Take your meditation chair and feel the support of the cushion.
As it supports us in our practice.
And let any tensions that are with us to just melt away.
And as we do that,
We allow our attention to drape gently over the breath.
As we breathe in and we breathe out.
Periodically our attention will be pulled away from the breath by thoughts.
We note where our attention is gone and gently and forgivingly come back to the breath.
As we breathe in and we breathe out.
This will happen many many times during any particular set.
It does with all meditators.
We simply just note where our attention is gone and come back.
It's worth keeping in mind that as soon as we note that our attention is gone,
We're already back on the breath.
As we breathe in and we breathe out.
We establish our breath as the home base or the anchor for our awareness.
For several reasons.
One because it's always ready.
It's always there.
And it's relatively easy for us to set our attention upon.
Meditators will have a bodily sensation that is strong enough to pull us away from the breath.
We note it and gently and forgivingly come back to the breath.
Sometimes that sensation can be strong enough and relentless enough to demand,
If you will,
Our attention.
So we turn our attention towards that sensation,
Making it the centerpiece of our attention and allowing the breath to fall into the sidelines.
As we observe this sensation,
We first recognize what it is.
Pain,
Itch,
Ache,
Quietly and very silently in the back of our minds we make that notation as we did with the thoughts.
And we accept it,
We don't judge it.
Any sensation that arises is perfectly fine and should be accepted as it arises.
We also don't attach a story to it or make that sensation us in a way or identify with it personally.
And then we investigate it.
We look at it with a detached curiosity.
What is it?
What are the characteristics of that sensation?
How big is it?
Is it hard or soft?
Is it static or pulsating?
Is it warm or cold?
What's the exterior of it like?
Is it smooth or rough?
See if we can set our attention inside this energy of the sensation.
What do we see there?
What are the characteristics at that point?
How is it changing?
How is this sensation changing?
Is it moving?
Has it changed size?
Has it changed temperature or color?
Be extremely curious about this sensation.
And always be careful not to assign a judgment to it or a story.
Like this pain will last forever or this is my pain or I'm always in this pain.
We just watch it like a scientist would watch a microbe through a microscope with a wrapped curiosity.
We aren't trying to push this pain away or change it in any way.
We aren't trying to change this sensation.
We are simply changing the way we relate to this pain or sensation.
And as we watch it and observe the characteristics of it,
It can reveal things to us that we never would have expected.
Simply by passively watching and spending some time with it rather than trying to push it away or ignoring it.
Continue to see how this sensation is changing.
Often it will dissolve into a nothingness,
An absence of sensation altogether.
At that point we can bring our attention back to home base,
Back to the breath as we breathe in and we breathe out.
As we cultivate this new relationship with the breath,
With our thoughts and with our sensations,
Let's endeavor to take this new way of relating out into our day so we can restart at any time.
