So allowing the eyes to soften or maybe even close fully.
And seeing if we can allow the body to just settle into this kind of dignified upright position.
Maybe lengthening the spine.
Just bringing attention first to the body sitting here.
Noticing the weight of the body,
The position of the body.
Noticing the relative stillness of the body.
And then allowing the attention to kind of naturally gravitate to the place in the body where you can really notice the sensations of breathing.
It's almost like a leaf kind of falling and just resting on the ground there,
Somewhere in the body.
Perhaps the abdomen or the chest,
The throat,
The nostrils.
Somewhere where you can really sense the breathing in and the breathing out.
Maybe it's the temperature,
Coolness of the air going in through the nostrils or the warmth going out.
The expansion of the rib cage or the contraction of the belly.
See if you can establish an anchor for your attention.
Just picking one place in the body.
Whenever I get lost,
Here's where I'm coming back to.
Just feeling the sensations of the breath here.
Just tuning in now to the sensations.
Notice the breath just always is happening.
Just always evolving,
Shifting and changing from in-breaths to out-breaths.
And seeing if you can just place a very soft,
Simple mental note as soon as you notice the beginning of the next in-breath,
Breathing in.
The next out-breath,
Breathing out.
Keeping the sensations of breathing in and breathing out in the forefront.
Just having that soft,
Quiet mental note in the background.
See if you can account for every moment of the breath by covering it with this label that helps you remember,
Pay attention to the sensations.
See if you can just place a very soft,
Simple mental note as soon as you notice the beginning of the next in-breath,
Breathing in.
Just having that soft,
Quiet mental note as soon as you notice the beginning of the next in-breath,
Breathing out.
And notice right now,
Is my attention on the breath or was it somewhere else?
And if it is somewhere else,
Just bringing some curiosity,
Not too quickly coming back to the breath,
But just where was it?
Where was my attention?
If it's lost in thought,
Just noting that,
Thinking,
Thinking.
Planning,
Planning.
Now that we see it clearly,
We can come back,
Remember the breath is still here,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
And notice right now,
Is my attention on the breath or was it somewhere else?
As soon as we notice it's no longer with the breath,
Inquiring,
Where is my attention?
Is it lost in thought?
If so,
What kind of thought?
Maybe my mind is judging,
Judging.
Regretting,
Regretting.
Touching it lightly with a label,
Seeing it clearly for what it is,
A thought.
Coming back.
Distracted by sounds,
Simply hearing,
Hearing.
Or by thoughts about sounds,
Judging,
Judging.
Breath is still here.
Breath is still here.
The more we get distracted and we can label it,
The more practice we have in unhooking.
See if you can account for every moment.
Soft mental label.
The more we get distracted and we can label it,
The more practice we have in unhooking.
The more we get distracted and we can label it,
The more practice we have in unhooking.
The more we get distracted and we can label it,
The more practice we have in unhooking.
And as this meditation comes to an end,
Seeing if this practice can keep going,
Even into your daily life,
From time to time,
Catching.
Where is my attention?
What is my mind saying?
Labeling it.
Oh,
There's the thought.
There's thinking.
See more clearly,
I can more easily choose if following this thought is going to be helpful for me.
So if we're distracted,
Just coming back to the breath,
Maybe taking a deeper in-breath,
Out-breath.
And finding some movement as we open the eyes.
