What follows is an intention setting meditation.
You might find this practice helpful first thing in the morning as a way of connecting with your intention or aspiration for the day ahead or as a way to stay grounded in ethics or values that you want to embody.
Your intention can be something to return to throughout the day when you notice yourself getting lost or overwhelmed.
And in these moments you can notice the mind wandering or spinning out and then taking a pause,
Taking a breath and reconnecting with your intention,
Seeing how you might put that intention into action right in this moment.
So beginning this meditation practice by finding a comfortable posture.
You might be sitting in a chair or on a cushion.
You might be lying down or standing.
Whatever position you're in,
Seeing if you can find some balance,
Some groundedness.
Bringing a balance of wakefulness and ease into this position,
Into this posture.
And closing the eyes or softening them.
Checking in with the body and noticing any sensations here in the body right now.
Sensations of contact with the seat,
With the floor.
Sensation of fabric,
Temperature.
Even noticing any areas of tightness,
Tension,
Discomfort.
Just noticing what's here with some gentleness.
Noticing any areas of comfort,
Of ease.
And checking in with how you're feeling.
Any emotion present right now?
Anticipation,
Anxiety,
Ease,
Happiness.
No strong emotion.
And noticing any thoughts that are here right now,
Anything on your mind.
Thoughts about the day ahead.
Maybe even remnants of dreams.
Just surveying the landscape,
Not needing to change anything.
Just seeing what's here.
And becoming aware now of breath moving in and out of the body.
Aware of sensation of breath,
Perhaps in the abdomen.
Rise and fall,
Expanding and contracting.
In the area of the lower abdomen,
The area of the diaphragm,
The belly,
The upper abdomen,
The chest.
Perhaps aware of sensation of air at the nostrils or the mouth.
Gently placing attention with breath in the body,
However breath is accessible to you right now.
Being with the full cycle of this breath,
A full inhale,
Full exhale.
And with this breath.
Then you may notice the attention wander from the breath to thoughts,
To sounds,
To sensations or emotions.
And just noticing when this happens,
When the mind wanders.
Gently bringing it back to the sensation of breath in the body,
Wherever you can notice breath right now.
Noticing where the attention is.
Aware of sensation of breath in this moment.
This moment.
If you notice yourself thinking about the day ahead or planning,
Again just noticing thoughts,
Letting thoughts be.
You don't need to do anything with them right now.
Just gently bringing attention back to breath in the body,
Grounding in this moment and sensation.
How is breath now?
Long or short,
Deep or shallow?
Just being with this breath.
And taking a moment now to take stock of the day ahead,
To contemplate.
Is there anything you're worried about today?
Anything you're excited about or anxious about?
Something at work or at home?
A meeting or a conversation,
An assignment,
An appointment?
Something you're not sure how it will go or how you'll react or respond?
And noticing if there are any familiar thoughts or feelings arising now around what the day may hold.
And again,
Not needing to plan or fix or solve anything right now.
Just surveying the territory,
Surveying the landscape.
What might my day hold?
Are there any worries or excitements,
Anxieties?
Any familiar thoughts or feelings arising now?
And just checking out what's here,
Just gently investigating what is this like?
How is this?
How is this in the body?
Do I feel this in my chest or my face?
My shoulders?
Maybe there are no sensations arising associated with these thoughts or feelings and that's fine too.
And so now with this awareness of what's here and what the day may hold,
Asking yourself a few questions.
What might I need from myself today?
What might be helpful for me to remember as I go about my day?
What might help me stay grounded,
Care for myself,
Care for others?
What's my intention for the day?
And so not needing to answer all of these questions,
Just sitting with them.
Not searching for an answer,
Not needing to pull anything out of the mind or the heart,
But just sitting with these questions and seeing what arises.
Might be a phrase or an image.
What might I need from myself today?
What might be helpful for me to remember?
What might help me stay grounded,
Care for myself and others?
What's my intention?
So we'll just sit silently with these questions for a little while,
Giving space for what arises.
And if you notice the mind moving to fix-it mode,
To solving mode,
To planning mode,
Just noticing,
Noticing thoughts,
Noticing planning and letting the thoughts be and coming back to the questions,
To letting an intention arise.
Acknowledging whatever has arisen in the form of an intention.
And asking the questions again,
Asking yourself these questions again.
What might I need from myself today?
What might be helpful for me to remember?
What's my intention for today?
And seeing what arises now.
It might be the same intention.
It might be different.
I'm giving space for whatever is here.
So we'll just sit silently with these questions for a little while,
Giving space for what arises.
Acknowledging the intention that has arisen.
And asking these questions once more.
What might I need from myself today?
What might be helpful for me to remember as I go about my day?
What's my intention?
And giving space for what arises.
So we'll just sit silently with these questions for a little while.
And acknowledging whatever intention has arisen.
Taking this intention into your heart,
Into your mind,
To your body.
Knowing that this intention is something you can always reconnect with throughout the day.
After this meditation session ends,
You might even want to take a moment to write down your intention in a journal or set a reminder to ring on your phone or clock with this intention.
Taking a moment now to feel the sensations of breath.
To sense the wholeness of the body.
Is there a way to bring your intention into this moment?
What might that look like?
And taking a moment now to thank yourself for taking the time to practice today.
For taking this time to care for yourself.
In a moment,
I'll ring the bell and as the sound fades,
You can raise or open your eyes.
The bell will now ring.
