The instructions that follow review the instructions given in the first meditation and also include another way you can experience and manage thoughts and emotions as they arise.
Beginning by finding a posture you feel comfortable holding but not one that invites sleep.
Usually if you're in a chair that would include having your feet flat on the floor and your back straight.
However you might want to experiment with the placement of your feet.
Having the balls of your feet flat on the floor,
Raising your feet with a block.
Whatever posture you choose,
Usually having your knees lower than your waist helps keep your back straight.
You might also experiment with the level of your chin since that affects the alignment of your spine.
Some people choose to sit on the floor on a cushion or off.
People who have a bad back sometimes like to sit with their back against the wall.
Experimenting with your posture until you find one that's comfortable for you.
Then closing your eyes if you're comfortable with that.
If you're not comfortable with that,
Directing your gaze at a 45 degree angle,
3 to 4 feet in front of you and using what's called soft eyes so you're not really focusing on anything but your eyes are open.
Now bringing your awareness to your breath.
If it helps you to take a few deep breaths,
Going ahead and doing that.
When you feel like you're focused on your breath,
Releasing control of it and allowing your body to breathe naturally.
Reminding yourself there's nothing you need to be doing right now except paying attention to your breath.
Experiencing your breath.
Experiencing breath at the sensation of touch as it enters your body,
Maybe through your nostrils,
Maybe through your mouth.
As it circulates through your body,
Through your chest,
Your stomach.
The in-breath becomes the out-breath.
Experiencing your breath each moment,
Each moment of each breath without expectation,
Without judgment,
Without prediction.
Last observation.
If there are times when you find yourself distracted,
When your mind has wandered,
Realizing that's what's going on and without judging yourself for having a wandering mind,
Gently returning your observation to your breath.
Now,
Shifting your awareness away from your breath,
To the sensation of sound.
Hearing any sounds that come to you without going off in search of them.
Internal sounds,
External sounds,
Experiencing them,
Hearing them without judging them,
Without labeling them,
Allowing sounds to come and go just as the breath comes and goes.
If at any time you find your mind is pulling you off somewhere else,
Experiencing thoughts or strong emotions,
Realizing that that is what's happening and without judgment,
Gently returning your focus to any sounds that come to you.
Now,
Returning awareness to your breath,
Checking in with your breath,
Feeling your breath in your body as it enters the body,
Feeling it leave the body,
Feeling your breath wherever it is right now.
Following it to the next inhale or exhale,
Paying attention to each moment.
Reminding yourself that there's nothing you need to be thinking about,
Nothing you need to be planning,
Nothing you need to be solving or figuring out.
This moment is just about experiencing your breath as it enters your body,
Circulates through your body,
And leaves your body.
You might think about it as an anchor,
For your meditation.
And if you'd like,
Expanding your awareness to include both your breath and sound,
Not treating sounds as distractions,
But as something else to observe in this moment.
Not going off in search of sounds,
But being open to experiencing any sounds that come into your field of awareness.
You might find that you go back and forth between your awareness of breath and your awareness of sounds,
Naturally paying attention to this moment,
To what unfolds,
Using your breath as an anchor,
But also being open to sound,
Without judgment,
Without labeling,
Hearing the sounds.
And when you find that there are no sounds present,
Returning your awareness back to your breath.
Now I invite you to treat thoughts and emotions in the same way you've been treating breath and sound.
Noticing the very first stirrings of a thought or emotion,
Allowing yourself to notice,
To observe that beginning without pursuing it,
Without asking questions about that thought or emotion,
Without delving into it.
Noticing that thought or emotion without feeding it.
What you might find is that the thought or emotion has a very short lifespan if you don't pursue it.
It might fade in the same way a breath or sound fades,
On its own,
Without you having to push it away.
Staying open to whatever reveals itself from moment to moment,
Using your breath as an anchor.
Staying open to any sounds that come into your awareness or the beginnings of thoughts or emotions,
Almost like clouds passing in the sky.
Letting them pass through your awareness without pushing them away,
Without forcing them or pursuing them.
Letting them live their natural lifespan.
While you're meditating,
There may be times you don't notice the beginnings of a thought or emotion.
Instead,
You suddenly feel consumed by them,
Transported to another time and place,
Distracted.
And if you notice that happening,
That's okay.
Noticing what's happening and without judgment,
Returning awareness to your breath.
Using your breath as an anchor to this moment and gradually expanding your awareness to include any sounds that come to you,
Any stirrings of thoughts or emotions.
Soon we'll be ending this meditation.
Before I invite you to open your eyes to bring the meditation to a close,
I invite you to consider how you open your eyes.
Opening them with a sense of curiosity.
Instead of predicting what shapes and colors you'll see when you open your eyes,
Letting them be revealed to you.
Not rushing.
And so when you're ready,
Going ahead and ending the meditation by opening your eyes,
Stretching if you need to stretch.
