The sitting meditation.
To begin the regular practice of meditation,
Of looking into ourselves,
We can choose to spend time on a regular basis in a place where we can comfortably still the body and at a time when we will not be interrupted.
Allowing this to be a time when we can set aside our usual mode of more or less constant doing and allow ourselves to move into a mode of non-doing,
Of simply being.
Being with ourselves as best we can,
From moment to moment.
And bring into the practice an intention of not judging ourselves,
Bringing patience and kindness to the observation of experiences in our bodies and in our minds as they occur.
Simply experiencing things just as they are,
With friendliness towards our experience and towards ourselves.
So now coming to sit in an upright,
Dignified posture,
Either on a straight back chair or on the floor,
Perhaps with a thick cushion under the hips,
And allowing the floor or the chair to support you.
So the body is steady and the back erect.
Having the head balanced comfortably on the neck and just allowing the body to settle into stillness.
Now bringing your attention to the fact that you're breathing.
Becoming aware of the movement of the breath as it enters the body and as it leaves the body.
If you find yourself controlling the breath in any way,
As best you can,
Letting that go and just allowing the breath to just breathe itself in whatever way it wants to.
Allowing the breath to be however it is.
Short or long,
Deep or shallow,
Rough or smooth.
Simply observing each breath.
Being aware of each in-breath and each out-breath.
Be aware of the physical sensations of breathing.
And noticing where these sensations are strongest for you.
Perhaps at the nostrils.
Feeling the air moving in and out of the body at the nose.
Perhaps at the mouth,
If you're breathing through your mouth.
Or maybe you're noticing sensations of the breath more strongly in the chest.
Or in the abdomen,
The belly.
Feeling this area rising and falling as you breathe in and breathe out.
So if you're comfortable with this,
Observing your breathing deep down in your belly for a while.
Experiencing the entire in-breath and the entire out-breath,
Moment by moment.
Bringing a friendly curiosity to what you're observing.
Perhaps noticing any spaces between the in-breath and the out-breath.
Not trying to do anything.
Not trying to get anywhere.
Just being with your breathing,
Moment by moment.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And you will probably find that your mind will wander away from the breath.
Into thoughts.
Or planning.
Worrying.
Perhaps memories from the past.
Your mind might be distracted by sounds.
Or by sensations in the body.
When you notice your attention is no longer on the breath.
Simply escorting your awareness back to the sensations of breathing.
With kindness.
But also with firmness.
Picking up your breath wherever it happens to be.
Whether on an in-breath or an out-breath.
And just moving up close to the breath from one moment to the next.
As if you were riding the waves of your breathing.
And in this practice,
Using awareness of the breath as an anchor to refocus your attention.
To bring you back to the present.
Whenever you notice that your mind has wandered.
Just being aware as soon as you can.
And bringing your attention back again.
Back to the breath.
Not giving yourself a hard time about it.
But as best you can.
Just coming back to this present breath.
With patience.
And acceptance.
And once again,
Giving careful attention to each in-breath and each out-breath.
As you observe your breathing.
You may notice from time to time other sensations in the body are coming into awareness.
Perhaps a sense of stillness or ease.
Or maybe feelings of discomfort or agitation.
Which might be quite intense at times.
Now as you maintain attention on the breath.
Expanding your awareness around your breathing.
To include a sense of the body as a whole.
As you sit here.
Being aware of sensations throughout the body.
Perhaps experiencing the sensations of touch.
Of contact with the chair or the floor.
Contact made with the feet.
Or the legs as you sit in a straight posture.
With your back straight.
Head balanced.
And dignified.
You might also notice the contact of your clothing on your skin.
Or the air on the parts of the body that are uncovered.
So now we are allowing our awareness to include not only the flow of breathing.
But also a sense of the body.
Being with whatever sensations and experiences are arising in this moment.
Without judging it.
Or reacting to it.
Simply accepting it as part of your experience in the moment.
Because it's already here.
And again whenever you notice that your mind has wandered off.
Just bringing it back to your breathing.
And a sense of the body.
As you sit here.
There may be times,
And this happens to all of us.
When sensations in the body are so intense that they feel overwhelming.
