Welcome.
This is an open monitoring mindfulness meditation.
In the past,
We've done meditations for focused breathing,
Such as focusing on our breath,
Or affirmations,
Or visualizations.
This is a little bit different because its purpose is to notice where our minds go when left unattended.
So if you happen to be someone who has a lot of negative self-talk,
Or maybe you're anxious and you don't even pay attention to what's happening behind the scenes and what you're thinking,
This is a good opportunity to do so.
This is also good for intuitive practices,
If you're asking a question and noticing what surfaces.
This is good for problem solving,
If you're sitting with a problem,
Just to see what comes up.
It has many uses.
I encourage you to have a journal and a pen handy to write about anything that comes up during this meditation,
Whether the imagery or anything makes sense at the time or not.
Oftentimes,
We have specific thought patterns that come up over and over again.
And by doing the meditation and then writing about the experience,
It can help bring it to the conscious mind.
So at this time,
I invite you to get comfortable,
Either lying down or in a seated position.
Your legs can be crossed,
Or you might be in a chair with your feet planted on the floor.
Sit back,
Relaxing your hands in your lap or out at your sides.
Give yourself a moment to turn your awareness to your breath,
Simply noticing the inhalation and the exhalation.
Sometimes it's helpful to imagine that breath as an ocean wave.
And as you inhale,
The wave goes up,
Crests at the top,
And at the exhale,
It rolls back out,
Finding a nice,
Easy rhythm for yourself.
Give yourself a moment to relax your face,
Your neck and shoulders.
Breathe and relax the belly and low back,
And consciously relaxing your arms and legs.
Now,
Throughout this practice,
There will be moments of silence,
But I will be here to guide you from section to section and let you know when we close this activity.
So now that you've settled in,
Taking a couple of deep breaths in and out,
You've relaxed your arms and legs and gotten fully comfortable,
I'd like you to imagine that you're sitting in a movie theater all by yourself.
You've got a special screening.
There's a red curtain in front of you,
And you're sitting in a movie theater all by yourself.
And behind that curtain is a white screen before the movie starts.
In a moment,
The curtain is going to open,
And you'll be staring at a blank white screen.
And when that happens,
You might wonder what you're going to see and what's going to happen.
Maybe something,
Maybe nothing.
All is completely fine.
So settle into that movie theater.
See the curtain in front of you,
Breathing comfortably.
The curtain opens.
Notice what you see on the blank screen with all of your senses.
Notice what's arising without judgment of the thoughts or images or yourself for having them.
And if your mind wanders,
Just be aware of the wandering.
Now gently allow the screen to go blank.
Notice the curtain close and relax your mind for a moment,
Drawing your awareness back to your breath,
Simply breathing in and breathing out.
In a moment,
That curtain will open once again.
And notice what shows up on the screen when it does.
It could be the same movie,
The same imagery,
Or something different.
And it might be images,
Sounds,
Smells,
And it doesn't have to make sense.
But notice what comes up,
And notice any sensations in your body.
So settle in,
Take a few breaths.
The curtain opens,
And you see that white screen right in front of you.
Just a few moments more.
Now once again,
Allow the screen to go blank.
The curtain closes,
Tuning into your breath.
And this time,
When the curtain opens and you're presented the blank screen,
See if you can keep it blank.
So this time,
When images surface,
Colors,
Words,
Whatever,
Could be a ticker tape of thoughts,
I want you to imagine almost there's a whiteboard,
And you're wiping the thought away,
Or maybe the curtains close to do a reset.
Whatever works for you in gently washing away the thought and giving your mind a chance to be at peace.
So once again,
The curtain opens.
There's a white screen in front of you.
See if you can keep it that way,
And just gaze in front of you.
And gently close the curtain.
Relax your mind.
Relax your breath.
Giving yourself a moment of peace.
And when you're ready,
Go ahead and open your eyes.
Thank you for joining me.
