Mindfulness of breathing,
Knowing the mind and working with thoughts.
In this practice we will be exploring the mind,
The quality of the mind and the types of thoughts that go through the mind and how we can come into a different relationship with our thoughts.
Mindfulness does not happen in the brain.
It's an embodied action.
I like how the Canadian cognitive scientist,
Evan Thompson,
Explains this.
He says,
We need a brain to have a human mind,
But our mind isn't inside the brain.
It happens in the relationship between you,
Brain and body and the world,
Society and culture.
And he continues to say,
Here's an analogy.
A bird needs wings to fly,
But the bird's flight isn't inside the wings.
It happens in the relationship between the whole animal and its environment.
Flying is a kind of embodied action.
Mindfulness and what happens in the mind is an embodied action that happens in the relationship between the brain,
Body and our environment.
Beginning now by taking a moment to settle in and to settle down into our posture.
Sensing for the posture that feels more supportive to our practice just now.
Closing the eyes or keeping them open.
If you keep your eyes open,
You may want to soften your gaze.
Perhaps finding a spot in front of you to rest your eyes on.
Noticing the contact points of the body,
The feet with the ground,
The earth beneath.
Noticing the sitting bones,
The hands.
Allowing the whole body to be held by the earth.
Relaxing into the earth.
Dropping down.
Releasing.
Softening the body.
While keeping the upper body upright.
Allowing the spine to lengthen naturally.
With the lower back slightly curved and the head poised on top of the shoulders.
The chin slightly tucked in.
Taking our awareness now deep inside the breath.
Sensing the subtle movements of the breath in the body.
If the breath feels activating for you or unsettles you,
Makes you tense rather than relaxed.
You can choose another object to steady the mind such as the feet,
Hands or sitting bones.
And noticing bodily sensations here.
Keeping our attention on the breath.
Allowing the breath to breathe itself.
The breath is already here.
And now bringing awareness to the quality of the mind with an attitude of curiosity and openness.
Does the mind feel relaxed,
Open,
Free?
Or is it contracted,
Narrow,
Dull?
Does it feel like a tight fist or more like an open hand?
Whatever the mind feels like,
That's what it feels like right now.
And what are some bodily sensations that come with it?
When the mind feels like an open hand,
What does the body feel like?
What is the emotional state of being?
When the mind feels like a tight fist,
What does the body feel like?
What are some emotions?
What about thoughts?
Or perhaps there's an absence of thoughts.
What do you notice?
What happens to the quality of the mind when we bring kindly,
Open awareness to it?
When we begin to be curious about the quality of the mind and the type of thoughts that are going through the mind,
What do you notice?
Can we rest back in broad,
Open awareness,
Watching thoughts come and go,
Seeing them for what they are,
Just thoughts arising and passing away?
Seeing thoughts for what they are with an open,
Kind,
Curious attitude?
If we get caught up in thoughts,
In a narrative or story about something that happened,
Or worry about something that hasn't happened yet and may never happen,
We can notice it,
Acknowledge it,
And come back to the breath,
The feet,
Hands,
This moment.
Noticing thoughts arising and passing away?
You may find the image of a clear blue sky helpful.
Imagining the mind like a clear blue sky and the thoughts like the clouds passing through the clear blue sky.
They are just clouds,
Always moving,
Always changing,
Not fixed or static.
Thoughts are like clouds arising and passing away,
Always changing,
Not fixed.
If the mind doesn't feel expansive or open,
We can notice that.
We can be aware of that with kindness and simply noticing what the mind feels like.
And the possibility of release is always here,
An opening,
And we can notice that.
Maybe there's a sense of freedom,
Spaciousness,
Softening.
Or maybe you notice there isn't any sense of freedom,
Then that is what it is right now.
Resting in broad,
Kindly,
Open awareness of what's happening in the mind,
Body,
Emotions,
Moment by moment.
Then we rest back in awareness of the mind,
Bodily sensations,
Emotions arising and passing away.
And now noticing the weight of the body,
The feet on the ground,
The sitting bones in contact with the chair,
The seat you're sitting on,
Being aware of the whole body breathing,
The body feeling,
The body feeling.
Gently bringing this practice to a close now.
Using the toes perhaps,
The hands,
Giving the shoulders a little stretch,
Taking a deeper breath,
Whatever works for you to bring closure to this practice.
Wow!
Thank you.
