So what I want to do today is take us through a little bit of a.
.
.
Sort of a build up towards an open awareness practice.
And so what that means is,
We're going to spend a couple of minutes,
Maybe five minutes or so,
Tuning into each of our senses and really playing with the focus.
Playing with our attention and limiting that attention to specific senses like sight and sound and the body.
And then further.
Majority of the practice after those five minutes,
We're going to open it up to a state of open awareness.
And the sense is that when we're dealing with fear and uncertainty,
Um,
It's really challenging for the way we're wired.
Our brains are predicting machines.
And we're always trying to figure out solutions,
Trying to solve problems,
And that can be very difficult in a situation with such incomplete information.
And so it can be really beneficial to check in with yourself once in a while and explore how is this affecting my body?
What am I noticing around me?
What sort of thoughts are coming up?
And open awareness practice is a great one for that.
So let's get started.
Start by finding a comfortable position.
Something that strikes a balance between being upright and alert.
But also relaxed and open.
You could sit on a chair,
But if you do that,
I still recommend having that upright spine.
So lifting yourself off the back of the chair.
If you lie down because you need to,
Just try to find yourself in a position that's not so comfortable that you might fall asleep.
And if you're new to this,
I really do invite you to just listen and be curious about what we're doing.
And you can choose whether or not to participate.
Or you can choose to follow my guidance.
Um.
.
.
If there's another practice that you'd rather do that you have momentum with,
Feel free to enjoy this space of community and carry forward with whatever momentum you have going.
And for the rest of us.
You can choose to close your eyes if you'd like.
Or you can keep them open,
Staring at a point in front of you,
Whatever feels natural to you.
If it helps,
You can take a deep breath or two.
And let's start by gently placing our attention.
On any sensations you might be noticing in the body.
You might notice tingling.
Or itches,
Or maybe the weight of the body,
The pressure.
Contacting the ground or the chair or the cushion.
No need to judge anything as good or bad.
Just notice what's here in the body.
Right now.
You may find yourself gravitating to a particular body sensation.
Or you may find your attention.
Wandering and bouncing between different sensations you notice.
Either way is fine.
No problem at all.
If your attention gets pulled off to some other experience,
Like a thought or sight or sound,
Just acknowledge that it's not a problem at all.
It's perfectly natural.
And when you notice,
Celebrate that opportunity to choose.
By choosing to come back to whatever you're noticing in the body.
Sometimes we find ourselves.
Resisting.
This concept of distraction.
I'd invite you to try inverting that and see if you can get really curious about the body.
So instead of trying to push away thoughts or push away sounds or distractions.
Just let all that be.
And instead,
Get really curious.
What does it feel like to have a body in this moment?
What does your body feel like?
And if you notice a particular sensation,
Pressure,
Pain,
Tingling.
Really zone in on that sensation.
What does that sensation feel like?
What is its shape?
What is its texture?
Now when you're ready.
Let go of the body and shift your focus area to.
The world outside,
So sounds in your environment.
Any light that might be reaching the eyes.
If your eyes are open,
You might be seeing things.
Your eyes are closed,
You might be seeing a little bit of light on the back of the eyelids,
But.
In either case.
With that same attitude of curiosity.
Noticing whatever is happening in the world outside you right now.
You may find yourself habitually.
Identifying different experiences as good or bad.
Like a certain sound might feel like a welcome distraction while another sound feels like a natural part of the environment.
See if you can shift that.
And allow everything to be a natural part of your environment.
Welcome it all.
Sometimes it helps to get really granular.
And notice.
The sort of trajectory of the experiences in the world.
So noticing when a sound arises.
Noticing how it fluctuates and then noticing the moment where it vanishes.
Same with visual experience,
Noticing how light moves.
Noticing how it arises,
How it vanishes.
Really getting curious about.
The dynamics of your experience in this moment.
And when you're ready.
Letting go of your experience of the outside world.
And taking that exact same approach,
That same.
Curious awareness to the space of your mind.
Noticing as thoughts arise,
Fluctuate,
And pass.
You might notice.
The voice in your head.
Speaking.
Planning.
Strategizing,
Worrying.
You might notice mental images.
Whatever you notice is perfectly fine.
Just bring awareness gently.
And with a sense of love.
To let your mind be.
And simply be aware of whatever's present.
The space of the mind and your thoughts might seem a lot more fleeting and hard to track.
When compared to body sensations in the outside world,
That is perfectly natural.
Nothing to worry about,
Nothing to fix,
No problem to solve there.
Just do what you can to see if you can be aware of the space of your mind in this moment,
Noticing thoughts.
As they come and go.
Sometimes it's helpful to think of your thoughts as an ocean.
And that the waves might be choppy,
They might be crashing down.
Or the water might be relatively still.
But in this practice,
We're in that depth of the ocean,
That place of stillness,
Awareness.
Is the deep calm under the surface.
Whether the water is choppy,
Whether it's waves are crashing down,
Or whether it's still,
No matter what's happening on the surface.
We're able to come and anchor ourselves in this deep calmness and awareness.
To try to observe without judgment what's happening on the surface.
Even if those thoughts are anxious or fearful.
Or stressed.
Aiming to hold space for all of it.
Okay,
Great.
Letting go of all of that for a few moments.
Let's just take a short break.
So you can let go of the practice completely if you want to take a few breaths.
Whatever helps you recalibrate.
Feel free to adjust your posture at any time.
And when you're ready.
Let's open awareness.
To all three areas that we've covered so far.
So the body,
Your body,
Your mind.
And the world outside.
And let it all be as it is,
But bringing that depth of awareness and that curiosity.
In every moment asking,
What is here now?
In some ways.
This quality of open awareness.
Is a radical act of gratitude.
That we can be grateful in this moment for all that we still have.
Our ability.
Feel and experience our body.
Our minds,
And the world outside.
There's no need to put too much effort into this in a sense where We're almost letting our attention wander.
To wherever it may wander,
Whether that's a thought or a sound.
Or some pain or discomfort in the body.
We're just bringing that sense of awareness to notice where the attention is moving.
So we're not forcing our attention to go in any particular direction,
We're letting it flow.
Run amok.
And we're simply.
.
.
Noticing where it goes.
Being aware of what's here.
And for this last minute or so.
See if you can take the opportunity to completely start again.
So bring the same enthusiasm and motivation and inspiration you had.
At the beginning of the practice.
Right back up to the surface,
Reminding yourself why you're here,
Why you're doing this.
Why you feel this is an important way to spend your time.
Amidst this crisis.
And bring all of that into this final minute or two.
As you stay open and aware to whatever you're experiencing in this moment.
No matter what came before this practice and what's coming after.
For the next few moments,
Everything is okay,
Exactly the way it is.
Okay,
Nice work.
So take your time transitioning out of the practice,
No rush at all.
If you need a breath,
You need to stretch.
You need to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Whatever you need.
