Generally,
This meditation is done seated,
Can be on a chair,
On a cushion,
But if it is more appropriate,
It can also be done lying down.
So if we are seated,
Finding a posture which brings us to an upright position where we are awake and comfortable,
With the spine erect yet not rigid,
And gently closing the eyes,
Or fixing a point not too far in front and lowering the gaze,
To bring the awareness inside.
So just sitting and knowing we are sitting.
And pointing the awareness towards sounds,
Sounds that are close to us,
In the room,
Without trying to label anything,
Just taking note if our mind automatically labels.
Noticing that sounds have a beginning,
A middle,
And an end.
And noticing sounds which are further away,
The most distant sounds we can hear.
And maybe noticing the space and spaces between sounds.
We're not looking for any particular experience,
Just open to what is here right now.
And maybe we can hear our own breath by paying particular attention,
Or maybe not,
Which is absolutely fine,
That is our experience.
And maybe feeling the breath,
How it moves our body,
Maybe feeling it in the chest or in the belly.
And if it is helpful,
We can place a hand on the chest or belly,
Just to follow this breath all the way in,
And all the way out.
And again,
And again.
And noting that each breath is unique,
And it has a beginning and an end.
Trying to note this beginning of the in-breath,
The end of the in-breath,
The beginning of the out-breath,
And the end of the out-breath.
And the spaces between the waves of the breath,
So at the end of the in-breath,
A little pause,
And the out-breath,
At the end of the out-breath,
A little pause.
What is the experience of the breath?
And if we get carried away in a thought that is normal,
Our mind creates thoughts,
And often these can appear interesting or appealing.
So if we find that happens regularly,
Can we also include the breath?
So not only the thought,
But also the breath.
And feeding the breath in the whole body,
Can we feel it even up to maybe the neck,
Maybe even the head,
Maybe the feet,
Or elsewhere?
Placing our awareness on this body of ours that we're wearing today,
Maybe noting areas which are maybe a little tense,
Maybe in the eyes,
Around the eyes,
Maybe the forehead,
The jaws,
Or the thighs,
Or the belly.
And can we be okay with whatever is here?
And maybe noting changes in these sensations,
Maybe some parts relax a bit,
Or maybe they don't.
And if we get caught in a thought,
As soon as we notice it,
We can observe it,
We're out of the thought.
So we can now also observe a thought as we observed the body sensations,
And we can note that thoughts come and go.
And we can also notice that many of these thoughts we didn't consciously generate,
And our capacity of awareness allows us to see thoughts,
And therefore also decide at this point,
Do I want to pursue the thought,
Or do I want to observe it?
The latter being the invitation of the meditation exercise.
So we're going to take a metaphor of the sky,
And our mind being like the sky,
And in this sky of blue,
There are these thought clouds coming through.
And while some are very light and white and maybe pass quickly,
Others are dark and maybe fill the sky,
And maybe they come back often,
Or maybe not.
So if it is helpful,
We can stay with our breath,
And just let clouds come in,
And observe as much as we can.
And when we find a thought,
We can label it as past,
Or future,
Or a commentary,
Such as label,
Such as boring,
Or wanting,
Or not wanting.
And we can see as this cloud comes in,
And we can observe also when it goes.
So just staying with this sky,
And observing from the outside as clouds move in and move out,
And simply labeling them.
And maybe noting that some thoughts generate more attachment,
So maybe noticing how attached we are to a thought.
And if it is helpful,
We can use another metaphor of a great cinema screen,
And again just observing this screen,
And seeing as images of our thoughts come on it,
And then go,
Or lead to another image.
So just observing this screen with kindness,
It is fine to get caught in a thought.
And now releasing all effort,
And just opening to anything and everything that presents itself,
Broadening the awareness to include the body.
So any sensation in the body,
Any thought,
Maybe both together,
Just letting anything come into the awareness,
And treating it as kindly as we can,
And placing our attention on the skin,
This outer layer of our body,
Maybe the temperature of different parts of the skin,
Maybe even some tingling coming from more inside,
Listening to any sounds that are coming to us,
Feeling the touch points of our body with the ground beneath,
And maybe feeling the space in the room,
And in our own time,
Opening the eyes,
And adding this dimension to our awareness,
Noting the quality of our attention right now,
And maybe bringing something of this quality to the rest of the day,
Slowly moving our body,
Stretching,
Yawning,
Coming to an upright position when it is right,
Taking a breath if you were lying down,
And maybe taking a moment if it feels right,
To thank ourselves for taking this time to take care.
