I,
Like most of us,
Started meditation from being in pain and trying to be in less pain.
And meditation is this universal practice that has been discovered and rediscovered all around the world over history as a way to freedom,
As a way to less suffering.
And when I first started meditation and I would sit down and try not to think for 20 minutes and I would be thinking all the time,
I would beat myself up saying I was rubbish at meditation and my brain's way too active.
Meditation is not about having a quiet mind,
It's instead the process of returning.
We notice we're lost in thought and we gently and kindly return back to the here and now.
And so with practice we notice quicker,
Normally we're just lost in thought with no perspective.
Meditation helps us notice that thinking and then crucially that kind returning.
We can build more compassion and kindness and relate to ourselves in a softer,
More playful way.
And so my friend it gives me a great pleasure and is a privilege for us to explore some practice today,
Exploring meditation for beginners.
You don't need to have any experience and let's just maybe get some glimpses of the healing potential of meditation here today.
And so you can be sitting in any way that you want to and then the spine long,
So imagining there's a piece of string attached to the ceiling or the heavens to the top of your head,
Feel a lengthening of your spine and a tucking of your chin,
So the back of your neck is long,
A tucking of the chin.
So the spine is long but then you're relaxed,
So shoulders relaxed.
And if it feels comfortable for you,
Closing your eyes and finding your breath.
Where is your breath?
Breathing in and out through the nose or in and out through the mouth,
Not trying to change it,
Just simply finding that sensation.
And the breath is this fundamental anchor in meditation,
Something that we can place our awareness on and when we realize that we're lost in thought,
Coming back to that breath.
And I invite you to breathe in and out through your nose if that's available to you today.
Nose breathing has many benefits for our nervous system and is more of a calming breath.
So watching the air come in and out through your nostrils and softening the face.
If there's any tension in your forehead,
Let it go.
If there's any tension in your eyes,
Allow them to soften.
Any tension in the cheeks or the jaw,
Allow them to sink and to unwind.
And slowing down the breath,
Slowing down the breath.
As we slow down the breath,
We slow down our minds,
We slow down our bodies,
Your awareness on your breath.
So you may notice that you are in thought right now or there's thinking going on.
That's nothing to fight,
Nothing to judge.
That's called being human,
Is to be having thoughts and often getting lost in them.
And so simply when you notice that you're in thought,
Gently come back to the breath.
A mantra you could use is,
Be here.
Notice you're lost,
Gently,
Kindly come back to the breath,
Softening the face,
Slowing the breath.
One of the crucial,
Crucial life-changing insights that we get from meditation is perspective on our thinking.
I'm sure in this practice already you've noticed thought.
And can you notice that these thoughts,
They arise and they pass without you being able to control them.
They just pop up into your head.
And with that meditation,
We just assume that we are our thoughts,
That we are this voice in our heads.
And if we have negative thinking about who we are,
About not being good enough,
That means it's probably true.
Or we fight that thinking saying,
No,
I am good enough.
Meditation offers another way to relate to those thoughts.
And that is simply to realize that it is a sensation,
It's an experience arising in your awareness.
And in the same way,
You don't get bothered about the sensation of the breath coming and going,
This experience you have watching the breath.
Thought too is a sensation and it is in your power to just simply observe a thought,
See it arise,
See it pop up,
But not need to identify with it,
Not need to fight it,
And you can just let it go.
And so with your awareness softly,
Gently on the breath,
If you notice thinking,
Can you notice that this is an experience?
These thoughts don't necessarily have to be you and return back to your breath.
And we can get even deeper with that awareness.
In those moments when you're watching the breath,
There is no judgment,
There's no labels of you being good or bad,
Enough,
Not enough.
You simply just are.
There's nowhere to go,
Nothing to do,
No one to be.
And so you are experiencing yourself in a labelless form,
Getting glimpses of that awareness,
That just that awareness,
That loving non-judgmental awareness,
Which is the witness to all of your experiences.
And so through meditation,
We can train ourselves to be in connection with that awareness,
As opposed to always needing to be in thoughts and stories.
We can just experience the world directly.
And so an invitation is to move from doing,
From watching the breath,
To simply bringing more awareness and more being to your practice now.
Perhaps you're still watching the breath,
But what can relax even more?
What can soften even more?
And gently beginning to come back,
Bringing some movement into your body with your eyes still closed,
Some shoulder rolls,
And perhaps reaching your arms up to the sky,
And gently taking as long as you want,
Opening your eyes and coming back.
So my friend,
Meditation is a practice,
And ideally it needs to be done every day.
And that can be five,
Ten breaths,
Or it can be a couple of minutes,
Ten minutes a day.
But on a daily basis,
Having this practice of perspective and returning,
For so many of us,
We're just lost in thought with no perspective.
If you really commit to this practice,
You can train yourself to return back to that awareness,
That loving non-judgmental awareness,
Which is the source of our being,
That witnesses all of our experiences.
And to be in connection with that awareness can be the source of a lot of freedom and ease.
So sending strength and warmth to you.
If you'd like to explore more philosophy,
Or movement,
Or meditation,
I've got a playlist for you to enjoy.
Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
