a distraction or break in concentration but as the actual focus of concentration.
Observing the process of thinking itself.
Letting the awareness of breathing and sensations in the body move to the background as awareness of thoughts move to the foreground.
Thoughts taking center stage in your awareness and noticing how your mind may want to follow the thoughts to expand on them and to construct stories.
Witnessing your thoughts,
Whatever the content may be,
Whether the thoughts are about the past or the future,
Whether they are judgments,
Opinions,
Dreams,
Or fantasies.
Being aware of how the mind is attracted to certain thoughts or repelled by certain thoughts.
And practicing letting the thoughts be.
Simply witnessing each thought as it comes up in the mind as an observable event.
A beginning,
A middle,
And an end.
Observing the coming and going,
How they arise,
Linger briefly,
Or perhaps an extended period,
And then pass away.
Noticing how thoughts are fading and dissolving just like clouds.
If you find yourself being drawn into the current of thinking,
Noticing that you are no longer observing the thoughts but that you are lost inside of them.
When you are aware of this,
Just coming back to the observation of thoughts,
As separate elements,
As clouds in the sky,
Drifting and moving through the spacious vastness of the mind.
And sometimes thoughts may become troubling,
Too charged for you to simply observe them.
If this happens,
Knowing that it is always possible to return to the breath,
To use the breath as a place to return to as your home base,
A place of safety and refuge.
And when you feel ready,
You can return to paying attention to the thoughts or thinking.
Letting the thoughts,
Regardless of content,
Simply be.
Allow them to move in and out of your awareness.
Aware of not being drawn into analysis.
You may be noticing as you sit here,
Allowing the thoughts to be center stage in your awareness,
That there are also emotions that are arising in the body and in the mind.
Maybe there's a feeling of boredom or impatience or restlessness.
Possibly you're experiencing peaceful feelings of contentment or happiness,
Or maybe sadness,
Anxiety,
Frustration,
Anger,
Fear.
If possible,
Expanding your field of awareness to make room,
To make space for these emotions.
Whatever it is you may be experiencing as emotions in this moment and noticing where in the body these feelings seem to be translated.
Allowing yourself to feel whatever emotion is present and bringing curiosity to it.
Experiencing the fear,
The boredom,
The sadness,
Anything that's present,
And welcoming,
If it is possible,
The emotion.
Simply allowing whatever emotions are present to come and go without having to do anything about them.
Noticing how they arise.
Maybe arising in connection with sensations or thoughts,
How they occupy the mind for a while,
And then fade away.
And knowing that if at any time emotions or feelings become too strong,
Too intense,
That it is always possible to place your attention on the simple sensations of breathing.
Feeling the breath as it enters the body and leaves the body.
And for the next period of time,
Allowing your awareness to open wide,
As wide as the sky.
This is sometimes called choiceless awareness.
Allowing yourself to simply sit here,
Fully aware,
In each moment,
Aware of whatever is presenting itself in the moment.
If thoughts come,
Observing thoughts.
If sounds come into your awareness,
Paying attention to sounds.
If the breath is in your awareness,
Noticing the breath,
Feeling the breath.
If sensations in the body arise,
Even pain,
Noticing and being with that.
If emotions arise,
Noticing and being aware.
Being with whatever is present in this moment,
No selection.
Connecting with that still place at the center of your being.
The ground of being from which all experience arises.
Being right here,
Right now,
With whatever comes and whatever goes.
Complete,
Totally human,
Alive and aware.
And now returning the focus of your awareness to the breath.
Being once again aware of the direct sensations of the breath,
Allowing the breath to move freely.
Experiencing each in-breath and each out-breath in its totality.
The entire duration.
And letting the breath breathe itself.
Nothing to do,
No guidance.
Simply being present to this breath in this moment.
And now as this meditation comes to an end,
Recognizing that you have spent this time intentionally nourishing yourself by dwelling in this state of being.
Allowing yourself to be exactly as you are.
Recognizing and honoring your wholeness and your completeness.
Maybe congratulating yourself for taking the time and the energy to be by yourself and with yourself.
And perhaps forming an intention to make the time to do this on a regular basis.
Deepening your ability to be fully present and allow the benefits of this practice to flow into the entire experience of your life.
Thank you.
