Today's practice is going to be a start of a series of sitting with sounds.
We will start by getting comfortable in any seated or lying posture that you choose.
Close the eyes and allow the body to quieten and settle.
Bring your attention to the breath and just watch the breath quietly.
Watch the breath as it enters the body and watch the effects of the inhale on the body.
Watch the breath as it leaves the body.
Watch the effects of this on the body.
And now observe the whole journey of the breath in and out from beginning to end.
And now take your attention to inside the body.
Imagine your eyes are like spotlights.
They roam around inside the body and notice whatever is there.
Any discomfort or pain,
Any aches or tensions,
Any physical sensations at all within the body.
Just noticing and labelling.
For example,
There is some discomfort in my ankle or there is an itch on my nose.
Noticing and labelling.
And now take the spotlight to your mind.
What is there?
Any emotions,
Thoughts or feelings?
Not changing anything,
Just noticing what is there and again labelling them.
Annoyance,
Worry,
Fatigue.
What is there for you?
And now allow that focus to drop away and take a couple of deeper breaths in and out and allow the body to become softer,
Heavier and more relaxed.
Relax.
Relax.
Relax.
For now you have nowhere to go and nothing to do.
So just relax.
I want you to imagine you are walking through the countryside.
If you can't picture this,
Try and have a sense of it.
It could be somewhere you walk regularly or somewhere you have visited once or somewhere you have seen and would like to go.
Just try and have a picture of that place and a sense of you walking there.
Imagine you have been walking quite a while and your body feels tired.
You have a sense of achievement though that you have got out,
Had some exercise and some fresh air.
The weather is warm but not hot and there is no one around at all,
Only you.
You feel content and safe.
You notice a grey cloud above you and feel a couple of spots of rain on your arm.
You look around and notice some large rocks nearby.
One of them is overhanging and it creates a perfect shelter so you head over and lay down your jacket on the floor and sit under the shelter.
The ground is soft and comfortable and it feels nice to stop for a while and rest.
The rain starts to become a little heavier.
Your breathing becomes slower,
Your body more relaxed as you sit and rest whilst listening to the rain.
Can you smell the freshness from the rain?
Just notice the sounds of the rain,
Allow the sound to come to you.
Do you notice the changes in the sounds?
Different tones,
Different volumes.
Really tune in to these sounds.
Try not to think about the sounds and the differences.
Just notice them,
Absorb them,
Experience them.
This is your present moment,
Your experience of the now.
This is your present moment,
Your experience of the now.
You notice the rain is becoming heavier and you see in the distance a very dark grey cloud and you realise it is a storm.
It is still warm around you and the rain is coming down in sheets now but you know the storm is far away and will not be coming near you.
Imagine listening to and watching the storm rolling in the distance.
The rain,
The thunder,
The roar and the power.
You have a sense of excitement in the pit of your stomach,
A sense of life and all its rawness right here all around you.
레agues Take a deep breath in and have a sense of that raw energy around you.
You are here,
Awakened and alive.
Is that so?
The rain begins to stop.
You stand and breathe in deeply the beautiful fresh air all around you.
You feel dynamic,
Alert and ready.
You feel good.
Bring yourself back now to your surroundings where you are right now.
Become aware of the space around you where you are.
Gently lift your shoulders up to your ears on the next inhale and then drop them on the exhale.
Do this again a couple more times to bring yourself back into your body.
Do whatever feels right to you now to bring your attention fully back to your senses.
That might be to move your fingers and toes,
Move your head slowly from side to side or just wriggle the body around a little.
And when you are ready,
Open your eyes.
Thank you.
