Hi there,
My name is Joey,
And this meditation is an open awareness meditation.
So,
Get yourself grounded,
Maybe sitting comfortably with your spine straight,
Perhaps on a cushion with your hips elevated,
Or maybe you're lying down for this meditation.
Wherever you are,
See if you can make yourself 5% more comfortable.
And as you settle in,
We'll begin our practice with a deep breath in through the nose,
Filling up the belly,
Opening the mouth and sighing it out.
And again,
Breathe in deeply,
And exhale completely.
It's time to take a deep breath in,
Hold the breath at the top,
Sip in just a little bit more air,
And then let that go.
And if possible,
Seal your lips and let the breath flow freely through the nostrils.
And if it's comfortable for you,
Allow the eyes to settle closed.
And start to take your awareness to any sounds that you might be hearing in the room around you,
Outside of your room,
Starting to become aware of any sound that passes through your ears.
And rather than question why that sound is there,
We're simply going to label that sound as sound,
Rather than focusing on what it is that you're listening to.
Call it hearing,
And begin to shift your awareness to any sensations that you might feel in or on your body,
Anything that you feel.
And rather than question what it is that you're feeling,
Instead simply label that sensation as feeling,
Just feeling,
Whether good or bad,
Passive or agitating,
Feeling,
Feeling.
Now take your awareness to any thoughts that might be passing through your mind.
And instead of fixating on those thoughts,
Instead of allowing those thoughts to grow so big that you can't focus on anything else,
Label them simply as thought or thinking,
Whether it is a perceived good or bad thought,
Doesn't matter.
They are all thoughts,
Just the same.
And so we label them as thinking.
And finally,
Bringing your awareness to your breath,
A sense of expansion and contraction,
Taking and giving,
Pushing and pulling.
Instead of trying to control the breath,
Allow it to be exactly as it is right now,
And label it simply as breathing.
And so we have all of these different senses that we use to experience each moment,
Hearing,
Feeling,
Thinking,
And breathing.
And your attention acts as a sort of flashlight in a dark room.
And as each one of these things is experienced,
The flashlight shines its light on that thing.
So allow your flashlight to shine freely for a moment.
And as it lands on any of these things,
Just label them as hearing,
Thinking,
Feeling,
Or breathing.
And if you notice yourself fixating on any one thing in particular,
That's okay.
That's normal.
Acknowledge when you start to focus in on that thing,
And then allow your flashlight to shine in a different direction.
And if you have wandered away from this moment,
Gently bring yourself back,
Starting to deepen your breath,
Starting to wiggle fingers and toes,
And in your own time,
Fluttering your eyes open,
Coming back into this space,
Back into this room,
Back into this body,
Sitting in a moment of gratitude for taking this time for yourself.
And I thank you for sharing your practice with me,
And I look forward to practicing again with you soon.
Take care.
