A Mindful Microdose

Mindful Microdosing are short practices that immediately calm the mind, relaxes the body, or both.
This practice is called GAP because it is about creating this gap in our day and because the acronym GAP can stand for the state of grounded aware presence. Think of this gap, or state of grounded aware presence as a place you can always return to in yourself, a place where you can feel safe, content, and connected. This is our true home - a place we can return to at any time.

Transcript

Hello,

Welcome.

Today's practice we will be doing what I refer to as a mindful microdose.

This is a short practice that either helps to calm the mind,

Relax the body,

Or both.

This particular meditation I call GAP because it is about creating this gap in our day and because the acronym GAP can stand for the state of grounded,

Aware presence.

You can do this practice either sitting down or standing up.

Begin by simply becoming aware of your body,

Sense its position,

Weight,

And where it is in space.

Center your attention at your base,

Whether it is your seat or your feet,

And feel how your body is being supported by the earth.

Trusting yourself to the earth's solidity,

Let your body really settle and be at ease.

Appreciate the simplicity of being bodily present here and now.

Say to yourself quietly,

Grounded.

Next,

Bring your attention to the area of the head.

You can close your eyes and lower your gaze and concentrate your awareness on your sense of hearing.

Be open and sensitive to any sound from the environment,

Especially the kind of background noise that we don't usually notice at all.

You can note sounds with the simple mental label,

Traffic noise,

Birds singing,

But try not to go into a discursive thought process.

Now,

Try to notice the larger quality of silence from which these contents of sound appear.

Sense the whole space around you,

Extending beyond the walls and what you can see from where you are.

Experience the vast panoramic quality of awareness.

Say to yourself,

Aware.

Now,

Move your attention to the center of your chest.

You can place a hand gently over your heart,

Maybe feeling your heartbeat or the warmth and comfort of your hand,

And experience this quality of presence.

You are simply here,

Alive,

Breathing,

Feeling the miracle of your basic existence.

Your life is happening right now at this very moment.

Softly repeat the word,

Present.

Finally,

Let your attention encompass your whole body and repeat to yourself,

Grounded,

Aware,

Present.

Rest there for a few seconds or longer to strengthen its effect and bask in this stillness.

Then,

Gently open your eyes,

Raise your gaze,

And extend your grounded,

Aware presence to include the environment around you.

Think of this gap or state of grounded,

Aware presence as a place we can always return to in ourselves,

A place where we can feel safe,

Content,

And connected.

This is our true home,

Where you can come back to anytime you feel out of balance,

Overwhelmed,

Preoccupied,

Or confused.