Welcome.
Wherever you are,
Come to a comfortable seated position.
Allow your body to settle into ease,
Supported by the surface beneath you.
Let your hands rest softly on your knees or in your lap.
When you feel ready,
Gently close your eyes.
Begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath.
Softly follow each inhale as it fills your body and expands your chest.
And each exhale as it recedes,
Releasing what is no longer needed.
Let the breath lull you into this moment,
A gentle anchor to the here and now.
Become more aware of the sound of your breath.
Listen to the subtle noise of air moving in and out,
Like the rise and fall of an ocean wave.
Notice how the inhale and exhale sound different.
One coming out,
One drawing in,
One flowing out.
Now allow your awareness to expand to the sounds around you.
First,
Listen for the loudest or most distinct sound.
Notice its qualities.
Is it sharp?
Soft?
High or low?
Smooth or broken?
Notice all you can about it.
Explore it without reaction,
Without labelling it as pleasant or unpleasant.
Simply letting it be heard as it is.
Now tune your attention into the faintest sound you can detect.
Perhaps something distant or very subtle.
Hone your awareness here,
Holding this delicate focus of what could so easily go unheard.
And then broaden your attention again.
Let yourself hear everything at once.
Near and far.
Loud and quiet.
A whole landscape of sound.
And now let those sounds fade gently into the background,
As your awareness returns once more to the simple rhythm of the breath.
Observe the sensations of the inhales and exhales.
Feel the coolness as the breath enters the nostrils,
And the warmth as it leaves.
Notice the feelings of expansion and contraction of the chest and belly.
How does the breath feel as it travels down your throat?
Can you sense the breath nourishing your whole body?
Now expand your awareness of sensation.
What else can you feel?
Observe the sensation of the air on your skin.
Notice its temperature.
Notice the textures of your clothing.
Do different fabrics feel slightly different?
Feel the pressure of your body against the ground or chair.
Where do you sense contact?
What parts of your body are touching other parts?
Feel the sensation of your hands resting on your legs or in your lap.
Notice the delicate pressure of your lips meeting,
And the soft weight of your closed eyelids.
Curiously observe the subtle and abstract sensation of touch.
Can you guide your awareness further within,
To sense the quiet beat of your heart,
If you can feel it,
Or to notice if there's any subtle tension or gripping within the body,
And invite it to loosen if so.
What is the most delicate sensation you can detect?
Expand your awareness now to feel the body as one unified field of sensation.
All external and internal sensations as one.
Feel the aliveness of your body.
Now with your eyes still closed,
Gently bring your awareness to the sense of sight.
Notice how light seeps faintly through the eyelids.
And when you feel ready,
Slowly and intentionally open your eyes.
Take in the world around you.
Notice the colours,
Shapes,
Shadows and light.
See what is close to you.
And then let your gaze expand as far as it can reach.
Let your eyes explore as if seeing the world for the very first time.
Resist the urge to label what you are seeing.
Just look,
Just be.
See the aliveness of everything around you.
Sense it all.
Sound,
Sensation and sight.
And notice too the aliveness within.
Become aware of the one who is gazing.
The awareness itself.
Rest here for a few moments.
Aware of being aware.
Being in pure presence.
Now gently return to the body in the breath.
Feel your weight,
Your contact with the ground.
Take one steady inhale.
And one long releasing exhale.
Carry this awakened awareness with you.
Let it quietly guide you as you move through your day.
Meeting each moment with openness,
Presence and ease.
