But the suggestion is to close your eyes gently,
Or to soften the gaze and lower it.
Closing the eyes is not needed for mindfulness,
But as this is a formal practice,
Closing the eyes reduces,
Can reduce distraction,
And the invitation is thus to bring the attention inside,
As if we're looking inside ourselves.
And this meditation is generally done seated,
On a cushion or on a chair,
And sitting upright,
Comfortably.
And it can also be done lying down,
Or in any position which is most appropriate.
So once in the posture,
Feeling the touch points to the ground or to the surface below,
If we are seated,
And this will be guided seated,
Feeling the touch points on the feet,
On the legs,
On the buttocks,
And bringing the awareness on sounds,
Sounds which are close to us,
And sounds which may be further away,
Noticing how these emerge,
Can we hear our own breath,
Or feel our breath somewhere,
And if we get caught in a thought,
That's not a problem,
That's what the mind does,
And just taking note of where the mind went and gently escorting it back,
Can we be deeply interested in our own breath,
Climbing into the breath,
Following it into the nostrils,
Down the throat,
And maybe all the way into the lungs,
And following it all the way in,
And all the way out,
Breath by breath.
And if we have traveled with our mind far away,
Now is available in an instant,
And as we breathe we might feel the breath brushing against the root of our tongue,
Or maybe the continuation of it,
And bringing into awareness our tongue,
Its position in the mouth,
And if we are brought to swallow the saliva,
Taking note of it,
Although we have no food in our mouth,
Is there a taste?
Or if there is none,
How does no taste feel?
Just like a pro saliva taster,
And putting the awareness on the region of the teeth,
Of the bony structure of the jaws,
Noting any tension or relaxation,
And including the bony structure of the nose,
And maybe any smells.
Like a professional smeller,
What do we smell?
Maybe something extremely subtle,
Maybe just a texture of the air,
And now including also the region of the eyes,
Feeling around the eyes if there is any stiffness or small vibrations.
Often when we are thinking there is contraction in that area,
And maybe although the eyes are closed,
You can maybe just see some light flickering,
Some shapes,
And bringing into awareness the region of the heart,
The chest,
The space in that area,
The movement.
Can we feel the pulsing of the heart maybe?
Or maybe not.
That is also our experience now.
And maybe taking note of any feelings in the area of the heart,
And in feeling there is the word feel,
Because of the connection of emotions to the physical sensations.
So do we have any feelings?
Maybe something strong or subtle,
Any vibrancy or slight unrest,
Or something else.
Including in the field of awareness thoughts.
Often we are unaware of them,
So putting some light on the thoughts,
Maybe feeding them as waves,
Maybe big waves,
Or small ripples,
Just coloring our experience.
So watching thoughts coming in and out,
And noting if we have any attachment to a thought.
And if we get caught up in a thought,
That's not a problem.
And just exploring if we can let the wave be a wave of thoughts,
And just look at the thought from the shore,
From the outside.
And now gently moving to open awareness,
So broad awareness.
An awareness which can be encompassing the whole body,
Or which can focus on particular aspects of it.
Sensations in the body,
Feelings,
Or mind objects,
Thoughts.
And we might be wondering what we're supposed to be feeling or noticing,
And what you are experiencing right now is exactly what is to be experienced.
And if it is uncertainty,
Then that is fine.
And if it is an itching,
That is also worthy of attention,
And maybe we can itch it in gentle awareness.
Curious about the unfolding of our own life.
What is here for me?
Where am I?
Can I just sit for this moment exploring,
Playing with opening and accepting what is here?
Can I be curious about my life?
And taking a deeper in-breath and out-breath,
And gently moving towards the end of the meditation.
And placing the awareness,
Focusing on the touch points to the ground.
Being aware of sounds around us.
And bringing awareness to the space in this room,
To the movement of the body,
To the breath.
Possibly being aware that,
They be close or far,
All people in the world are breathing with us right now.
And after this formal meditation,
This pause in our day to look inside,
We can gently add the outside dimension by opening the eyes gently in our time.
And bringing awareness to the dimensions of seeing.
And slowly,
Gradually to the interaction with other people.
And maybe we can leave with this question,
To know,
Can we bring some of the awareness training we're doing to our day?
What can we bring?
And maybe life can take over as being our mindfulness guide.
Through sounds,
Sensations,
And even interactions.
Inviting us continuously back to the biggest adventure,
Our own life.
