Hello there,
I'm Jeffrey Hunter.
Welcome to Being Human.
We're going to take this opportunity to return to examine some of the basics of meditation,
And how it is possible,
Even easier,
To meditate if you struggle with focusing on one thing for longer than a moment or two.
Meditation is a practice,
And like all humans who meditate,
Their minds will drift away from the objects of focus,
Regardless of what that object is.
It could be your breath,
A visualization,
Or a mantra.
All humans will have random thoughts pop into their minds that will cause them to lose focus.
Therefore,
The actual practice of meditation is not necessarily being able to sit silently,
Contemplating one's own breath for hours on end.
The practice is recognizing when one's mind has drifted away,
And kindly,
Without judgment,
Bringing it back to your chosen object of focus.
So,
In a way,
If you have a hard time maintaining your focus,
You have exactly what it takes to develop the practice of meditation.
That is,
To kindly,
And without self-judgment,
Notice when your focus has shifted,
And bring it back to your chosen object of focus.
Today,
Let's start with the simple practice of focusing on one's breath.
Our breath is often chosen as the object of focus because it is always with us.
Focusing on your breath may work well for you,
Or it may not,
But either way,
You will be gaining meditation practice.
Take a moment to ensure you're comfortably seated,
Or in another posture that you find comfortable.
You may wish to start with your eyes closed,
Or you may choose to leave them open.
If leaving your eyes open feels more comfortable for you,
Allow your gaze to soften.
Let's begin by taking a slow,
Deep breath through your nose.
As you are drawing your breath in,
Sense where you'd notice it the most.
For some,
It will be the cool movement of air through your nostrils.
For others,
It may be the expanding of the chest or belly.
As you allow yourself to exhale again,
See if it's possible to sense where you'd notice this in your body.
Continue to take slow,
Deep breaths,
And gently turn your relaxed focus to where you'd notice the breath in your body the easiest.
It may be in one part of your body today,
And another part of your body tomorrow,
And that's perfectly fine.
There is no need to be overly analytical.
Simple is good.
Let's take the next four breaths together with our attention on the part of our body where you feel the breath the easiest.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Now,
Allow your breath to return to a calm,
Relaxed rhythm that feels comfortable.
While continuing to notice where in our body we feel the inhale and the exhale,
You can begin to count your breaths.
Inhale one,
Exhale and.
Inhale two,
Exhale and.
Inhale three,
Exhale and.
Simply count your breaths up to four,
And then start again at one.
As a human being,
When you notice that your mind has wandered,
Congratulate yourself for noticing.
And kindly and gently begin counting your next inhale as one,
And exhale as and.
Inhale two,
Exhale and.
Continue with inhale one,
Exhale and.
Inhale two,
Exhale and.
Inhale three,
Exhale and.
Inhale four,
Exhale and.
And back to one.
Continue counting your breathing at a comfortable and relaxed pace while noticing where in your body you feel your breath.
As a human,
Congratulate yourself for noticing when your mind has wandered,
And gently bring it back.
Bring it back to counting and feeling your breath.
An external distraction,
Like the sound of a car or a noise from someone walking by,
May draw your attention away,
Which is fine.
When you have noticed this,
Again congratulate yourself on noticing your attention has moved off,
And kindly returning it to your counting.
Inhale one,
Exhale and.
Inhale two,
Exhale and.
Inhale three,
Exhale and.
Inhale four,
Exhale and.
Back to one.
If your attention has wandered,
Congratulations for noticing.
And now gently bring it back to your breath.
Let us now take a series of slightly slower and deeper breaths.
I will count for you,
So you'll be fully able to sense the feeling of each breath in your body.
Inhale one,
Exhale and.
Inhale two,
Exhale and.
Inhale three,
Exhale and.
Inhale four,
Exhale and.
Okay,
Very good.
Allow your breathing to return to a comfortable rhythm,
And you can stop counting your breaths.
Take a moment to check in with your body.
Simply notice what,
If any,
Feelings or sensations have come up.
You may notice one or two,
Or nothing specific,
And that's okay.
As we slowly draw this practice to an end,
Congratulate yourself again for noticing when your attention wandered,
And notice how kind you were to yourself when you gently brought your attention back to your breath.
If your eyes are closed,
When you're ready,
Slowly open them.
Feel free to stay seated or in whatever comfortable posture you're in as you allow yourself to slowly and gently start to bring some movement back into the rest of your body.
Maybe by slowly gently wiggling your toes,
Or allowing your fingers and hands to gently move.
As you start to get ready to move on with the next part of your day,
Allow yourself to be proud of your practice today.
If you noticed you were distracted 50 times or only 5 times,
What is important is that you noticed,
And were able to kindly bring your attention back.
Well done.
Until next time,
This is Jeffrey Hunter.
Welcome to Being Human.
