Accepting The Present Moment

This is a meditation on accepting the present moment as it is and allowing right now to happen as it is, without resistance. We'll move the awareness through our different senses, and through our thoughts and feelings, allowing them to be however they are right now. Practicing present moment acceptance can help us to experience peace and calmness during our lives, no matter what the outside circumstances.

Photo by Alina Vilchenko

Transcript

This is a meditation on accepting the present moment as it is and just allowing it to happen. We'll move the awareness through our different senses and through our thoughts and feelings, Allowing them to just be however they are right now. And it's natural that as you meditate, Sometimes your mind might wander away to someplace else and other thoughts might come in. But if you do notice that that's happened at any time, Just acknowledge those thoughts and then very gently come back to our area of focus and continue with your meditation. So first of all, Make sure that you're in a comfortable position to meditate. Take any support that you need for your body to make yourself as comfortable as possible so that you won't be distracted by too much physical discomfort during your meditation. You might like to lean against a wall or sit onto a cushion, Or if it feels better, You can do this meditation lying down. And take a moment to look around you to ensure that you are in a safe place to meditate, Where you won't be distracted and where you are safe to just be with your experience for the next few minutes. Once you're sure that you're comfortable, Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Watch the breath as it flows in and out of your body. Just observe the movement. Feel the air flowing in through the nostrils, Down into the lungs, And feel it flowing back out again. There's no need to analyze the breath or to try to change it. Just watch it and feel it exactly as it is. And feel it exactly as it is. Allow the breath to happen naturally, Exactly as it wants to breathe right now. And now feel into your body and observe how your body is feeling right now. Feel the physical sensations, The feeling of your body resting against the surface beneath you, The feeling of the air against your skin, And your clothing against your skin. Acknowledge the presence of any tension or physical discomfort. Again, There's no need to analyze what you're feeling or why you're feeling it. Just observe and feel whatever's there. Allow your body to feel what it's feeling exactly as it is right now. And just watch. Move your awareness into your mouth and notice any tastes that are present inside your mouth. Again, We're not analyzing the taste or worrying about where it's coming from. Just taste whatever's there. Allow that taste to be there, Exactly as it is. Allow that taste to be there, Exactly as it is. And witness it as it happens. Now move your awareness up from your mouth into your nose and observe any smells that are present around you right now. Smell the smells. It doesn't matter where they're coming from. Just smell them and allow them to be there exactly as they are. And from the nose, Move the awareness into the ears and observe any sounds that are happening in your environment. Just observe the sounds without analyzing what they are or where they're coming from. Allow them to happen exactly as they are and just observe. From the ears, Move the awareness to the space between the eyebrows. And as you watch the space between the eyebrows, Observe any thoughts that are passing by in your mind. Just watch the thoughts as they come and go. Observe them passing. There's no need to get involved in what you're thinking about or get carried away with the thought. Just acknowledge that the thoughts are there and allow the natural process of thinking to happen as it happens and observe. And now move the awareness down from the eyebrow center to the center of the chest. And with the awareness at the center of the chest, Notice how you are feeling right now and observe any emotions that are present. There may be emotions coming and going or there may be one feeling that persists. There's no need to analyze what the emotion is or why it's there. Just feel the feeling. Allow that feeling or those feelings to be exactly as they are. Allow the natural process of feeling to happen as you feel and observe. Allow the natural process of feeling to happen as you feel and observe. And we'll spend another few minutes here allowing this moment to be exactly as it is. And now very slowly prepare to end your meditation. Bring your awareness into your hands and your feet and start to make some small movements with your fingers and toes. Make some small circles with your ankles and your wrists. And if you feel like you need to stretch, Give yourself a long stretch. When you are ready, Slowly open your eyes.