Find a posture that allows you to be present,
Alert and also at ease.
You might check and see what parts of your body could relax a little bit more right now.
Bring into your shoulders,
Softening your hands and maybe sensing an expansiveness in the chest.
And then if you like,
Bring your awareness to the movement of your breath,
Letting your attention collect and settle with each cycle of breath,
Sensing that you can relax with your breath,
Or settling your attention with any other anchor you're working with,
Perhaps sound or your hands.
And let your anchor be in the foreground for a time,
Sensing the other waves of experience in the background,
Physical sensations arising in your body,
Sounds.
As we start to bring our awareness to our thinking mind,
Imagine you're a cat at the edge of a pond,
Looking down at some small fish swimming there,
Alert,
Curious and intentional.
Keep a keen eye out for any thought that might arise.
When you notice a thought,
Allow your anchor to relax into the background and bring that thought into the foreground to give it your attention for a moment.
And the invitation here is to gently note,
Oh,
Here's a thought.
And you might notice it drift by like a bird or dissolve like a cloud under the sunlight of your awareness.
And when the thought has passed or it's less compelling,
Then pause for a moment and relax open again to what is right here,
Sounds,
Sensations,
Your breath.
And then you can return your attention to your anchor for a few more moments until the next thought arises.
When you notice the arising of another thought,
You might again simply note thinking,
Thinking.
Or you might go on to name the kind of thought,
Noting whether it concerns the past,
Present or future.
Or maybe naming gently planning,
Remembering,
Judging,
Obsessing.
And take a pause.
See if you can notice the difference between being caught in a thought and being right here with your life in this moment.
And then relaxing again back to your anchor.
Remember that our mind secretes thoughts the way our body secretes enzymes.
There may be a lot of thoughts or not many.
Either way,
It's okay.
Just bring your awareness to whatever arises.
Relaxing the process again and again with each thought of noting or naming.
Relaxing back to this moment and sensing the aliveness that's here.
And then returning to your anchor.
Some thoughts have a strong emotional pull where they don't dissolve so easily.
It's okay.
See if you can again guide yourself back to this moment,
The sounds around you,
Your breath,
Your body.
And you might notice where your attention is now.
If your mind was wandering in thought,
Just appreciate this as a moment of awakening.
Of bringing that thought up above the line of awareness and with friendliness,
Presence.
Relaxing back open again.
Understanding the difference between what is right here and being caught up in a thought.
And you can bring your anchor back now to the foreground again and just sense the gentle waves of the background experience of your thoughts,
Sounds,
And sensations.
And sense that you can hold it all,
Present and awake.
