Welcome to this meditation on Focus,
Flow,
And Let Go with Jonathan Faust.
In this practice,
You'll be exploring focus or concentration as a way of gathering attention.
You'll explore sensitizing yourself to flow as a way of cultivating your capacity to observe without judgment.
Toward the end of this meditation,
You'll explore letting go,
Investigating a quality of spacious awareness.
I find this practice to be helpful for bringing me into both a sense of balance and the quality of spacious allowing.
As you're ready,
You might now begin to deepen and lengthen your breath.
You may find it helpful to count the length of the inhalation.
Exhaling fully now and breathing in slowly to the count of four.
Exhale to the count of four and inhale to the count of four.
Exhale to the count of four.
And continue on your own matching the length of the inhalation with the length of the exhalation.
And let all of your attention focus on the movement of the breath inside.
When you naturally notice the mind wandering,
Bring it back to the task at hand,
Matching the length of the in-breath with the length of the out-breath.
On the next exhalation,
Relax control of the breath.
And at the same time,
Sense if you can retain this sense of deep intimate connection with the breath.
The breath is effortless and free-flowing.
And you might draw your attention to the breath at the nostrils,
Either at the rim of the nostrils or at the septum.
And notice if you can retain this sense of intimate connection and focus on the breath.
Refreshing your attention onto breath,
Notice if you can at the same time relax just a little bit,
Relax the muscles of the face.
Could you relax your tongue in a way that it fills your lower jaw?
Could you soften your belly,
Lower back and buttocks?
Could you soften and feel the palms,
The soles of the feet?
Deeply relax and at the same time alert.
Focus or concentration is a dynamic way of gathering your attention.
And you may find a quality arising in your practice as you both relax and focus,
A quality of the observer or the witness,
Your capacity to observe everything that is happening without judgment.
And you may sense a quality of background and foreground.
You are feeling the breath in the foreground and in the background a heightened sense of flow or the stream of everything that is changing.
And you might,
If it feels right for you,
Relax or soften your grip on the breath.
Explore this quality of open monitoring,
Noticing everything that is moving and shifting and changing in your experience.
From time to time it may be helpful to refresh your sense of the breath,
But then allow yourself to widen and broaden your attention to this perception of flow or the stream.
Prepare yourself,
Remember the gong,
With this pleasant sound or this relaxing time,
In this moment,
In this very thin stream,
In the fatigued floor room.
For this from time to time if it feels right for you,
Rinse with it.
From time to time,
You might explore these two questions.
What is my experience right now?
Can I let it be?
From time to time,
It can be helpful to refresh the practice.
Draw your attention back to the breath and feel how intimately you can sense the breath.
As you wish,
Let your attention broaden and widen and again take the seat of the witness,
The one who is aware,
Noting how intimately you can sense what is changing in your experience.
Focus is a gathering of your attention.
Flow helps you assume the seat of the witness,
Your capacity to observe without judgment.
You might explore now this quality of flow or letting go,
Releasing all technique.
Again relax the tongue,
Let it fill the lower jaw.
Could you soften the belly?
Could you relax and soften the palms and the soles of the feet?
Exploring a quality of effortless awareness,
What could relax or soften or let go right now?
What could relax or soften or let go even more than that?
Relax and at the same time alert,
Resting in presence,
Spacious and allowing.
Noise is very close to your facial unknown and all 3 elements我也 What is your experience right now?
How can you let this be?
Taking in a long,
Slow,
Deep inhalation.
Fully relax on the out-breath.
How intimately can you feel the breath on the inside right now?
And sensing this quality of non-judging awareness,
The quality of presence right now.
Sensing what has shifted in this meditation.
You might,
With your eyes closed,
Let your head drift a little bit from side to side.
Sense the movement from the inside and let awareness spread through the body.
Let your body respond and move in any way that feels most pleasurable to you.
Sensing this level of rest.
And reflecting on what calls your attention as you move back into activity.
As you're ready,
You can deepen your breath and let your eyes open.
