Breath, Body, Sound, Emotion, & Stillness

This 20-minute meditation will work with what captures one's attention from breath to sound, body, and then emotions to develop the skill to anchor in awareness as the mind wanders. It will end with a loving-kindness for self and others.

Transcript

Begin this meditation by finding your meditation posture,

Something that is comfortable yet upright,

Relaxed and present.

Notice your body seated here.

Notice the weight and movement and touch sensations of your legs on the chair or the floor.

Let your attention sink into your body.

Feel it from the inside out,

Relaxing and exploring what is here,

What is true for you in this moment.

Let your attention gently come to rest on your breathing.

Your breath is your anchor or your object of attention.

It's your focus that you can always return to.

Feel the gentle rising and falling of your breath coming into your body and the breath leaving your body.

The breath coming into your body and the breath leaving your body.

As the breath enters,

Feel the sensation,

The breath expanding in your abdomen or your chest or the in and out sensation located at the base of your nostrils.

We feel one breath,

Then the next,

Then the next.

It's one breath at a time with curious attention.

What does one breath feel like in this moment?

We can also open our attention to a variety of other experiences when they become predominant or grab our attention,

Become obvious,

More obvious than the breath itself.

You might notice sounds from the outside.

You might notice sounds from the inside,

Inside of your room,

Sounds coming from outside of your room or outside of your location.

You might notice sounds pulling your attention.

Go ahead,

Listen to the sound.

Let go of the breath and follow the sound.

When the sound no longer holds your attention,

Then return your focus,

Your attention back to the breath.

The breath coming in,

The breath coming out.

If a body sensation gets strong,

Begins to pull your attention away from the breath,

Again just let go of the breathing.

Follow the body sensation,

Just go to it naturally.

Feel the sensation.

Notice it.

What happens when you place your attention on it?

Does it grow?

Does it expand?

Does it increase?

Does it shrink?

Does it decrease?

Does it shift into something else?

When the body sensation no longer holds your attention,

Come back to the breathing.

The breath coming into your body,

The breath leaving your body.

It's always available to you,

The breathing in,

The breathing out.

Breathing in,

The breathing out.

If an emotion becomes strong and obvious and grabs your attention,

That can be what you focus on.

Just bring your attention to the emotion,

Letting go of the breath,

Or whatever else you might have been focusing on,

Body sensations or sounds.

And pay attention to the emotion now and feel it in your body.

Investigate in your body how you feel in this emotion.

You might notice some tightness in your belly,

Some clenching in your jaw.

Maybe there's a vibration or tension in your chest.

Maybe your throat feels constricted.

Maybe your face is warm.

There's just all sorts of sensations in our bodies to pay attention to when you're having an emotion.

You can label that emotion.

Maybe it's fear,

Sadness,

Frustration,

Irritation,

Whatever it is,

Just label it.

Feeling in your body what is happening.

Just be with it.

When the emotion no longer has a hold on you or something else has pulled your attention,

You might see a20like a game where you say,

Ais there anything that you wouldn't want to do now?

Why not just lower your attention to the emotion becoming a reality?

If the emotion order altogether,

The result of doing this has a hold on you or something else has pulled your attention,

You can go with that new thing that's pulled your attention.

Maybe it's a new body sensation or a new sound or you can always return to the breathing,

Just coming back to your object of attention,

To your anchor.

Now if thoughts become obvious,

Sometimes thoughts are just in the background,

In which case there's nothing really to do.

Just stay with being with your breath.

Sometimes you might notice that you're lost in thought and you can use the word thinking or wandering and bring your attention back to your breath.

If a thought is repetitive,

You can begin to label the thought,

Remembering,

Planning,

Worrying,

Projecting.

Sometimes the act of labeling thoughts,

They might disappear.

Sometimes they continue on.

If the thought keeps going,

You might want to check into your body and see if there are any sensations to notice along with those thoughts.

Let yourself be free of judgment here.

Let yourself be curious about the thoughts arising,

About them coming and going.

If it feels too much,

You can always return to your breath.

As you do this practice,

Your breath is your anchor or your object of attention.

And no matter what is happening in your awareness,

Whether there's a physical or physical change,

You can always return to your breath.

Whether there's a body sensation or a sound or a thought or an emotion,

You can always find a place to return to.

You might also notice if there is an attitude or mood in your mind,

Like a sense of sleepiness or restlessness or just a general feeling,

Grief or sadness.

Notice that these mental states color your experience.

Can you pay attention to them?

We'll sit now in silence,

Remembering to keep your attention mostly focused on your breath as your main anchor or object.

And if there's a sound or body sensation,

A thought or emotion,

Or obvious mental state,

Then you can just sit down and relax.

And when it has stopped or no longer holds your attention,

Just return back to the breath.

Relax.

Have fun.

And be curious.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and openness and kindness.

We'll try this now for some time in silence.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and openness and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and openness and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

If you find yourself lost in thought,

It's not a problem.

Just relax.

Notice your thinking.

And kindly return your attention back to whatever is happening in this present moment.

You might find that you move from one thing to the next.

There's a sound,

A body sensation,

An emotion or a thought,

And then just return back to your breath.

It's not a problem.

Trust in this natural flow of your experience.

And be with life as it is unfolding in front of us.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

You're exploring your own mindscape with curiosity and kindness.

So once again,

Notice your body here,

Present,

With full awareness.

Notice this experience right now.

Feeling your posture,

Your connectedness to the earth,

To the ground.

And invite some kindness now for yourself.

Wishing yourself well.

Appreciating yourself.

May I be happy.

May I be at ease.

May I be peaceful.

May I be safe and protected from danger.

May I be healthy.

May I be strong.

May I be at ease.

May we all be happy and peaceful and safe and protected,

Healthy,

Strong,

And at ease.