Okay,
So we are beginning our practice today and the focus of our practice is mental noting.
And we are using this technique to be able to stay with what we are experiencing right in this moment.
This is different from one-pointed concentration,
For example,
On the breath or on the body,
Where we are letting our experience free flow and we are staying with it and noting what's happening moment by moment by moment.
Now the main things that we are going to be paying attention to and noting are thinking,
Seeing,
Hearing,
Feeling,
Smelling,
And tasting.
You can use the word feeling for both physical feelings and emotional feelings.
So as you are practicing this,
Whatever's coming up moment by moment,
You'll just label.
So it might sound something like this.
Thinking,
Seeing,
Hearing,
Thinking,
Feeling,
Feeling,
And so on and so forth.
So this is a really non-reactive form of attention.
We're very calm.
We are not analyzing what's going on.
We have no further thoughts about what we're seeing or hearing.
We are just noting and moving on to the next moment.
So as you take your meditation postures and you get comfortable,
I invite you to close your eyes if that works for you and whatever position and posture you choose is fine.
And let's start with a few deep breaths just to get ourselves grounded and centered.
Slow gentle breath in through the nose.
Slow gentle exhale through the mouth.
A couple more breaths.
Breathing in.
One more deep breath.
And now you allow your breath to return to its natural rate and rhythm.
There is absolutely nothing to force or control as you let your experience unfold over the course of this meditation.
In between moments of identifying and acknowledging your present moment experience of thinking or hearing or feeling,
You can let your attention rest on your breath.
And trust me,
It won't be long before there's something else that's grabbing your attention.
And then again,
You just silently note it to yourself and you stay with the moment by moment.
There are images that pop up in your mind.
Label it seeing.
If there's a noise that's distracting you or grabs your attention,
Label hearing.
A body sensation,
Feeling,
And also an emotion can be feeling.
You might start to notice that the mind jumps around very quickly and the present moment can carry one experience after another after another very fast.
Just stay with it as best you can.
There's no such thing as doing this perfectly or right or wrong.
But when you notice something,
Label it and let it go.
No analyzing,
No more story,
No storytelling about the experience.
Just label and move on to whatever presents itself next.
Calmly noting whatever you notice the most right now in your experience.
I'm going to check in with your level of effort right now.
If you're really straining to like pay attention and catch every thought and feeling and sensation as it passes by and soften.
Soften around that a little bit.
It should be very gentle,
Very calm.
Decrease your effort just a little bit more.
What is most present for you right now?
And what is most present for you right now?
And what is most present for you right now?
Moment by moment,
Non-resistance,
Just allowing your experience to unfold.
And of course if you notice resistance and impatience and restlessness,
Just acknowledge that.
Feeling,
Feeling,
Feeling.
What is most present for you right now?
And what is most present for you right now?
And what is most present for you right now?
Remember that all experience is welcome in mindfulness.
Just allowing these things to come and go and come and go.
Experiences arise and they fall away.
We calmly note them and we don't push them away or we don't try and cling to them and make them last longer because this is the nature of experience.
Moment by moment change.
The impermanence of the present moment.
Allowing the moment and ourselves to be exactly as we are.
Now for our last couple of minutes I am going to suggest that you drop the labeling.
So in other words,
Allow your internal noting and labeling to fall away and still do the same thing with staying with your moment by moment experience.
But let go of the need to mentally label it and note it and see how that feels to you.
Keeping your awareness very open moment by moment and allowing all to arise and fall away.
Still keeping your attention on whether you are hearing or thinking or feeling and just allowing that experience to be without the need to note it.
Where your attention is,
Staying with the moment to moment experience as best you can and just kind of letting it all flow.
And as our meditation comes to a close,
I invite you to reconnect with your breath and find that anchor in the chest or the belly and notice how much closer to you your attention is.
How much more direct it is when you're only following the breath.
And keep your attention there for a few moments,
Grounding yourself back to this moment and allowing your eyes to open when you're ready.
