Welcome.
Following is a recorded mindfulness meditation.
The intention of cultivating quiet together,
Shared experience of meditation.
So begin by finding comfort where you are.
For some of you that might look like comfort in the dedicated spot for meditation.
But allow that comfort to come wherever you find yourself,
Knowing that you don't need anything special to practice meditation.
And that simplicity is the foundation for that which connects us all.
And allow your shoulders to soften.
Allow your body to feel more settled towards the floor,
Towards the earth.
Rounding down into just this experience.
Allow the muscles in your face to soften.
Your jaw,
Mouth,
Cheek,
Forehead.
Allowing your eyes to either close or just gaze gently down in front of you.
And then begin to notice the breath.
And again,
There may be something specific,
Some purposeful elongation of breath that works for you.
Otherwise,
Just allow your breath to be as it is.
Gentle rising and falling.
Gentle up and down.
Just patient and paced.
Know where you need to go.
Simply breathing,
Knowing that you're breathing.
Knowing that as you breathe,
So do all of us.
We are connected in this simple action of breath.
There's nothing special about it.
Nothing transcendent.
Allowing it to be just as it is.
Just breathing in and breathing out.
And if your mind has wandered elsewhere,
No big deal.
That's to be expected.
Guide yourself back to the breath.
Knowing that extractability of the mind,
Fragmented state,
Also something that is intrinsically human,
Connects us all.
Right alongside that ability,
That thinking.
You are just breathing.
Simply breathing.
And again,
Your mind might wander.
Might start to remind you of certain aspects of yourself,
Your day,
Your life.
That's okay.
Just images across the screen.
Variation,
Color,
Shape,
And ego,
Personhood.
Right alongside all of that complexity of who you are.
Bringing your attention back just to the breath.
That which is most simple.
Feeling the peace of this.
The comfort.
Simply being with your breath.
Allowing that to connect you with all the others on this planet.
They too are breathing in.
Breathing out.
A few more moments here.
Once again,
If your mind has gone elsewhere,
Added a certain complexity to the scene,
That's okay.
Certain beauty in that.
Right now we are connecting to that which is rounded.
That which is simple.
That which is universal and shared.
And then gently begin to bring your attention back to the room around you.
Starting just by noticing the temperature of air on your skin.
Any sounds that you hear.
Eyes are closed.
Gently open them now.
Taking in the colors and the shapes around you.
Allowing there to be a gentle smile.
As you easily integrate back into your individual experience.
Knowing that this comfort of shared simplicity,
Rounded breath,
Is always there for you to connect back to.
The humans around you as reminders of that.
