Hello and welcome to this 10 minute meditation on having the most helpful attitude while you meditate.
To begin,
Tuning in to the contact points between your body and whatever it rests on.
So feeling where your feet touch the floor,
Where your body touches the seat,
Or perhaps where your body touches the bed if you're lying down.
Just focusing on the physical sensations at those points of contact.
Now starting to notice that you're breathing.
So shifting your focus to the sensations of breathing.
And you can feel the breath wherever you choose to.
Perhaps at the stomach,
Or at the chest,
Or somewhere else.
Wherever you choose to feel the breath,
Just focusing your attention there and attending to the sensations of breathing as best you can.
Soon enough your mind will wander.
That's fine.
It's completely normal.
It's not a problem.
As soon as you notice that it's wandered,
Just gently return your attention to the breath.
Your mind will wander again and again.
That's okay.
That's part of the meditation.
If your mind is wandering a lot,
You might be tempted to try harder to force your attention to stay on the breath.
But that won't particularly help.
Instead,
See if you can just gently rest your attention on the breath and see how long it stays there.
Meditating with a gentle attention to the breath.
If your mind is wandering a lot,
You might start to become frustrated or even self-critical.
You might think that this isn't working or you can't do it.
But that won't particularly help either.
So if those thoughts and feelings arise,
Just notice them.
See if you can be a bit patient with yourself and with the process of meditation.
Meditating with a gentle attention to the breath and a patient attitude towards yourself and the meditation.
As your mind continues to wander in the meditation,
You might become frustrated,
Self-critical.
You might be tempted to give up,
To stop meditating altogether.
Or just to stop making much effort and just sit it out.
But see instead if you can persist.
If you can persist with a gentle effort and a patient attitude.
See if you can meditate with an attitude of gentleness,
Patience and persistence.
Following the breath with gentleness,
Patience and persistence.
Checking in from time to time.
What's my attitude like?
Am I trying a bit too hard?
Am I getting a bit frustrated?
Or have I given up a bit?
Would it help to recalibrate slightly in this moment?
To reconnect with an attitude of gentleness,
Patience and persistence.
As I observe the breath as best I can.
And I'll leave you in silence for the final minute of the meditation.
To continue practicing,
Meditating with this attitude of gentleness,
Patience and persistence.
And now we can bring this meditation to an end.
