So,
Allowing the eyes to close if that feels safe and comfortable to do so.
You can of course leave them open or perhaps simply lower your gaze.
Whatever seems right right now,
Whatever feels comfortable.
And a few moments I will ring the bell three times.
And the first invitation will be to tune into the sound of the bell as best you can.
And allowing it to help you settle into this moment,
Into today's practice,
Arriving here.
Arriving here.
And we're going to take this practice really slowly and steady.
And we're going to take this practice really slowly and steady.
And perhaps noticing any immediate reactivity from the mind to that offer.
Why are you slowing down?
Shouldn't you be busy?
Shouldn't you be doing something?
So in your own words,
In your own way,
Having a quick chat perhaps with the mind,
Saying this is okay,
I've got this.
I appreciate your scanning for danger and all of that,
But I've got this right now.
And we can become still together.
Perhaps taking a few deep breaths in your own time.
Conscious,
Mindful breaths.
And letting the breath fade into the background for now.
And becoming aware of points of contact perhaps between your body and the furniture you are sitting on,
Lying on,
And just being aware of the things that you're doing.
And letting the breath fade into the background for now.
That could include your feet flat on the floor.
So just tuning into those sensations,
Which you may not have been aware of until I mentioned them.
Grounding yourself.
Settling.
And you can use these points of contact as anchors if at any time during the practice your mind has wandered,
Or perhaps some level of discomfort has arisen and you want to rejoin,
So to speak,
But don't quite know where to start.
You can always come back to the anchors.
And you will often hear me say,
As best you can.
I personally find it a beautiful saying in the world of mindfulness.
It really means that there's always an invitation to explore a part of a practice.
There's nothing that you need to strive for,
Nothing that we need to achieve.
We're not pursuing any states of enlightenment and all of that.
Just as best you can.
Trying something new.
So for example,
If I asked you to,
As best you can,
Bring your awareness to your shoulders,
Just the shoulders for now.
We tend to carry a great deal of stress in the neck and shoulders.
Allowing yourself to relax just that little bit more,
These micro adjustments over time.
Through adjustments to our posture,
To our mind,
The heart.
And there is this wonderful guy,
Professor Mark Williams,
And he invites us to check what the weather pattern is like in the mind.
And I would like to extend that invitation to you.
So as best you can,
Becoming aware of what's going on up there for you right now.
How busy is the mind?
But with a kind approach,
With a caring curiosity,
Almost as if you are at the cinema,
And it's just you in there,
And your mind's activity is showing on the big screen.
Simply observing from a safe and comfortable distance.
Being here for yourself and with yourself.
It could be that the mind is very calm.
Could be that it is very,
Very busy and stressed out.
So wherever you find yourself on that spectrum,
So to say,
Remember that even if there is a fire on the screen,
The screen is not on fire.
And what can be really helpful is to label what we see or what we feel.
Ah,
There is stress.
That is joy.
That one's anger.
And again,
That one's anger.
That one is a little bit of jealousy.
How interesting.
So I'm going to give you a few moments to see if you can perhaps explore labelling what is going on for you right now in the mind.
Thank you.
You you you you you you And we're now going to,
If that feels okay to do so,
Allow the focus on the mind and the mind's activity fade into the background.
And then I invite you to bring your attention to your breath and see where in the body you can locate your breath the most clearly.
And this is of course different for all of us.
Could be the nose or the lips,
The rising and falling of the chest,
The belly.
Maybe you feel a heartbeat in your fingers,
The wrists,
Ankles even.
So we're going to spend some time with the breath.
And if the breath is not comfortable for you,
Then of course you can focus on any of the anchors,
Such as your feet,
For example.
But as best you can,
Staying with the breath and becoming aware of the sensations of breathing without changing the way you are breathing.
So for example,
Noticing how the air tends to be a bit warmer on the in-breath,
Cooler on the out-breath.
Or that tiny,
Tiny pause between the in-breath and the out-breath and vice versa.
Thank you.
Mindful,
Conscious breaths.
Thank you.
This is an in-breath.
This is an out-breath.
Thank you.
And when the mind wanders,
Which it will do,
Because we are human beings,
We are not robots,
There's this thing called spontaneous activation of the brain,
So it will wander.
But with generous amounts of self-compassion,
Bringing that mind,
Bringing that focus,
That awareness back to your breath and your breathing.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Knowing that we can always come back to the breath and trusting that it will take care of you quite effortlessly,
Allowing the breath to fade into the background now,
And as best you can,
Without the striving,
Becoming aware of your whole body beyond the breath.
From the top of your head to the tips of your toes,
This magnificent manifestation of you.
Breathing,
Perhaps,
With your whole body,
Through every pore of the skin.
Breathing in through the nose,
Down into the body,
Down into the legs,
Out through your toes,
And vice versa.
Or in and out through the arms,
Or whatever feels right.
Breathing in through the arms,
Out through the legs,
And also allowing sounds to be here,
And to notice them,
Perhaps a little bit more than you would have done before.
Internal sounds,
Perhaps tummy rumbling,
And external sounds.
And even if there is no sound,
What does that sound like?
And as we move into the final part of the practice,
Now allowing yourself to fully relax for a few moments.
Simply being.
Trusting that today's practice has helped you build capacity and in a few moments I will ring the bell,
But first I would like to offer these words.
This scary thing called silence,
Best approached with caution,
Might knock you sideways,
Might embrace you in its wisdom.
This scary thing called silence,
Clarity so deafening,
Confusion dissolves in a container of trust.
This scary thing called silence,
Not knowing is the cave,
Clarity the treasure.
The bell is ringing.
Very gently allowing yourself to transition on one chapter of your day to the next.
Perhaps wiggling fingers and toes or doing a little neck roll,
Shoulder roll,
Whatever seems right,
There is no one way.
Becoming aware perhaps of the immediate automaticity that might kick in,
Checking phones,
Switching on the television,
Catching up with stuff.
So just noticing where that takes you.
There is no right or wrong.
It is just about the noticing.
The noticing is what we cultivate.
So as ever,
Namaste,
Much love and take good care of yourselves guys.
Bye for now.
