Hi,
This is Dr.
Shaniqua.
Today I'm going to lead us through a meditation for being with what is.
That's ultimately what mindfulness is about.
It's about the capacity to be with our own experience,
To be present to what's happening in our lives,
In our bodies,
In our minds and hearts,
And to do so with compassion and without judgment.
Meditation is the practice that helps us to capacity to be with what is.
So let's sit together.
Taking some time to settle into your posture.
Being present even to this experience.
As you settle into your seat,
Whether it is a cushion or a chair or maybe you're standing or lying down.
But doing so with full awareness.
Paying attention to what feels supportive right now.
Coming to this practice as if it's the first time that you've ever practiced.
Because in this moment it is.
So maybe you have some habitual ways of sitting and preparing for meditation.
But see if you can invite yourself to settle into what feels right now.
That may not be what you have always done.
Maybe you need to position yourself in the seat in a different way.
Maybe you need support behind your back that you didn't need before.
Maybe the cushion needs to be situated a little differently.
Your knees different than usual.
Taking the time to explore.
And then when you're ready,
As you're ready,
Gently closing it.
Closing your eyes or softening your gaze.
And choosing an anchor for this practice.
The place where you will return your attention when it wanders away as it inevitably will.
The anchor may be your feet or your hands,
Your breath,
Your seat,
Sound.
Or you may choose to sit in open awareness.
Again,
Being attentive to this moment.
Not necessarily automatically doing what you've done before.
Choosing the anchor that you always choose.
But sensing into what feels supportive and nurturing for you now.
What feels possible for you now.
Choosing the place where your attention seems to fall naturally without too much effort.
And breathing.
Noticing what arises as you sit.
Maybe it's sensations in the body.
Feelings or thoughts in the mind.
Maybe it's sound.
Sound from within your body or sound from the environment around you.
And we're not trying to push away what arises,
But noticing it and being with what is.
Allowing it to arise as it does.
And then allowing it to fade away as it does.
Not holding on to it,
Not chasing or grasping too tightly.
But allowing it to be like a cloud.
Drifting into view and then drifting away.
And bringing your attention back to your anchor.
Until the next thing arises.
No matter what arises,
Seeing if you can view it with curiosity.
With compassion and kindness.
Without condemning yourself or criticizing yourself for what arises.
Simply being with it.
Let's do this for a few minutes in silence.
You might notice patterns in what is arising.
Perhaps your mind keeps returning to the same sensation,
The same thought,
The same feeling.
Maybe you're dealing with a challenge and while in meditation,
You're tempted to problem-solve.
Or maybe it's a situation that you cannot fix or control and you find yourself feeling helpless or overwhelmed.
The invitation here is to turn to those feelings too with kindness.
Seeing if you can release the need to fix in this moment.
And simply being.
And if the same thing comes up again and again,
Allowing that too to be.
Without blaming yourself or being harsh to yourself about it.
And simply observing that all this and all this again.
We are wired to pay attention to the unpleasant,
To the painful,
To the unwanted.
And sometimes,
Especially when we are facing challenges in our lives,
We can focus on them so heavily that we overlook what is pleasant,
What is positive,
What is working well.
In the minutes that remain,
See if you can be attentive to it all.
Noticing what is well in this moment.
Perhaps it is a feeling of ease in your body,
The feeling of joy or contentment.
Maybe the temperature in the room is just right at this moment.
See if you can be with the pleasant or even the neutral just as much as you can be with the unpleasant.
Being with it all.
In a few moments you will hear the sound of the bells.
I invite you not to rush as soon as you hear the first bell but to be with this too.
To remain seated until the third bell rings.
And then to gently open your eyes and feel your way back into this space.
And continuing to be with your experience as you go throughout your day.
Thank you for meditating with me.
