Begin by simply noticing the sensations of breathing.
Just observe the breath.
How does it feel to breathe?
Do not force the breath in or out,
Just allow the breath to rise and fall naturally in its own time,
In its own rhythm.
In time the breath will naturally deepen itself.
Bringing the focus of your attention to the breath is a very powerful way to remain in the here and now,
To center and ground yourself.
So if at any point during this meditation you find that your mind has wandered,
You find that you have become lost in a stream of thoughts,
Just notice that this has happened and gently return to the sensations of breathing.
You can re-center by doing so.
So taking a moment here to purely observe the sensations of breathing,
And see if this can be done without any analysis,
Without any interpretation,
Without any labels or words,
And even without any visual image.
Instead just purely feeling the raw sensation itself.
How does it feel to breathe?
Now remaining aware of the sensations of breathing,
Also become aware of the current thought.
Whichever thought that is,
That is currently in the mind,
Just become aware of what that thought is.
And just as you are aware of the breath without any analysis,
Become aware of your current thought without any analysis also.
Just notice,
Observe,
Perceive.
It's just a thought.
You can observe this thought in its entirety,
In its totality,
And don't get involved in any analysis.
Don't be involved in the thought at all,
Just observe.
A sense of creating a little distance from the thought.
Just be the observer,
That witnesses the thought.
And remaining as the observer,
The awareness of the thought,
Notice that thought is always changing,
And thoughts come and go.
Resting as a neutral observer of thought,
You can witness its temporary nature.
Even very unpleasant or uncomfortable thoughts,
Worried thoughts,
Stressed thoughts,
Dark thoughts,
Anxious thoughts.
We can just observe these thoughts from a distance,
From a place of neutrality,
From a space of indifference.
And notice that even these dark thoughts are temporary.
They come,
They stay a while,
And then they go.
Take a moment here to simply observe thoughts coming and going,
Thoughts constantly changing,
And see if it's possible to not be involved in those thoughts at all.
To just allow thoughts to be as they are,
Without getting entangled within them.
Just observe and let thoughts flow by.
If you find that you almost cannot help but become involved in thought,
And find from time to time that you keep getting lost in streams of thought,
And it's difficult to find your way back to the space of pure observation,
Simply reconnect with the breath.
It's always available to you.
Just become aware of the sensations of breathing again.
And do not be frustrated or stressed by becoming lost in thought from time to time.
This is a habit of the mind that we are retraining now.
Now opening your awareness,
Visualize yourself as an open,
Empty sky.
As though your conscious awareness of being is this open,
Empty sky.
Spacious.
Come to regard all of the thoughts that you are currently aware of,
To be like clouds that pass through this sky.
And if you remain as the sky,
Without becoming involved in any of the clouds,
You can recognize this nature of peace and openness,
That conscious awareness is.
The sky can allow any and all clouds to pass through.
The sky does not prefer one cloud over another.
It is always allowing and accepting of all clouds.
And all clouds are temporary.
They arrive in the field of awareness,
Arriving in the empty sky.
They stay a while,
And then they go.
No cloud ever came and stayed.
So just observing your thoughts now,
Just like they're clouds.
Knowing that all thoughts are temporary.
And some clouds are small and light,
And pass quite quickly.
While others are large and dark,
And pass more slowly.
But ultimately,
They are all temporary.
The sky itself is not affected by clouds.
It is not damaged.
It is not colored.
It is not stained.
Clouds are simply temporary appearances within the sky.
The clouds form a kind of weather.
But weather is not the sky.
So too,
Your open awareness can contain many different forms of thought and feeling,
Images,
Stories.
But all of this activity of the mind is like the weather appearing within the sky.
These thoughts,
Images and feelings are not your awareness itself.
They are temporary appearances within awareness.
So just remain as awareness and observe the entirety of the mind state.
Flowing,
Changing,
Coming,
Going.
But just be the open,
Empty awareness,
Allowing all to pass through.
Returning to the sensations of breathing,
Just to re-center and re-ground.
Ensuring you are not becoming lost in streams of thought.
And if you are occasionally becoming lost in streams of thought,
Do not be frustrated.
This does happen.
This is the practice and process of retraining the habit of where your attention is being placed.
It's a good thing to notice if you've become lost in thought.
It is preferable to notice this has happened rather than to remain unconscious of this happening.
Opening to the sky of awareness again and just continually expand your consciousness.
Now to include the body,
The entirety of the mind and the sensations of breathing.
All of these things are observed.
Just remain as the sky.
The sky does not attach to anything,
Does not push anything anywhere,
Does not pull anything towards.
It just is.
It's open,
Empty,
Clear.
And this space of observation,
Of pure,
Neutral,
Indifferent perception is always available to you.
Anytime you find that your thoughts are particularly uncomfortable or unpleasant,
Just take a step back and observe them with a little distance,
With a little space.
And realize there that they begin to lose their emotional charge.
And in time you will find you no longer suffer from these thoughts.
They are just another object in perception that's coming,
Going,
Ever-changing,
Ever-flowing.
And no matter how chaotic or dark those thoughts and feelings have been over the years,
Recognize the sky has never once changed.
It has not been darkened.
It has not been damaged.
The sky is just as open,
Empty,
Spacious and clear as it's always been.
Thank you for doing this meditation with me today.
Take care,
Be well and stay present.
