Once you are familiar with the basics of mindfulness meditation,
It's possible to customize particular meditations based on certain intentions.
This meditation is designed to nurture qualities involved in assertive behavior.
Qualities such as confidence in yourself,
Respect for others,
Acceptance of situations you may find unpleasant and challenging.
It includes elements from some of the other meditations we've done,
Including noticing emotions at the levels of physical sensation before becoming engulfed by those emotions and naming emotions you're feeling as related to the noting technique we did in a previous meditation.
As in all of the other meditations we've done,
This one includes an emphasis on noticing your thoughts,
Deciding which thoughts are useful and which aren't,
And being able to let go of those that aren't.
Let's begin.
Finding a posture you'd like to hold for the duration of the meditation.
Your back straight.
Tilting your chin down a bit to align your spine.
Your hands can be on your lap or on a table in front of you.
Palms up or palms down.
Whatever is comfortable for you.
Closing your eyes if you'd like to have them closed or keeping them open without really focusing on anything in particular.
And for a moment,
Making your posture the focus of your attention.
Feeling very grounded and stable in the posture you've chosen.
Noticing where your body's making contact with the floor and really feeling solid in the space your body is occupying.
You have a right to be here.
No need to slouch or make apologies for your presence.
Feeling ready to experience whatever comes into your awareness as you enter into this meditation.
Knowing you can handle it,
Whatever it may be.
Peacefulness,
Agitation,
Distraction,
Frustration.
You can notice it,
Accept it,
And experience it just as it is.
Bringing awareness now to your breath.
Using your breath as an anchor to this moment.
Feeling it at the level of sensation as it moves through your body.
Noticing when your mind wanders.
Reminding yourself that it's okay to have a wandering mind.
And gently bringing awareness back to the breath.
Back to the grounded posture you've chosen for this meditation.
And perhaps bringing with you a kind of clarity that comes from noticing thoughts with acceptance and without judgment.
There may be times during this meditation when you're distracted by sounds.
Perhaps these sounds are being made by other people.
People closing doors,
People talking in another room,
Maybe people sniffling or coughing,
People driving cars.
Allowing yourself to notice how those sounds make you feel.
And seeing if you can feel those emotions in your body.
If so,
Where?
What are the sensations you're experiencing?
Tightness of muscles,
Rapid breathing,
Holding of your breath,
Just noticing.
You may find that the emotions lose some of their intensity when you feel them at the level of physical sensation.
When you're not caught up in thoughts about what caused the emotions.
Again going back to the breath and using it as your anchor to this moment.
Andrasou razoudently after From time to time,
You may find that you have thoughts about other people or situations.
Perhaps some of those people or situations are related to challenges you have experienced or that you anticipate experiencing.
There may be judgments related to those people or experiences.
Allowing yourself to notice those judgments without having to push them away,
Without having to determine if they're accurate or inaccurate,
Just noticing they exist.
You may find that there are emotions associated with those people or situations.
Again,
Allowing yourself to notice the emotions you're feeling.
This time employing the noting technique.
Naming the emotions silently to yourself.
Annoyance.
Frustration.
Anger.
Embarrassment.
Shame.
Fear.
You may find that the act of naming the emotions causes them to lose some of their power over you.
The intensity lessens.
They may even go away.
From there,
Opening your awareness more fully,
Noticing what else is true in that moment.
Your breath exists,
Sounds exist,
Other physical sensations exist.
Allowing yourself to have a broader perspective of the moment.
Perhaps noticing how the contraction you may have felt in your body from the unpleasant thoughts and emotions has lifted,
Softened.
Noticing how you come back to your center without having to force it.
Noticing how you can handle challenging moments without obsessing about them and without running away from them.
Holding that awareness in your body,
In your mind,
And in your heart.
And bringing that knowledge,
Confidence,
And open-hearted presence to each moment of the remainder of this meditation.
Using your breath as an anchor,
Noticing thoughts come and go.
Noticing emotions rise and fall.
Noticing each moment as it is.
Noticing how you can come back to your center without having to force it.
Noticing how you can handle challenging moments without obsessing about them and without running away from them.
When we end this meditation,
I invite you to open your eyes with a kind of curiosity.
Not predicting what you will see,
But allowing colors and shapes to reveal themselves.
Noticing whatever comes into your view at a physical level.
Objects,
People,
Furniture,
Walls.
All very stable,
Solid,
And present in this moment.
And when you're ready,
Without rushing,
Going ahead and ending the meditation.
