Welcome to your meditation.
My name is Isaac and I'll be guiding you through a breath-led practice to bring you deeper into the present moment.
Begin by finding a comfortable seat,
Softly closing the eyes,
Beginning to just notice the inflow and the outflow of your breath.
Notice as it travels from the tip of your nose up through your sinus cavities,
Down through the back of the throat and into the body,
Either causing the chest,
The belly,
Or a combination of the two to rise gently.
Follow that breath as it exits the body,
Following the same path it took on its entry.
With each exhale,
Release any tension in the shoulders,
Allowing them to drop gently away from the ears.
With each inhale,
Feel length in the spine as if a puppet string was drawing the crown of your head straight up.
With each exhale,
Release any expression from the face.
With each inhale,
Feel spaciousness grow within your body.
Feel your sitz bones root firmly into the seat beneath you.
Feel your spine grow long,
Preparing your body for the easy,
Natural,
Free-flowing of energy.
Begin to deepen your breath,
Moving further into the body,
Committing to an exploration of the internal landscape.
What's happening in there?
What sensations are you feeling?
Can you feel the air play across the surface of your skin?
Can you feel its temperature?
As you continue to breathe,
Use the breath as a viewfinder into the body to discover any areas where you're holding tension,
Any bundles of energy,
Or any spaces that feel really open and vast.
Just notice them,
Not judging or condemning,
Just observing.
As you notice the body,
Also notice if any thoughts arise in the mind.
When the thoughts do arise,
Simply observe them and then return your attention back to the breath and the sensations of the body.
As we repeat this process over and over,
We begin to more easily exit the thinking of the mind and enter the feeling of presence.
The only marker of success here in this practice is the sense of peace that you feel internally.
As you continue to breathe in and out,
Cultivating your attention,
Begin to repeat the words,
I am,
On each inhale.
Simply,
I am.
Not I am this or I am that,
Just I am.
Relish in simply being here in this moment.
As you continue to deepen your connection with what's happening internally,
You may experience a pause,
A discontinuity in the constant streaming of thoughts,
Brief but present nonetheless.
This is the experience of being.
This is true presence.
Drawing the breath in,
I am,
Exhaling,
Feeling,
That you belong right here,
Right now,
In the space that you are occupying.
As you continue to watch the thoughts that arise,
You begin to learn that you are not the mind.
You are not your thoughts,
Those thoughts that continually hinge on the past or the future.
Instead,
You are the watcher of the thoughts and in that space of complete presence,
You can ground down firmly into the now.
For in the now is where your power lies,
The power of choice,
The power of pure attention and intention.
I am.
I am.
Continue to focus your attention on the breath and the sensations of the body for as long as you wish.
Feel what it's like to just be.
If you are ready to conclude your meditation,
Draw three more deep inhalations and exhalations,
Counting each one mentally on the exhale.
At the end of your third and final exhalation,
Gently flutter the eyes open without making any sudden movements.
Use your sense of sight to notice the space that you're in,
Not just the objects but the empty space in between,
The empty space that allows,
That holds.
Find a sense of gratitude for the peace that you've cultivated.
Carry it with you throughout your day,
Throughout your relationships,
Throughout all your wonderings and wanderings.
And return to your meditation practice tomorrow.
