Hey there.
And so for this practice,
I've got another visual for you that hopefully can be helpful.
This is a sports broadcaster analogy.
And so you can imagine your mind as being like a game or a match that's being televised.
And you can think of a commentator during the game that is just reporting only what's happening.
So the game's going on and they're talking about the different things that are happening in the game objectively.
And then you have commercials,
These things that are distractions from the game that are offering you products that you're not really interested in.
And so for this meditation,
We'll use the sensations of the breath as your sort of tethering point to the present moment.
And I want you to try counting with the breath.
And this counting,
You can see it as like the commentator of the game that's going on.
And so on the in-breath,
You'll count one.
On the out-breath,
You'll count two.
In-breath three,
Out-breath four.
And then you can go all the way up to ten.
And then just repeat,
Go back to one.
And then whenever you become distracted from that counting of the breath practice,
You can just notice that you're no longer counting.
You can notice wherever you are,
Oh,
I'm planning,
Oh,
I'm hearing something,
Oh,
I'm remembering something from the past,
Oh,
I'm just daydreaming.
And you can notice that.
And those are your commercials.
And so just notice whenever you've slipped into one of these distraction commercials.
And then you can say,
And we're back.
And so that's you as the commentator.
Now we're back.
And then just start back over,
Counting the breath at one.
And you can resettle your position here.
Again,
Notice if anything has tightened back up,
Whatever sort of internal friction your body might be acting on.
And see if you can just resettle all of that.
Allow it to soften.
Specifically in your face,
You can feel into the mouth and the jaw and the eyes and the muscles behind the eyes.
You can allow those to soften.
And let's begin to pay very close attention to the ongoing changes of the sensations of the breath.
Here's your primary object of attention here.
And you want to find one precise area to focus that attention.
And it can be anything for you,
Whatever works best.
What I find most useful is the tip of the nostrils.
And then feeling the air coming in cold.
And then out warm.
Feeling that all the way through as if it's one continuous wave,
Because that's what it is.
This is your tether.
Still finding that one specific area of focus on the sensations of breath in each moment.
You can always pay attention to it.
And now as the commentator,
Let's begin to count along with the sensations of the breath.
So on the in-breath,
You can count in your mind one.
And then as you transition into the out-breath,
Two.
And then three on the in-breath.
And four on the out-breath.
And in your mind,
You can make that sound however you like.
It might be an extended number to encompass the whole length of the breath.
But to see if you can follow along,
This can help you return to that one very specific focus by counting the whole time through.
So one on the in-breath,
Two out-breath,
All the way up to ten on the out-breath.
And then just start back over at one.
And then whenever your mind wanders away,
And it will,
And it's totally fine,
Just become aware of whatever that distraction commercial is.
Make a mental note of whatever it is.
And then just come back,
And we're back.
And then come back to counting back at one on the in-breath.
And I'll give you a little space to practice that now.
Exhibition.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
