Welcome to this 45 minute open awareness meditation.
This is a sitting meditation so let's begin by finding a comfortable seat for you.
You might want to sit on a chair or a meditation cushion or maybe you prefer to simply sit on the ground.
If you choose to sit on a chair you want to have a straight back and sitting away from the back of the chair so that our spine is self-supporting.
The feet are flat on the ground.
If you're sitting on a cushion or on the floor then maybe in a cross-legged position.
The head is balanced on top of the spine,
Straight back,
Maybe shoulders slightly tucked back and the hands can be placed on the laps or the knees,
Palms facing up or down.
When you are ready gently closing the eyes or if you prefer letting the gaze fall on focused on the floor a short distance in front of you.
The intention of this practice is bringing our awareness into all aspects of our present moment experience.
The attention we bring into different parts.
First we want to ground ourselves as good as we can in the breath and the body.
Then we'll move to sounds,
Thoughts,
Emotions and finally we will be opening to the totality of our experience.
The attitudes we want to bring to this practice is non-judging,
Patient,
Trust and allowing.
We want to turn towards instead of fighting against whatever it is that's arising.
Now let's start with the open awareness meditation.
As we arrive in this meditation we are just allowing the breath to enter and leave our body.
There's no need to change or fix or control our breath.
We simply want to let it flow in its natural rhythm.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Even in case your mind has drifted off into autopilot,
Simply becoming aware of it and when it feels right just coming back.
Back to my words and back to your breath.
How does this breath right now feel?
Can you notice how each breath cycle consists of four elements?
The in-breath,
A slight pause,
The out-breath and another slight pause before then the next in-breath is happening.
Noticing that there is a beginning,
A middle and an end of each in-breath and each out-breath.
When you are ready expanding our attention beyond the breath to also include the entire body sitting here.
Simply becoming aware of sensations in the body right now and right here.
And if the attention wanders,
Noticing that and making a choice to bring the attention back with care and kindness to the awareness of the body and the breath.
Simply inhabiting this body and sensing how it breathes right now.
Is it possible to simply sense into the body being with the temperatures,
Pressure points and maybe the touch of air in the face?
When it feels right allowing the attention to shift from the breath and the body to the sense of hearing.
What sounds can we notice right now?
So we simply want to receive whatever is available.
Any sounds,
Any noise,
Anything that touches our sense of hearing.
We simply observe.
Can you notice how sounds come and go?
How they have a beginning,
A middle and an end?
Noticing how the mind labels sounds,
Has opinions about sounds,
Likes and dislikes certain sounds.
Is it possible to simply notice this,
Observing this,
But not interacting?
Allowing it to be here in a non-judging way.
Sounds come and go.
And when we are ready allowing attention to shift from hearing and letting it expand this time into thoughts.
What can we observe?
Seeing thoughts not as distractions but rather bringing our awareness to the thinking process itself.
Noticing how thoughts arise,
Stay briefly or for a more extended period and then dissolve.
Maybe imagining sitting in a movie theater and watching our thoughts on the screen.
Observing how they come and then get replaced by other thoughts.
So simply observing it from a distance,
Allowing them to be here,
Maybe labeling them but not getting identified with them or fight against them.
Simply allowing them to be here and watch them as they move on.
Can we notice how thoughts too have a beginning,
A middle and an end?
They come and go.
Possibly we got caught up in thoughts or emotions.
That's okay,
Simply recognizing that this happened and if it feels right simply letting go of those thoughts or emotions and bringing our awareness back to the meditation.
Maybe grounding ourselves in the body and the breath,
Our anchors.
And then when we are ready once again simply observing thoughts as they come and go.
Simply observing thoughts from a distance and allowing them to be.
Letting thoughts now drop into the background of our minds and focusing our attention onto emotions.
So what emotion is here right now?
Maybe we can label the emotion,
We can name it.
Maybe we say nervousness is here or sadness is here or impatience is here or maybe we say friendliness is here,
Calmness is here or quietness or happiness is here.
Or maybe there's no particular emotion,
Then it's just neutrality.
And that's okay too.
There's no right or wrong.
Whatever emotions are here right now,
They are true and we can practice to simply allow them to be here right now and sensing into them.
Maybe sensing an echo of them in the body,
Breathing into that part and out of that part.
We are practicing observing emotions from a distance.
So maybe bringing to mind the picture of a train station where trains come and go,
Stay for a while or are gone for an extended period of time.
Emotions have a beginning,
A middle and an end.
They come,
Stay a while and move on.
Is it possible for us to not identify or fight against the emotion but simply practicing to allow it,
To soften towards it,
To be with it?
If at any time emotions,
Sensations or thoughts arise that are too difficult or challenging then we can simply let go of them and coming back to our breath and body.
Those are our anchors.
We can rest here as long as we need.
And when we feel safe again,
We can come back to the meditation and once again focus onto the emotions right now.
What emotions can you notice right now and is it possible to simply be with them?
Moving on now into open awareness.
So we are not choosing to bring our attention to anything in particular but we are practicing to simply be with whatever is here right now in this moment.
Simply sitting here fully aware of whatever is presenting itself in every moment.
Noticing the whole of our experience,
The breath,
The body,
Sounds,
Thoughts and emotions.
Really being in open awareness,
Choiceless awareness.
And if you are caught up in certain emotions,
Thoughts,
Sensations or sounds,
Simply acknowledging that this just happened and then decide firmly and gently to just come back to my words,
To this meditation and back into open awareness once again.
Can you notice how everything that's arising has a beginning,
A middle and an end?
So everything arises,
Stays a while and then dissolves.
Is it possible for us to simply be here?
Be here fully without having to control,
Change or fix anything but instead absorbing this very moment.
There's nothing to do,
There's nothing to change.
We are simply allowing ourselves to be present,
To really be aware of this moment right now.
And as we draw this practice to a close,
I invite you to return the attention to the breath and the body.
Becoming aware of our entire body sitting here.
From the soles of the feet to the top of the head.
Becoming aware how air is entering our body and leaving our body.
Slowly arriving,
Inhabiting our body and our breath.
Also becoming aware of sounds within us,
Sounds in the room and sounds from outside.
And if it feels right,
Maybe now starting to wiggle the hands and toes,
Moving our head from side to side or simply starting to move or stretch in whatever way feels good to you right now.
And then gently opening the eyes and coming back into the room.
Noticing the colors,
The shapes.
The open awareness meditation is now complete.
