Let's settle in now for an open awareness practice.
Settling into a comfortable perhaps sitting posture.
A posture that enables you to feel grounded.
One that enables you to feel grounded and supported.
How does it feel to be sitting here?
Can you notice any body sensations?
Perhaps your feet,
Your legs,
Your hips.
Perhaps touching a little bit more into a sense of being grounded and supported as you sit here.
In an upright and dignified posture.
That creates a sense of ease in the body.
And at the same time,
Alertness in the body.
In this open awareness practice,
We'll be letting go of focusing on any one object.
And we'll be opening to all that is arising in awareness.
We'll be opening to the flow of our life and our mind as it all passes through.
And you might like to imagine the sky.
A vast and spacious sky.
And just like the flow of our life and mind.
We can imagine it like the weather.
The different weather passing through.
Sometimes stormy,
Cloudy.
And sometimes sunny and bright and warm.
As best you can.
Let's sit and be present to this flow of our inner life in this practice of open awareness.
Let's begin by bringing our attention to the process of breathing.
Grounding ourselves in where you can feel the breath the easiest.
Or the most pleasurable.
And that might be the nostrils,
Chest,
Your belly or somewhere else.
Where can you feel the breath the most in your body?
And at any time you can return to this awareness of the breath like an anchor,
An anchor to the present or a home base.
And even if your mind wanders off,
You can return to the present with the breath.
For now let's be with this experience of breathing.
This inhale and exhale.
This expansion and release.
Over and over again.
There is no particular way to breathe.
Simply being with the breath as best you can.
Yep.
Now beginning to bring your attention to the whole of your body.
The whole of the body sitting here.
Can you bring your attention to this body and the sensations of breathing?
Feeling into them.
Noticing these body sensations that are alive,
That are changing,
That are shifting.
These body sensations including the breath that are arising,
Staying for a while and then passing.
Sitting here now,
Noticing the whole of the body,
The sensations of breathing and all other sensations that are coming and going.
This feeling of being alive in this moment to moment awareness as best you can.
And as you be with these sensations,
Some may be pleasant or unpleasant or even neutral.
Can you be with these experiences?
Noticing how they shift and change.
There's no need to analyse them or judge them.
Can you be with them as best you can?
Noticing how they shift and change.
Noticing the change and transformation of the body.
Of this body in this continual process.
And if you notice that your mind has wandered off,
Gently,
Kindly bring it back to the object of attention.
Doing this over and over as many times as you need to.
And now can you begin to bring your attention away from the body and breathing to sounds,
To the world of sounds,
To receive them.
There's no need to go looking for the sounds.
Noticing what sounds are arising as best you can.
There's no need to go into a commentary about the sounds that are arising or to judge or to react.
We're simply bringing our attention to the world of sounds,
Receiving them as best as we can.
Can you notice the contact of sounds,
The volume of it,
Perhaps the pitch or tone or even the frequency of the sounds that arise and pass away?
So we're cultivating this receptive mind to simply receive what is arising without anything in particular to do or not do.
Being present for the sounds that are arising.
And as you notice that sounds arise and pass away,
So do the processes of thinking.
And feeling.
Can you begin to be aware of the thoughts that are arising and perhaps any accompanying emotions?
And you may only be able to notice the thought once it has passed.
Being here now with thoughts,
This process of thinking.
And as best you can.
Feeling curious,
Receptive and gentle with yourself.
As you bring your attention to the thoughts and the accompanying emotions that are arising and passing.
How's the music?
Can you notice the body when emotions arise?
These thoughts,
Emotions and sensations can co-arise and co-create with each other.
Can you experience and be with this process?
Being present to the mind and body as we pay attention to it.
There's no need to overthink this or get caught up with analysis or judgment.
It's simply being with what's arising.
And now letting go of any particular object of attention.
Letting go of any particular breathing,
Body sensation.
Letting go of focusing on any particular sound or thought or even emotion.
Letting it all go so that you can be open to the flow,
Opening up fully to whatever arises in open awareness.
And that could include body sensations such as tightening or tingling,
Pain.
And it might be thoughts and emotions that are arising,
Sounds.
And you might even notice that you become very preoccupied with a particular thought or sensation in the body or perhaps even sound or other object.
Can you let go of that?
As you once again open,
Open like the vast and open sky.
Open to whatever is arising to the full range of experience here and now.
Opening to all in awareness,
Opening to what's predominant moment to moment.
As best you can notice it arising,
Staying for a while and then passing.
Like the sky,
The clouds perhaps arising,
Staying for a while and passing.
So too for other weather patterns.
Being here,
Receptive,
Open,
Curious to whatever arises in this open awareness.
In this vast and spacious sky.
Present for the flow of our own mind and body.
As we get to know ourself,
Our inner life,
Noticing this constant flow and change.
Let's be here in open awareness.
Let's be here in open awareness.
Let's be here in open awareness.
Let's be here in open awareness.
Let's be here in open awareness.
And now as best we can,
Moving throughout our day with openness and curiosity.
Perhaps open heartedness and receptivity to whatever arises.
