Welcome to this mindful awareness practice,
Which involves naturally becoming aware of the phenomenon of the breath through allowing the mind to rest,
To settle as you develop insight,
Clarity,
And subtlety of awareness.
This meditation is suitable for anybody looking for a little bit of support to practice.
Take a few deep breaths now to settle yourself and prepare for practice.
An ideal posture for this practice is laying down on your bed,
The couch,
The floor,
Or reclined in a chair.
Although the energy required to hold your hands up reclining in a chair can be distracting.
Let's begin by placing one hand on the cavity of the chest and the other hand on the belly.
Allow the mind to settle with the help of gravity.
Feel the weight of your body and the weight of your hands.
Gradually the mind will wander,
Consumed with its many tasks,
Thoughts of the future and of the past and other preoccupations.
But the nature of one pointed mind is to keep returning to an object of your meditation.
What makes this posture unique for practice is that your hands are resting.
Resting hands,
Resting body,
Suitable for resting mind.
Begin to explore effortlessly awareness in the palms of the hands.
Notice the sensations.
This could include the touch of your skin on the fabric.
It could be the space between contact between your skin and your clothing.
You might notice the inevitable rising and falling of the belly and the chest cavity.
Be open to noticing whatever there is to notice.
Allow yourself to relax and know that you are developing samadhi,
The Pali word for concentration.
In the early stages of practice,
You may not even realize that you are thinking in your mind.
But as the periods prolong,
Where your awareness is simply resting and the phenomenon of sensation,
Sensations arising and passing within this small area,
Two palms of the hand.
You will begin to notice more and more that your attention is less consumed in your thoughts and absorbed in this present moment experience of ever-changing phenomena.
Naturally,
The mind will become preoccupied,
For that is also its nature.
But its nature is also to become settled,
Like a muddy glass of water.
If you stop stirring it,
Eventually everything will settle to the bottom.
Sometimes the mind is so agitated that we need to begin with a very large area of awareness,
Such as the two palms of the hands.
As your mind becomes subtler and more settled,
You may begin to notice more detail and subtlety to the sensations you are experiencing,
To the nature of the sensations you are experiencing.
With your awareness resting in the palms of your hands,
Noticing whatever there is to notice,
Whatever phenomena arising and passing,
Including this very natural cadence of the rising and falling of the breath.
The nature of mind is to become aware of many things at once,
But in this practice,
The invitation is to experience the settling,
Resting awareness,
Resting in the awareness of the arising and passing phenomena,
Sensations in these areas,
Which is the palms of the hands.
Even though your awareness might include the naturally arising phenomena of the breath coming and going,
Continue to allow your awareness to rest in the sensations,
These areas,
Refining as the palm of the hands.
As your mind-body phenomena begin to relax,
It's normal to experience tension in the body.
Tension from habitual holding patterns,
Thought patterns.
Yet the nature and feature of this practice is to allow the mind to rest,
To stay absorbed,
Effortlessly observing the ever-changing phenomena in this area of focus,
Your object of meditation.
As you progress in this practice,
You will continue to have insights about the nature of this mind-body phenomena and what facilitates the preoccupation of the mind and all the things that consume our awareness into a naturally relaxed,
Focused,
And clear state.
Over time,
And with continued exploration and practice,
You will notice this resting state showing up as more of your baseline of awareness,
For what we practice simply becomes more and more natural.
If you feel discouraged in this session,
Do your best to honor those feelings and try again another time.
One of the most profound realizations that can happen spontaneously is that we realize this is the practice,
Being mindful,
Bringing the energy of mindfulness within the struggle of the monkey mind.
Know that all of this energy builds and accumulates momentum towards more and more success and a deepened understanding.
There are many types of meditations and practices,
Each one having its own features,
Benefits,
And knowing when to practice the right one at the right time is the key to your success.
As this meditation comes to its own natural completion,
Take the next few moments to reflect on any changes in your awareness as you begin practicing.
Offer yourself some gratitude for taking the time to practice today and receiving a little bit of support to carry you through.
Begin to prepare transitioning into the next part of your day.
