So just finding the most comfortable position that you can be in,
Where you're both alert and relaxed.
You may close your eyes or you can just keep them softly open,
Whatever feels most natural for you.
Now let us begin by taking some deep breaths.
So inhaling through the nose,
All the way down into your belly,
Holding briefly on top and then exhaling out,
Making sure that exhale is longer than your inhale.
Again,
In through the nose,
Holding briefly on top and then letting it out.
With each breath out,
We feel ourselves settling more deeply into our position.
Last one,
Big breath in,
Hold and then let it out.
Allowing this breath anchor us right here,
Right now in this moment.
Now allow your breathing to find its natural rhythm.
There's no need to control or change anything.
Just simply notice the gentle flow of air moving in and out of your body.
And as we lie here,
We expand our awareness beyond the breath,
Noticing that your experience is like a vast sky.
And in this sky,
There's different clouds passing through it.
These clouds are sensations,
They're sounds,
Emotions,
Thoughts,
Feelings.
All of these arise naturally into your field of awareness.
And whatever appears in your experience,
Whether it's a sound from outside,
A sensation in your body,
A thought in your mind,
There's no need to simply notice it.
There's no need to follow it.
There's also no need to push it away.
Just like clouds in that vast sky,
We can let each experience be there and let it naturally pass on.
We're not pulling or pushing anything.
We're just letting things be as they are.
And if you notice yourself getting caught up in thinking or getting lost in a particular sensation,
That's perfectly natural.
And as soon as you notice this is happening,
Gently acknowledge it and then return to the spacious awareness that holds everything.
You may notice how your awareness is,
It's like a host welcoming all guests.
All guests,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Pleasant,
Intense or subtle.
Every experience is allowed to come and allowed to go.
You might notice as there's a tendency to want to control your experience,
Perhaps to hold on to those pleasant moments and push away the uncomfortable ones.
Let's see if we can notice this tendency with kindness.
This too is just another occurrence in your vast awareness.
As we continue to rest in awareness,
We may experience those physical sensations in our body.
We might experience sounds,
Both near and far.
You might experience thoughts about the past or the future.
You might experience emotional feelings,
Pleasant,
Unpleasant,
Neutral.
Experience the rhythm of our breath.
We'll experience thoughts.
And perhaps we'll even experience the space between thoughts.
Just letting our awareness rest in this natural openness that includes everything.
Remembering that we're not trying to achieve any particular state,
We're just simply allowing ourselves to be present with whatever is arising in this moment,
Just as it is.
And as we prepare to end this meditation,
Take a moment to appreciate your natural capacity for awareness.
This is something you carry with you at all times.
This spacious presence is available in any moment,
Whether you're in meditation or you're going about your daily activities.
Let us take three more conscious breaths.
Breathing in through the nose,
Fully feeling that inhale,
Holding on top,
Exhaling out the mouth,
Feeling the breath leave our body.
And again,
In through the nose.
And out the mouth.
Long,
Slow,
Steady exhale.
Last one,
In.
And out.
Perhaps now inviting any movement into your body,
Moving your fingers,
Moving your toes,
Waking your body back up.
And whenever you're ready,
If you close your eyes,
You can water them open or just bring your gaze gently upwards.
