Much of our lives is spent trying to achieve certain goals and obtain desired outcomes.
But in this practice,
I'm going to invite you to let go of trying to achieve any goals in this moment,
Whether they're your personal goals,
Professional goals,
Or even goals related to meditating.
And see if you can allow yourself to come into a state of being rather than doing and drop into and fully experience each moment for its own sake.
So to begin this meditation,
Find a comfortable seat,
Preferably sitting upright if that's possible for you in a posture that embodies wakefulness and dignity.
Letting go of any unnecessary tension or holding.
Closing your eyes if that feels good for you.
Or gazing at the ground in front of you.
Now beginning by dropping into the body.
Feeling the points of contact of the body.
As it meets the floor or the surface beneath you.
Feeling the sense of pressure here.
Noticing the sensations of the hands making contact with your body or with clothing.
And now moving your attention to your stomach.
Noticing whatever is arising here.
Arise and fall of the belly with breathing.
As well as any other sensations,
Perhaps ones associated with an emotion or digestion.
Just being with whatever is here.
Now sensing the heart,
Chest area.
What is here?
Not needing to do anything.
Just holding whatever is arising in this area in the kindness of your attention.
Tuning in now to the shoulders.
Becoming keenly interested in what's available here to be felt.
Moving into the face area.
Seeing if there's any tension or clenching in the jaw.
And inviting,
Releasing if that feels good for you.
And now bringing your attention to the areas surrounding your eyes.
Noticing what's here.
Now moving your attention to your forehead.
And noticing what's here.
And now expanding your attention to include a sense of the entire body sitting.
Holding any sensations that are arising in your awareness.
And now shifting your attention to the experience of breathing.
Perhaps feeling the breath flow into the nostrils.
Feeling the coolness on the inhale.
Warmth on the exhale.
Or sensing the breath by feeling the belly expand on the inhale.
Deflate on the exhale.
Staying with whatever experience of breathing is most vivid to you in this moment.
And when the mind wanders away from the breath,
Perhaps into one of your goals or worries,
Just seeing where the mind's gone and bringing it back to the breath.
There's no need to judge the activity of the mind as it's just what the mind does.
But allowing your breath to serve as an anchor to help not get overly consumed and attached to different thoughts.
And allow you to fully immerse in this present moment.
And to gain awareness of the patterns of your mind.
So wherever your attention is now,
Just bringing it back to the breath.
Blowing in and blowing out.
Bringing in an attitude of curiosity to each moment as it unfolds.
Whether it's getting pulled into thoughts or the experience of breathing.
Being curious and aware of what's arising in each moment.
Allowing the experience of being and directly experiencing the sensations of breathing available to you in this moment around you.
In addition to the commitment of knowing that the breath is the object of focus for this meditation,
It's also just as important in the process to be continuously seeing and letting go of the different thoughts that can be a strong hook for your attention.
Feeling the waves of the breath.
The body's constantly breathing.
Without you having to think or control it throughout your day.
Becoming aware of this experience that's always going on.
Noticing how you don't have to do anything at all.
Breath breathes itself.
Checking in on where the attention is now.
Gently bringing it back to the breath.
This last few moments of the meditation,
Just committing once again to let go of whatever may be competing for your attention in this moment and tuning in to the breath.
Knowing that you have these moments to do so.
And as we come to the end of this meditation,
Know that as you go throughout your activities of your day,
You can come back to this idea of letting go of the feeling of needing to be doing something else and fully immerse into whatever you're doing.
And as you open your eyes and begin to arrive back in the environment that you're in,
Feel free to leave any comments sharing your experience.
