Find a comfortable seated position and see if you can discover a posture that is relaxed while you remain upright.
You may find your seat in a chair or even on the couch.
Allow yourself to sit tall while still experiencing ease.
If you are comfortable with closing the eyes,
You now have an invitation to do so.
If the eyes remain open,
Allow your gaze to softly rest forward.
Begin to notice in a general way how you're feeling in this moment.
How is your body feeling?
How is the mind?
How is your energy today?
Just a general awareness here.
See if you're able to bring a little more sense of ease into this experience and allow yourself to receive the moment exactly as it is.
Offer yourself a bit of gentleness through a soft and supportive breath.
Receiving this moment as it is.
Become aware of the body,
The posture,
And how it feels to be seated in this moment.
Become aware of the breath,
Receiving the breath and releasing the breath.
With each breath,
Become aware of expansion and a soft settling.
Presence may feel like a passive or even unproductive experience.
But in actuality,
It is a very active experience.
Presence asks of your full attention.
Presence ensures you are fully experiencing life in the moment.
The very moment being the only space in time that truly exists.
Be here in presence with the body and with the breath.
Allow yourself to experience the subtle sensations that exist within this moment.
The body being.
The breath being.
Notice how even in stillness there is movement.
In your stillness,
Experience the movement of breath.
Experience the movement of your attention as it follows my words.
You are present to the moment.
You are settling into and becoming one with the moment.
Again,
Reconnect with the entire body as it's seated.
Notice the structure of the body.
Feel the body as it sits upright.
What do you sense in the moment?
What do you feel in the moment?
Consider what you sense and what you feel and notice if you've placed any labels on sense and feeling.
See if you're able to sense and feel on the basis of sensing and feeling.
No labels.
No words.
Sensing.
Feeling.
Being fully present to this experience of sensation and feeling in this moment.
You may experience this as a simple task.
You may notice this to be a challenge.
Either way,
Become aware of the experience and become present to the experience.
See if you can acknowledge whatever is happening in the moment in a non-judgmental way.
With no labels.
No descriptions.
No words to describe the experience.
Just being,
Sensing,
And feeling.
Be aware of the different sensations,
Feelings,
And even thoughts that arise.
Allow them to come and go without concern.
Presently sensing and presently feeling.
There may be moments when the mind wanders and pulls you away from the present moment.
See if you're able to recognize this experience and receive it with non-judgmental awareness.
Allow yourself to be the one you witness.
As you continue to experience the body and the breath through sensing and feeling,
Know that your experience is universal.
The mind and its tendency to pull you away from sensing and feeling in the present is a collective experience.
Notice what happens when you sense that you're not alone in the challenge to stay fully present.
To be with the sensations and feelings of the body and of the breath.
Take this moment to come back home to the body.
Practicing presence with the sensation and feeling that exists within this moment.
Allow yourself a few moments to explore this experience.
Whatever your experience is here in this moment,
It is perfectly acceptable.
You are here with the body,
With the breath,
Sensing and feeling.
Practicing presence.
Being aware in a mindful and non-judgmental way.
Rest your attention now on the base of your tailbone.
At the crown of your head.
And now in the center of your chest.
Rest all of your attention at the center of your chest.
And as you do so,
Consider the universal truth that we as a collective all experience both presence and distraction.
You will have moments of pure presence as well as moments of distraction.
Your attention will be pulled away from time to time.
This is the universal nature of the mind.
Rather than becoming frustrated or agitated with the experience.
Allow yourself to become aware of the experience.
To witness the experience in a non-judgmental,
No labels,
No words way.
Just pure awareness.
This wise perspective will encourage compassion,
Clarity and a sense of calm.
Consider what phrase you will speak to yourself when you recognize the mind pulling your attention away from the moment.
Maybe this phrase is simply something like,
I am sensing my breath now.
Take a few moments to explore this concept.
Look to this moment with patience,
Understanding and with care.
Presence is an active practice.
Be kind to yourself as you explore the practice of presence.
When you feel ready,
Allow your eyes to open if they have been closed.
If the eyes have been open through the practice.
Softly shift your gaze.
Begin to notice how you feel.
Notice if there is a stronger sense of awareness and presence in this moment and in yourself.
Whatever you are experiencing.
Just allow yourself to be non-judgmentally aware of what you're experiencing.
And allow this mindful and conscious act to move with you for the remainder of your day.
