And welcome and so taking your time to come in and come into yourself and then finding the most relaxed position as possible here and if it's lying down for you then it's lying down,
If it's seated with as little effort as possible then it is seated so take your time and as you come into position we're going to take this moment to relax in order to reduce some anxieties and reduce tensions in the body and then soften the mind as well taking a deep inhale and a deep exhale either position allow your shoulders to relax down and away into the arms relaxing down and away and resting the hands and letting your eyes soften whether opened or closed or somewhere in the middle let's take a few moments here to scan our awareness throughout the sensations of the body and wherever possible we're going to soften and then release that area releasing the areas of physical tension or tightness and just noticing the gripping that may be present and then letting that gripping start to go and if we're seated let the eyes soften although the attention will be forward and if we're lying then the attention will be upward and so keeping our awareness in the room as we ground into our experience and as our attention gets closer into ourselves we're going to use the breath to continue to anchor us inward and inward and inward focusing on the breathing as the mind starts to drift and we're going to feel the breath rise in and out of the body for some of us the sensation is in through the nostrils and that gentle warmth coming out of the nostrils and for some of us we're going to feel the breath come into the heart and into the chest feeling the chest rise and fall with each inhale and each exhale and for some of us we're in the belly towards the pelvis and we're going to feel the belly in the diaphragm lift and rise and the belly softens and relaxes belly moving inward and down to soften fully and then letting the awareness ride the waves of the breath where we feel it in our being most naturally and whether it's our nostrils or our chest or into the belly feeling the wave of the breath come in and the wave of the breath come out and then sensing that the mind is as vast as the ocean and where the depth of this ocean beneath the surface is very calm,
Very tranquil,
And is very clear and as we look into this space no matter what our external conditions are deep inside of this ocean we are calm we are tranquil and we are clear and just as we sense the breath come in and out of the body we can come in and out of this deep space this deep ocean that is inside of us where we are most still we are most at peace and as we look upward from this space we're seeing the waves at the surface of the ocean just like we might see the waves of thoughts or emotions the fluctuations of the mind and then we can notice all of the fleeting thoughts and emotions that come and they go and just like the breath we can welcome them in we can note their existence for us and regardless of this content of the thought or the emotion we can love this space and just as the breath leaves us we can welcome them to leave as well and so sensing our breath bringing us back into this peaceful place underneath the waves of the mind and feeling the profound depth underneath this space and when a thought comes or a feeling or a memory or a sensation and warmly and calmly taking note of this mental activity and then redirecting our attention back into the breath as we welcome the thoughts to come in and to come out returning to the breath in this depth of the mind and where you can just sense and observe from a witness's view the activities of the mind as simply that they are just activities and not the totality of who you are and allowing yourself to enjoy that deeper space that deeper space of the mind's ocean underneath the waves and enjoying the tranquility of this the tranquility that comes from just sensing the breath knowing that focusing your mind on your breathing is what brings you to this deep place of calm this deep place of clarity this deep place of peace and allowing ourselves to be here for as long as we wish and bringing this quality of kindness this quality of kind awareness into our day and into our life and into those people that we touch and that feeling of relaxation that's now in the body that feeling of settledness that is now in the mind and that feeling of openness that is now in our hearts so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so
