Expanding Your Awareness Practice

This guided meditation takes us through the stages of posture then setting our intention and motivation then going into settling, grounding, resting, and then gently expanding your awareness like an expanding circle becoming aware of the body then the space around the body, and expanding outwards to our surroundings, sights, sounds, smells, and finally mental phenomenon.

Transcript

So to start this practice,

Finding a comfortable posture,

Sitting down,

Feet touching the ground,

Back straight,

Hands on our laps,

And maybe imagining as if there is a string pulling us up from the top of our heads.

Or maybe imagining as if we were a mountain,

Stable,

Unmoving,

No matter what the weather is.

So settling in a dignified posture,

One that is stable,

That we can pass the next 20 to 30 minutes in,

But also one that is comfortable and at ease to this body.

And then gently guiding our awareness inwards,

So gently guiding our awareness inwards,

And finding the breath within the body.

So finding the breath where is most prominent for us,

It might be at the tip of our nostrils,

The rising and falling of the abdomen,

Or just the felt sense of the whole cycle of the breath.

So gently resting our focus on the sensations of breathing.

And then trying to see if it's possible to make the in-breath and the out-breath a little bit deeper than normal.

So breathing in a little bit deeper than normal,

And gently releasing the breath,

Both in-breath and out-breath,

A little bit deeper than normal,

But also gentle.

And then trying to see if it's possible to make the in-breath and the out-breath of equal length and rhythm.

And to do this we might use counting or use phrases to help us.

So for example counting on a 3 or 2-4 on the in-breath and the out-breath,

Or using phrases breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

So breathing in and out a little bit deeper than normal,

Both in-breath and out-breath,

Of equal length and rhythm.

And we might notice that thoughts still arise within the mind.

And that's absolutely fine,

There's nothing wrong with that.

It's the nature of the mind to produce thoughts.

So in this practice we're not trying to block thoughts or make the mind go blank.

But to notice when we get involved with thoughts,

And thoughts turn into thinking,

Gently acknowledging that and bringing the mind back into this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

In-breath and out-breath,

A little bit deeper than normal,

And of equal length and rhythm.

And then gently turning our focus a little bit more on the out-breath,

And maybe noticing if there's a releasing quality to the out-breath.

So gently noticing if there is a tendency for the body to relax as the body releases the breath.

And then trying to see if the mind can learn from this releasing quality and from the body.

So as we breathe out,

And the body relaxes,

Our mind releases involvement with thinking and begins to settle.

And now letting our breathing fall into its natural rhythm,

And gently becoming aware of the body,

Becoming aware of the general felt feeling within the body.

Maybe there's a sense of relaxation or the opposite tension,

Stillness or the opposite agitation,

Or sleepiness or awakeness.

So getting a sense of the general felt feeling within the body,

Without trying to change it,

So letting our experience unfold as it is.

And then becoming aware of the points of contact between the body,

The ground or the chair beneath us,

Our feet,

Maybe the contact between our arms and our laps.

And then gently scanning through the body,

Noticing our toes,

The bottom of our feet,

The top of our feet,

Our heels,

Our ankles,

Our thighs,

Our shin,

Our calf,

Our knees,

Our hamstring,

Our thighs,

The pelvis,

The points of contact between the body and the chair or the ground,

Our lower back,

Maybe noticing the curvature of the spine,

Our abdomen,

Maybe noticing the rising and falling of the abdomen with the breath,

Our upper back,

Our chest,

Our fingers,

Our hands,

Our forearms,

The elbows,

Our biceps and triceps,

Our shoulders,

Our neck,

Our face,

Our ears,

Eyes,

Nose and mouth,

The back of our head and the top of our head.

And then just becoming aware of this whole body,

Breathing here right now.

And then gently becoming aware of the weight of the body,

The weight of the body sitting here on the ground and how the ground beneath the body unconditionally supports the body.

So body resting here right now unconditionally supported by the ground beneath it.

And as the ground unconditionally supports the body,

The body unconditionally supports the mind.

So as we breathe out and our center of gravity drops,

Our mind drops into the body unconditionally supported by the body and body sitting here right now unconditionally supported by the ground beneath us.

Mind and body resting here right now unconditionally supported by the ground and surrounded by space.

So taking a few moments to rest in awareness,

Nothing to do,

Nowhere to be,

Nothing to achieve or to strive for,

Even letting go of the notion to have to meditate.

So now coming towards the main part of the practice of expanding our awareness outwards,

Gently becoming aware of the body and then the body and the space around the body.

And then gently expanding our awareness further to the room we find ourselves in,

To our surroundings.

So we are aware of the body,

The space around the body and the room we find ourselves in.

And then becoming aware of any sounds,

Maybe smells,

Any sights.

So aware of our body,

The space around the body,

The room and aware of our senses,

Of the sense of sight,

Sound and smell.

And then gently expanding further,

Aware of any mental phenomenon passing through the landscape of the mind.

So opening ourselves up to the rest of our experience.

And then gently reminding ourselves that whenever in this practice we notice that we get involved with thinking or our mind wanders away or just we become lost in the practice,

To be gentle and kind with oneself and just gently congratulating ourselves for noticing that and then bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

And as I breathe out and the center of gravity drops,

My mind rests within the body.

The unconditioned is supported by the ground beneath us.

And then gently again becoming aware of the body and gently expanding our awareness outwards to the space around the body.

So aware of this body surrounded by space.

Then gently expanding our awareness further to the room we find ourselves in.

So we're aware of our body,

The space around the body and the room we find ourselves in.

And maybe expanding our awareness further to any sights,

Sounds and smell,

So including our senses.

So aware of the body,

The space around the body,

The room we find ourselves in and our senses.

And then gently also becoming aware what is present right now in the landscape of the mind.

Any thoughts passing by,

Maybe any preference to any particular phenomenon right now within our experience or maybe pushing away any phenomenon right now in our experience.

And again,

Whenever we notice our mind wandering away or we just lose track of our practice,

Gently bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

And as I breathe out our mind rests within the body,

Both resting here on the ground,

Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath us.

And gently becoming aware of the body,

The space around the body.

Gently expanding our awareness to the room around us,

To any sights,

Sounds and smells.

And opening up to any phenomenon within the landscape of the mind.

So aware of the whole of our experience and surroundings.

And again,

If we notice the mind wandering away,

Thoughts turn into thinking or simply being lost in the practice,

Gently with an element of kindness towards oneself,

Bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in,

And as I breathe out and the body relaxes,

Our mind rests within the body.

Body unconditionally supported by the ground beneath us.

Mind and body resting here right now.

And gently becoming aware of the body,

The space around the body,

The room around us,

The space around us,

Any sights,

Sounds,

Any smells and gently also noticing any thoughts passing by through the landscape of the mind.

Bringing up our awareness to our experience right now.

And then coming towards the end of this practice,

Gently letting go of any sense of focus.

So just taking a few moments,

Letting go of any sense of focus.

Becoming aware of the body,

The points of contact between the body and the chair,

Feet on the ground,

Becoming aware of our breathing and acknowledging our presence within the room.

I am here.

And then I invite you to put your hands on your heart.

May you be happy.

May you be at peace.

May you be safe.

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

And then to close this practice,

Ending with a dedication that any benefits from this practice might go forth and expand forwards in our lives in ever-expanding circles.

And on the sound of the bell,

In your own time,

Gently ending the practice.

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May All Beings Be Happy
Be Healthy
Be Safe
May All Beings Be Loved By All
Namaste 🙏🏼

Clayton is a life ring for the human body; steady,rhythmic. I lull in the sea of life.