This meditation is about becoming established in awareness.
To move from what's often an unconscious conflict-based relationship to life,
To one of peace and harmony.
Settle into a comfortable seat where you can relax and become still.
Allow the breath to flow easily in and out through the nostrils.
Begin taking slow,
Easeful breaths in through the nostrils and enjoy a prolonged and slow exhale,
Allowing it to be longer than the inhale.
Each time you exhale,
Slow the breath down so it becomes a long steady stream.
Continue.
Begin to feel gravity accompanying this experience.
Combined with a long exhale,
Feel the continual invitation to settle even more into your seat and to let go.
Through each prolonged exhale,
Feel gravity inviting you to let go even more.
Feel the sustained exhale like a wave of relaxation that washes through the whole body.
Bring your attention to the crown of your head.
Relax your whole scalp.
Relax your forehead.
Relax all of the muscles in your face.
Relax your jaw and tongue.
Relax your throat and neck.
Allow your shoulders to grow heavy,
Arms comfortably resting.
Relax your chest and upper back.
Relax your abdomen.
Feel your hips heavy,
Grounding your seat and allow both legs to relax.
Allow both feet to relax,
The whole body becoming steady and calm.
Now guide the movement of your breath into abdominal breathing.
Emphasize drawing your inhale all the way down into the abdomen.
Let the belly fill comfortably with each inhale and when you exhale,
Let the belly empty.
De-emphasize any expansion or movement in the lungs.
Focus the movement primarily in the abdominal region.
Each time you breathe in,
Let there be a fullness that fills the abdomen,
Breath expanding more downward toward the pelvic bowl and the base of the spine.
Bring now another level of refinement to your breath.
Begin to breathe in for a count of four and breathe out for a count of six.
You can count silently.
Inhale for four into the abdomen,
Exhale for a prolonged six counts.
If it's easily available,
You can extend the length of your exhale to a count of eight.
So it's now twice the length of the inhale.
Feel the body becoming even more relaxed and the mind beginning to enter a deeply calm and receptive state.
Now relax your breath.
Relax all of the techniques surrounding your breath.
Bring your awareness to the five senses and feel the five senses as five unique streams of information flowing into your experience.
Each one a window into a unique dimension of the present moment.
Notice that there is a brief moment before you label what you feel,
Where it's just raw sensation,
Raw experience,
Not yet categorized by the mind,
In the moment that it enters the senses.
Place your attention at the very doorway to the senses as the information flows in,
In the precise moment that precedes thinking,
And just feel the potency of what's present.
Now with this sensitivity,
Let's visit the five senses one by one.
First bring your attention to your nostrils and feel the natural and subtle airflow as it travels in and out of the nose.
Feel the gentle breeze of air flowing in and out through each nostril.
Notice that there's a distinction between the in-breath and the out-breath.
The air flowing in is slightly different from the out-breath.
The air flowing in is slightly cooler.
It might have a slightly sharper quality to it.
The air flowing out is warmer,
Perhaps softer.
Bring your attention to your mouth,
To the tongue.
Notice the quality of moisture in the mouth.
Bring your attention now to sight.
Though the eyes are closed,
Become aware of the lightness or darkness in your surrounding environment as it penetrates through the eyelids.
Turn your attention to the surface of your skin,
The skin across the whole body.
Become aware of any sensations in the skin,
Perhaps clothing or temperature,
Perhaps a gentle breeze,
Maybe a soft tingling or an inner warmth.
Bring your attention to sound and just simply listen to the sounds that you hear,
Both nearby and at a distance.
Just listen.
Now sense all five senses at once,
Without labeling.
Just feel the different streams of sensation flowing through as one unified current.
You're just welcoming and releasing them with a breath.
Imagine it's like standing at the edge of a tall cliff overlooking the ocean.
You can feel the ocean breeze as all of the currents of sensation passing through,
Each experience arriving and passing away,
Effortlessly moving through and you just let it all flow.
You stand in the breeze of the complete experience,
No comment,
No preference,
No judgment.
Let it move through without any friction,
No attachment,
No resistance.
You're at peace,
Feeling,
Watching,
Allowing.
Now return to awareness of your breath.
Take a slow deep breath in,
Followed by a slow exhale.
Remain in the space of allowing the current of this moment to be just as it is,
Unique and alive,
As you slowly open your eyes and become aware of your environment.
Feel completely at ease,
Appreciative of the extraordinary beauty revealed in each and every detail of your sensory experience.
