Simply Being: Live Session

In this meditation from a recent live class, tune in with how breath, sounds, thoughts, sensations, and emotions come and go all on their own. Practice noticing all of these arising and passing phenomena with curiosity and kindness while simultaneously being aware of the space from which they all arise.

Recorded Live on 4/10/23

Transcript

And as you're ready you can either close your eyes or gently lower your gaze just whatever allows your attention to go fully inward and just notice your breath notice where you most easily detect your breath entering and leaving your body you might feel a coolness in your nostrils as the air enters and leaves you might notice the rise and fall of your chest and belly just noticing being with your breath allowing it to come and go all on its own this gift of breath we receive when we enter this world and stays with us throughout our lives and you might begin to incorporate the field of sound into your awareness just noting the sounds in your close environment also the spaces between sounds and see how far you can perceive sound in the distance you might notice if the sound is experienced as pleasant unpleasant or neutral just letting the sound come and go all on its own and you can bring your attention to your thoughts to any thoughts in your mind again just perceiving them as things like sound and breath that come and go all on their own if we let them if you would like you can do the practice of naming or noting in which you can gently name your thoughts as they arise and then just let them go for instance something as broad as thinking or if you want to get more specific with naming your thoughts you could name them like remembering remembering or planning planning the idea being that as you name them you're recognizing them and then gently letting them pass or fade one way of calling your thoughts with your physical experience is to give name mentally to breathing so you can use the couplet breathing in i'm aware i'm breathing in and breathing out i'm aware i'm breathing out breathing in aware i'm breathing in breathing out i'm aware i'm breathing out and you might bring your awareness to any sensations that you're experiencing right now if you notice that you have any tension in your body any tightness that you don't need right now you can see if it's possible to soften or just let go whether in your eyes or jaw shoulders tummy or low back just letting go of any tension that you don't need for the next moments that we share in this meditation sometimes it's helpful to do this with the breath so with your inhale you can scan your body with your awareness noticing any tension and with your exhale gently soften your skin around your bones and musculature just letting go letting tension ride out on the exhale and then just letting go letting tension ride out on the exhale and you might notice that your breath naturally deepens as you begin to let go of tension and see if you can locate any area of your body that feels particularly pleasant could be just the feeling of tingling or aliveness in your hands or lips or feet but just a pleasant or neutral part of your body and that place can then be a resource as you scan your body for any areas that might have discomfort or pain just allowing your awareness to make room for all of it but if you find an area of discomfort becomes too intense then you have that area of ease or neutral sensation to go back to maybe just noticing what it feels like to be alive in this body with this changing field of sensation breath coming and going sounds coming and going thoughts coming and going and then tune in with your emotional landscape just noticing the quality of your heart right now does it feel spacious or constricted tender or tight and you might even gently place your hand on your heart as a way of just making room for whatever's there acknowledging the beautiful emotional body that you you experience making room for whatever is arising and holding it all very loosely letting it all come and go all on its own breathing in aware i'm breathing in breathing out i'm aware i'm breathing out and you might begin to notice where there is clinging where there might be a thought or a feeling or an emotion that that seems sticky that wants to hold on and this is a beautiful thing to perceive because it's just a layer of self-knowledge and as you notice any clinging you might gently name it clinging and then you might imagine releasing it like a hot like a hot coal but just allowing your breath to wash through your body with each inhale and with each exhale letting go letting go being awake to this moment breath sound thoughts sensations emotions and then noticing that which holds all of these rising and passing experiences and as you notice anything that comes up for you giving it a spaciousness to just to be and then letting that same spaciousness hold whatever it is so that you don't have to just feeling held and supported coming back to your breath breathing in aware i'm breathing in breathing out i'm aware i'm breathing out just noticing whatever is arising for you simultaneously noticing the field in which it's arising and in our last few minutes of meditation together i'll offer you a series of words that i learned from Thich Nhat Hanh from one of his students it goes with the inhale and the exhale so i'll say breathing in breathing out breathing in deep breathing out slow breathing in breathing in calm breathing out ease breathing in smile breathing out release i am free present moment wonderful moment in out deep slow calm ease smile release i am free present moment wonderful moment once more in out deep slow calm ease smile release i am free present moment wonderful moment and we'll just have about one more minute of this sweet vast spacious place where you've arrived simply being complete welcoming and acceptance of this moment just as it is