Welcome to this guided meditation based on the Mind Illuminated meditation training system.
This track is designed to be listened to repeatedly,
Helping you establish a consistent and diligent meditation practice.
While there is a good amount of guidance provided,
There will also be periods of silence for you to practice the prompts on your own.
This allows you to gradually become more independent in your meditation practice.
This track can be listened to over and over again until you feel a sense of mastery over the skills.
Today we will be focusing on stage 1 practice,
Aimed at developing a regular meditation routine.
This is the kind of meditation that you can return to when you fall off track,
When you find that you don't have consistency in your practice.
And you can come back to this daily,
Or return to it as often as you like.
Before we even start thinking about the meditation object,
We are going to prepare ourselves with a 6 point preparation for meditation.
This preparation helps us set a strong foundation for our practice by addressing our motivation,
Goals,
Expectations,
Diligence,
Distractions and posture.
So to start,
Let's look at motivation.
Take a moment to review your motivation for meditating today.
Be honest with yourself and accept your reasons without judgement.
For example,
You might think,
I want more peace of mind.
It doesn't matter.
Whatever your motivation is,
Acknowledge it and let it guide your practice.
Point 2 is goals.
So next we want to decide on a simple,
Reasonable goal for this specific session.
This helps to provide direction and focus.
For instance,
You might set a goal like,
I will not get annoyed when my mind wanders.
Keep it simple and achievable.
The third point is expectations.
Bring to mind the dangers of having expectations.
It's important to be gentle with yourself and to remember that there is no such thing as bad meditation.
The key is to find enjoyment in every session,
Regardless of the outcome.
This attitude helps to cultivate a positive and accepting mindset.
Point 4 is diligence.
Resolve to practice diligently for the entire session.
Diligence means engaging wholeheartedly in the practice rather than spending your time on the cushion planning or daydreaming.
Recall that the best way to overcome resistance is simply by continuing to practice without judging yourself.
Point 5,
Distractions.
Perform a quick mental inventory of potential distractions in your life.
Acknowledge these thoughts and emotions and set the intention to set them aside during your meditation.
Of course,
You may not be wholly successful in keeping these distractions at bay,
But planting the seed of intention is an important step.
And the sixth point,
Finally,
Is to review your posture and to get comfortable.
So ensure your head,
Neck and back are aligned,
Your shoulders are even,
Your hands are level,
Close your lips,
Breathe naturally through your nose,
And relax your body like a lump of soft clay,
Solid and stable but pliant.
This helps to minimize physical distractions.
Now that we have prepared our mind for meditation,
We are going to move a gradual four-step transition to our meditation object,
Which ultimately will be the breath at the nose.
This transition that we are going to go through helps to calm the mind and focus our attention.
Some would argue that this transition to the meditation object is even more important than the final stage of focusing on the object.
This is not something we need to get through to start meditating,
This is meditation.
Remember that there will be periods of silence during this practice to allow you to deepen your experience with each prompt.
So step one in the transition to the meditation object is to focus on the present.
Close your eyes and just become fully present.
Open your peripheral awareness to take in everything presented to the senses.
Allow your attention to move freely among sounds,
Bodily sensations,
Smells,
Or thoughts you may experience,
But stay in the present moment.
If your attention is captured by thought,
Gently return to the present.
This step helps to establish an open,
Relaxed awareness.
I'll give you a few minutes of silence to focus on the present now.
Step two,
We'll be focusing on bodily sensations,
So now limit your attention to bodily sensations.
Let everything else slip into peripheral awareness.
Allow sounds,
Smells,
And thoughts to come and go without focusing on them.
When you notice your attention drifting to a sound or thought,
Gently bring it back to the body.
This step helps to ground our awareness in the body.
I'll give you a few minutes now of focusing on bodily sensations.
Step three,
We'll be focusing on bodily sensations related to the breath.
Without suppressing anything else,
Just restrict your attention,
The focal point,
To the sensations of movement produced by breathing around your nose,
Face,
Chest,
Abdomen.
Have a general sense of the movement of breath.
Notice the invigorating sensation during the in-breath and the relaxing sensation during the out-breath.
This step helps to anchor our attention to the breath.
I'll give you a few minutes now to focus on the bodily sensations related to the breath.
In step four,
We'll focus on the sensations of the breath at the nose.
So direct your attention to the sensations produced by the air moving in and out of your nostrils.
Identify where these sensations are clearest,
Inside the nostrils,
At the tip of the nose,
Or on the upper lip,
Or elsewhere.
Keep your attention in this area,
Maintaining peripheral awareness of background sensations.
We want to keep our attention on this area,
But we also don't want to suppress peripheral awareness.
It's okay to keep our peripheral awareness on background sensations,
While at the same time aiming our attention at the sensations at the nose.
This step helps to refine our focus on the meditation object.
Now that we have transitioned to our meditation object,
We will spend the remainder of our session focusing on the sensations of the breath at the nose.
We can begin by counting each breath,
With the goal of reaching ten consecutive breaths without interruption.
If your attention slips or you lose count,
Start over from one.
The goal is to follow the sensations continuously.
Counting helps to stabilize our attention.
When we can reach ten consecutive breaths,
We can stop counting altogether.
Aim for continuous attention where you are aware of each inhale and exhale.
Place the count number in the pause at the end of the out-breath to keep your mind on task.
If you have difficulty reaching ten,
Adjust your goal to five breaths.
Once successful,
Continue observing the breath sensations without counting.
The counting is just a tool to help us stabilize the mind.
Now just follow the inhale and exhale,
The sensations at the nose,
While also not trying to suppress anything in your peripheral awareness.
It's okay,
It can be there.
If you notice that your mind becoming agitated,
You can start another ten count.
Then you return to the breath.
And then when you reach ten,
You can drop the counting.
If you notice that you have long periods of mind-wandering,
You can return to the four-step transition.
So you can briefly focus on bodily sensations,
Then on general breath sensations,
And then return to counting the breaths at the nose.
This helps to gently bring our attention back to the meditation object.
At this stage of meditation,
We are not judging our practice or the way that we're using awareness.
If it helps to visualize something when you breathe in and out,
And that helps you remain focused on the breath,
That's 100% fine.
You may want to break the breath cycle up and notice in particular the endings and beginnings of each breath.
So the beginning and ending of the inhale and the beginning and ending of the exhale.
And remember,
Throughout the practice,
Maintain peripheral awareness.
While your attention is at the sensations of the breath at the nose,
You're still open to any background thoughts,
Sounds,
Or sensations without letting them distract you from the breath.
This helps to cultivate a balanced and inclusive awareness.
As we conclude our session,
Take a moment to reflect on your practice.
Mastering stage one means you never miss a day of practice,
Except when absolutely unavoidable.
And you rarely procrastinate or spend your time on the cushion doing something besides meditating.
This stage is actually the most difficult to master,
But it can be done in a few weeks by following the basic instructions and cultivating the right attitude.
You will develop joyful effort and diligence,
Establishing a regular daily practice.
Recognize that every session,
Regardless of perceived quality,
Contributes to your overall progress in meditation.
The time and effort put into mastering the stage will pay off far beyond anything you can imagine.
Gently bring your awareness back to your body and the room around you.
Take a few breaths,
Stretch if you need to,
And open your eyes.
Thank you for joining this guided meditation.
May you continue to develop a consistent and diligent practice,
Bringing peace and clarity into your life.
