Just closing your eyes now and establishing a simple sense of presence.
Normally our eyes are attracted to everything in the environment,
But eyes closed gives us a chance to get a sense of how we're doing internally.
Ready to explore whatever arises with curiosity and kindness to oneself.
Letting go of past or future for this short time we are spending together.
Now allowing your awareness to scan through your body and wherever possible softening and releasing any obvious areas of physical tension.
You might take a couple of deep breaths and then allow your breath to be natural.
Bringing your attention to where you most easily detect the breath or perhaps where it's most pleasurable.
Letting this place of experiencing the breath be your home base,
An anchor in the present moment.
Noticing this breath right here,
Right now.
Perhaps through your nostrils or your mouth or breathing from further down the body.
If the breath is not a good home base for you,
You might instead anchor your attention in the sensations in your hands or in the sensations in your whole body sitting here.
Whichever is best for you.
Now with a relaxed,
Interested attention,
Discovering what the sensations of the breath or your chosen anchor feel like moment to moment.
Where is your attention now?
Each time you notice that your mind has wandered off is a moment of mindfulness.
Gently bringing your attention back to the inflow and outflow of the breath or your chosen anchor,
Offering a relaxed,
Wakeful presence.
A mindfulness meditation is a practice like training a puppy,
Sit,
Stay.
The mind is the puppy of course and we are constantly training it to sit,
To heal.
So each time the mind wanders as it does,
We bring it back to our anchor,
Back to the present moment.
No denial or suppression of thought,
Just the noticing then returning to the now in our bodies or breath.
And I invite you to scan your body and notice if any particular sensations are strong and calling your attention.
If so,
Allowing the breath or your home base to recede into the background and bringing an interested,
Kind presence to the sensations.
What do they feel like?
Maybe you're aware of heat or chills,
Tingling,
Aching,
Twisting or stabbing or perhaps nothing at all and that's fine too of course.
With a soft,
Open awareness,
Feeling the sensations as they are.
Noticing,
Are they pleasant or unpleasant?
And as you fully attend to them,
Do they become more intense or dissipate?
Just noticing how they change.
And now returning to mindfulness of breathing or your particular chosen anchor.
Thank you.
If you find it difficult to stay with strong sensations or emotions,
You might breathe with them,
Letting the breath help you find some balance and openness.
It can also be helpful to name the sensations,
Seeing if there's a word that describes your experience.
Tightness,
Ache,
Sadness,
Heat,
Gratitude,
Pressure.
No need to strain or attempt to find the right word,
Just noticing what word might arise in awareness and mentally repeat it to yourself in a soft tone,
Letting the naming be soft in the background,
Just 5% or so of your attention with 95% on the actual experience.
Thank you.
You might ask yourself,
What's happening inside me right now?
Noticing any sensations that are predominant and then asking,
Can I be with this?
Directly feeling the flow of sensation or emotion,
Subtle or strong,
And how it has come to pass.
Letting life rest as it is.
Noticing where your attention is now.
And again,
Each time you notice that your mind has wandered off,
It's actually a moment of mindfulness you noticed.
So gently bringing your attention back to the inflow and outflow of the breath or your chosen anchor.
We may need to do this several times a minute because it's simply the nature of the mind to wander.
So returning to your home base,
Offering a calm,
Steady attention.
And if during this last minute or so of the meditation,
Strong sensations call your attention,
Let your primary anchor recede and bringing a full attention again to what's arising,
Naming what you notice,
Offering your presence.
And if nothing is calling your attention,
Just continuing to rest with your home base,
Relaxed and alert.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
