Accepting The Moment As It Is

A mindfulness meditation to appreciate the beauty and profound simplicity of the present moment. Experience the wholeness and completeness of being totally free of desire and expectation. Be with yourself and your world just as it is.

Transcript

Okay,

So I think we'll make a start.

So the idea for this meditation in particular is for it to be quite a natural,

Sort of effortless state rather than preparing yourself to meditate.

Just as you are,

Wherever you are,

Just start to notice things around you.

So maybe noticing what you can see in front of you.

Maybe noticing something you hadn't noticed before.

Something very small,

Insignificant.

Or maybe just noticing a particular colour or pattern.

So connecting to the present moment just by paying attention to what you can see.

And then let's add what we can hear as well.

So actively listening to the variety of sounds that are in your environment right now.

And noticing sounds that are close by.

And being alert to any quieter or more distant sounds.

So a natural alertness and attentiveness connecting to the senses.

Connecting to your immediate environment.

And then let's bring it in a little closer.

So becoming aware of the body.

And at first noticing all those points of contact.

So I'm noticing my feet in contact with the floor.

And noticing whatever you're sitting or lying on,

How it's supporting the body.

Noticing the contact of clothing against the skin.

And noticing the breath in the body.

So just allow the breath to breathe itself.

Don't try and change the breath in any way.

Remember we're just discovering how things are already.

Not trying to breathe more calmly or more deeply.

So when we get to the breath,

This is the first thing of what we've been aware of so far that we do have control over.

We could choose to change our breath.

But continuing with the same approach as we did with what we could see and what we could hear,

Of just noticing things as they are.

So avoiding that temptation of changing the breath.

Just by the fact that we have brought our awareness to the breath,

That might generate or inspire some change in the breath.

So just as important not to stop any changes happening.

If the body wants to take a deeper breath in,

You can allow that to happen.

We're not changing,

But we're not resisting change either.

So let's spend a few moments just settling into this awareness of the breath in the body.

Allowing ourselves to fully arrive where we are right now.

So allowing the breath to continue.

Let's see what else we can notice and become aware of internally.

So becoming aware of whatever is happening in your mind and however you're feeling.

And just noticing the thoughts that pass through the mind.

As we get closer to things that we identify with more,

Like our own thoughts and feelings,

The temptation to try and change them or at least judge them in some way may get higher.

So see if you can,

For example,

Just allow your thoughts to pass through your mind just as we're allowing the breath to flow through the body without trying to change your thoughts in any way at all.

Again,

Resisting that temptation to interfere in our own thoughts.

And instead,

Just noticing the thoughts as they arise and accepting them just as they are.

I sometimes find it useful to hold the breath and my thoughts within my awareness.

As although it is only possible to think in the present moment,

So if you are aware you're thinking,

You must be present.

If I add the breath in there as well,

That helps me to feel really grounded and connected into the present moment.

So I'm less likely to follow my thoughts off wherever they want to go.

So I stay with the body and with the breath as the thoughts pass by so I can stay present for the next thought when that arrives.

There's the breath flowing through the body.

The thoughts flowing through the mind.

And in the environment around us,

There's sounds coming and going.

So just allowing our attention to move naturally and freely amongst these three areas of the present moment,

The mind,

The body and the environment.

And seeing if we can have that same attitude within each one of accepting and allowing thoughts to flow through the mind.

Allowing the breath to flow through the body and allowing sounds to come and go in the environment around us.

If we approach all these three areas equally with the same attitude,

The same open welcoming awareness,

Then we can begin to get a sense of the wholeness of this present moment.

There's just this one moment with all these different aspects within it.

So not separating ourselves from the present moment,

Not thinking our thoughts and feelings within our mind are any more separate from the present moment than our body,

Our breath,

Our environment and sounds.

All just different aspects,

All part of this one present moment that we're holding gently within our open awareness.

And allowing everything of this one moment to be just as it is.

All right.

So allow yourself to begin to really settle into this present moment,

To relax into it.

Noticing if there is any expectation or desire to create an experience to move beyond the simplicity of just what's happening right now.

And if there is,

Then that's just something else that's happening in this present moment that we can accept and allow.

And just notice that that's also part of this present moment.

Being patient,

Particularly with the mind.

Giving it plenty of time,

Giving your thoughts all the time and space they need to very gradually settle down.

Just reminding yourself that for these few moments,

Few minutes,

You don't need to actively solve any problems,

Work out anything,

Discern anything or judge anything.

It can put the mind into neutral.

We're just coasting along with the present moment,

Not trying to get anywhere.

Nothing we need to do right now,

Nowhere else we need to be.

Perhaps allowing that feeling of release and relief to just allow yourself to just be in this moment.

And as we gradually relax and open our awareness to being present,

We can begin to notice that actually there's a lot going on in each moment.

A lot of detail,

A lot of variety,

A lot of change.

Present moment is very varied and dynamic.

As we become alert and attentive and sensitive to all the different things that are happening internally and externally,

There's actually quite a lot to keep aware of and be attentive to.

We begin to notice other sounds,

Other sensations in the body,

Other feelings,

Other thoughts.

Normally we wouldn't notice without taking this time to really absorb ourselves into the present moment.

After a while,

We become more sensitive to what's happening.

I sometimes feel like the present moment appears to be quite fragile and delicate.

I can get the sense that I'm just very gently holding the whole present moment within my awareness.

That sense of care.

We can begin to get a sense of our own aliveness.

Feeling that in the body and the breath and in our mind.

Maybe even also a sense of aliveness permeating all that we can sense in our environment as well.

As if everything of this moment can become alive with our awareness,

With our consciousness.

Thank you for continuing your So I'll leave four or five minutes without further commentary,

Just to give us all the time and space to really just relax into the present moment even more,

Remembering just to accept and allow your thoughts to flow through your mind,

The breath,

Through the body,

The sounds through your environment,

And allowing yourself just to be with yourself,

With your world,

Just as it is.

Svisat Svisat.

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Reviews

Thank you for sharing your experience. My gratitude!

Very soothing. And enjoyable meditation thank you Stephen 😊

Thank you 🙏 Stephen! I always appreciate you and your recordings. Another opportunity to “accept the moment as it is”. I surprise myself when I discover a recording that I haven’t ( or don’t remember) practicing. Much gratitude.

It was a very calming and relaxing space. I felt completely in the here and now. The stillness and environment felt sensational - ‘As it is’ precisely - 👌🏻🙏💫💚🧘‍♂️