And dominate the field of awareness.
So it can be very difficult to stay focused and to concentrate.
If this happens,
You can make a choice about how to respond.
You can mindfully shift to a more comfortable position.
And if you choose to move.
Being aware of the intention to move as best you can.
And of any sensations created by the movements as you make them.
Another way to work with the intensity.
Is to simply stay with it.
Without moving.
Focusing your attention on it.
Moving your attention towards the part of the body that is creating the intense sensations.
And going right into the sensations in each moment.
Breathing into it.
Breathing out with it.
Opening.
And softening.
And allowing the sensations to be.
Rather than resisting.
Notice how often we want things to be different from the way they are.
And when the intensity subsides.
Or when you choose to.
Expanding your awareness again to the body as a whole and to the breath.
And when you are ready to do so.
Expanding the field of awareness.
And this time.
Taking your attention to hearing.
To sound.
Any sounds that may occur within the body.
Or around you.
Sounds nearby or distant.
Not straining or searching for something to hear.
But just letting the sounds come to you.
Just being aware of hearing from one moment to the next.
Noticing if you are judging sounds.
Liking or disliking.
As best you can.
Notting over labeling sounds.
Instead just hearing sounds as sounds.
Noticing the tone.
Texture.
Simply sitting in stillness.
Aware of sound.
Perhaps noticing the spaces between sounds.
And becoming aware of the sounds as they enter the silence.
As you become aware that your mind has been distracted.
Wandered away.
And very gently bringing it back to sounds.
Back to hearing.
And allowing the sounds to bring you back to the present moment.
So as you sit here allowing your awareness to expand once again.
We began with the breathing.
Then we expanded our awareness to include the body.
And then expanded again to sounds.
So this time we'll expand our awareness to include thinking.
Attending to thoughts as they move through the mind.
So letting your breathing and a sense of the body and sounds all be in the background.
And allowing the thinking process to come center stage for a while.
And rather than following individual thoughts or getting involved in the content and going from one thing to the next.
We'll simply see each thought as it comes into the mind as a thought.
As a mental event.
Witnessing thoughts that are coming and going through the mind.
And these thoughts could be about anything.
Could be about the future.
Or the past.
Thoughts about time.
About feelings.
And whatever the thought,
Just observing them as events.
As they linger and dissolve.
And if you find yourself at any point drawn into the stream of thinking.
And you notice that you have become lost on the train of thought.
Just coming back to observing each thought as an event in the mind.
Using your breath to bring you back to the present moment.
Just letting thoughts come and go.
You might notice that from moment to moment new thoughts will arise and then just disappear.
And you may notice as you sit here that some thoughts are connected to emotions.
That you may feel in the body and in the mind.
Perhaps pleasant emotions.
Such as,
Contentment.
Happiness.
Or it could be unpleasant emotions.
Such as boredom.
Anger.
Fear or sadness.
Just noticing what the emotion is.
And as best you can,
Allowing your awareness to include each emotion as it arises.
Noticing any sensations connected to that emotion.
Observing where in the body you will experience those emotions and sensations.
And being curious about what those sensations actually are.
And remembering to allow yourself the choice of using the breath as an anchor at any time emotions feel overwhelming.
Or moving closer to them.
Or leaving them just as they are.
Because they are experiences in this moment.
And now for the remaining time.
Just letting go of all the objects of attention.
Your breathing.
Body.
Sounds.
Thoughts.
And emotions.
And instead of focusing on anyone.
Simply allowing yourself to just sit here and be.
Fully aware in each moment of whatever is arising.
Thoughts come.
Then observing thoughts.
If sounds.
Opening your awareness to sounds.
And if it's the breath that's most prominent.
Then being with your breathing.
Just sitting in silence.
And stillness.
Observing your awareness of your experiences from moment to moment.
Looking for nothing.
Just letting things unfold.
Just being with your experience moment by moment.
As this meditation ends.
You might like to congratulate yourself for having taken the time to do this practice.
And allow yourself to do this practice on a regular basis.
Allowing the benefits of this practice to expand into your daily life.
As it unfolds.
Your life.
Your life.
Thank you.
