Try Out 'See, Hear, Feel'

This guided meditation of the Unified Mindfulness technique "See, Hear, Feel" will lead you through an exploration of your sensory experiences in a structured way.

You'll be focusing on what you see, both internally on your 'mental screen' and externally observing the visual aspects of your environment, such as light, color, and shapes. You will also tune in to your hearing, both as a mental sound like thought or external, by noticing different types of sounds and their qualities. And, you'll pay attention to bodily sensations, such as touch, pressure, or sensations in the body that are clearly linked to emotion, helping you cultivate awareness of your experiences in the present moment.

Transcript

Let's explore the UM technique see,

Hear,

Feel.

So I invite you to take a meditation posture that feels both relaxed and alert to you.

Maybe that's lying down,

Sitting,

Standing,

Maybe your eyes are open,

Maybe they're closed.

It's up to you.

Relax your shoulders,

Relax your face.

And we begin by checking in with these three sense categories.

C,

Bring your attention to visual experience.

Is it active or is it restful?

If it's active maybe there are images in your mind or maybe you're noticing objects in your experience if your eyes are open.

Is it restful?

Is there nothing in mind,

No images?

Or are you not noticing visual experience?

Maybe it's a soft gaze,

It's restful.

And then hear,

Bring your attention to your auditory experience.

Is it active?

Is it restful?

Is there mental talk happening?

Are there sounds outside?

Or is it restful?

Is there a lack of mental talk?

Is there a lack of sound outside?

And feel,

Bring your attention to your somatic experience.

Is it active or restful?

Are you noting emotion in your body?

Or are you noting a sense of peacefulness?

Is there a particular physical sensation happening?

Or is there a restfulness in that area?

Now as we begin see,

Hear,

Feel,

Allow your attention to move freely between the three sense categories.

When your attention is drawn to something,

Note that and then label it.

See,

Hear or feel.

Remain with that for a few seconds and then allow your attention to move freely again.

And we repeat this.

Remember that we're noticing states that are both restful and active.

So if you're noticing your muscles relaxing,

That's feel as well,

Even though it's a restful experience.

Now when it comes to concentration,

I'd like you to place your full attention on whatever it is you're attending to right now.

By placing your full attention here,

You're developing your concentration.

If you notice that you've become lost in thought,

That's okay.

If you remember what you were noticing before you got lost,

It's okay to label late.

So maybe that was,

I hear a car passing by on the street and then we were lost in thought.

It's okay to label,

Ah here,

Because we heard that car.

And also by returning to your object,

Returning to what you were doing,

You are again developing your skill of concentration.

Now in order to grow clarity,

I want you to focus on whatever it is you're with right now and try to see more detail about it.

Get clear on the exact location of where you might feel it and notice the detail in your experience.

This helps to grow sensory clarity.

And our third attention skill of equanimity,

This can be developed by allowing your attention to move,

Especially if you're more accustomed to keeping it still,

And doing that with a sense of ease.

It can also be if you're lost in thought and you return to your meditation object,

Whatever that might be,

Doing that with a sense of ease.

Again that's equanimity.

If you're feeling sleepy,

Open your eyes a little.

Maybe adjust your posture so that it feels more alert.

As our guidance comes to a close,

Just take a moment to notice any rewards.

Are you feeling more grounded,

Maybe a little more calm than when we started?

Let's take these feelings and this technique from our practice and into the rest of our experience.