Begin this session as we began the first session by breaking the flow of the ruminating chit-chat that you may bring to the beginning of the session.
And the way that you do that is by giving your full attention to the sensory present.
If your eyes are closed and there is no food in front of you,
The sensory present means tactile sensations or sound.
Maintain your peripheral awareness while your attention is focused on any sensation within the body or sound.
And now narrow the scope of your attention again to the tactile domain alone.
And so sound now also remains in peripheral awareness.
So peripheral awareness is also where thoughts can circulate,
Where you can be aware of sound without these things capturing your attention.
Let your attention be captured by tactile sensations wherever they occur in the body.
To the degree that your attention can remain within this scope of the tactile alone,
You do remain in the sensory present.
And now narrow the scope of your attention again to only sensations in the body or on the body that change as the breath enters and leaves your body.
And now all other tactile sensations as well as sounds,
As well as thoughts remain in peripheral awareness as you give your full attention only to sensations of the breath wherever they occur in the body.
And now narrow the scope of your attention once again to only the tactile sensations of the breath at the abdomen.
If you are in Shavasana,
It's a very pronounced motion there,
The rise and fall of the abdomen.
If you are in seated position,
There's less motion because of the engagement of the abdomen and with keeping your back straight.
But give your full attention only to the motion of the abdomen,
The rise and fall or the in and out while you maintain peripheral awareness and narrow the scope of your attention only to these sensations of the breath.
Very importantly with breath meditation is to give up all control of the breath and let the body breathe itself.
Don't try to lengthen or shorten the inhalation or the exhalation.
Don't try to equalize them.
This is not pranayama.
You simply discover the breath which keeps you keenly,
Curiously engaged.
Notice this breath.
If your attention has been wandering and has been shanghaied,
Captured by fantasy or memory let your reflex become the four R's.
Release your grasp on the distracting object.
Rejoice,
Ah,
I am lucid again,
This is it.
There's no need to criticize yourself,
No reason to tell yourself a story that you're no good at this.
Rejoice,
Take pleasure in recovered lucidity.
Then return to your chosen object those tactile sensations of the breath at the abdomen.
And then reaffirm your intention to remain engaged with those tactile sensations of the exhalation all the way through the full course of the exhalation to where you discover a pause before the inhalation.
Recharge on that intention at every pause after the inhalation.
If you can maintain peripheral awareness along with this narrowed scope of attention you will be able to discover distraction more quickly.
You will discover more quickly that you have been shanghaied.
When you do realize that you have been shanghaied let your reflex be to release your grasp on the distracting object.
Rejoice,
Ah,
I am lucid again,
This is it.
Return to those tactile sensations of the breath at the abdomen and reaffirm your intention to remain engaged with those sensations all the way through to the pause after the exhalation.
Reformed talisman.
You
