Welcome to our first sitting meditation.
It helps to bring to the sitting posture itself a sense of dignity with your head,
Neck,
And back erect but not rigid with your hands comfortably placed in your lap or on your knees.
As best you can,
Commit yourself to simply being fully awake,
Fully present for these moments.
If you feel comfortable with it,
Allowing your eyes to gently close,
Otherwise allowing your gaze to fall unfocused on a floor or on a wall,
And just tuning in to the feeling of the breath moving in and out of your body,
Focusing on the sensation of the breath moving past the nostrils or alternatively on the feeling of your belly expanding on each in-breath and receding gently on each out-breath,
And allowing yourself to just dwell here moment by moment,
Following the breath as it comes in,
Following the breath as it goes out,
And bringing your attention back to the nostrils or to your belly each time you notice that your mind has gone off somewhere else,
Wherever that might be.
And if the mind wanders off a hundred times,
Simply bringing it back a hundred times,
Intentionally cultivating an attitude of patience and gentleness toward yourself in this practice.
This means choosing as best you can not to react or to judge any of your thoughts or feelings,
Impulses or perceptions,
Reminding yourself instead that in this work of mindfulness,
Everything that comes into the field of awareness is okay,
Is accepted.
We sit with it and breathe with it and observe it staying open and awake in the present moment,
Right here,
Right now,
A continual process of seeing and letting be,
Seeing and letting go.
Seeing nothing,
Pursuing nothing,
Abiding in stillness,
Listening in calmness as the breath moves in and as the breath moves out.
Breathing in.
Breathing in and breathing out,
One breath,
One moment at a time.
And if you notice that the mind has wandered off the breath,
Simply bring it back without judgment,
Breathing in and breathing out.
And if you notice that the mind has wandered off the breath,
Simply bring it back without judgment,
Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And if you notice that the mind has wandered off the breath,
Simply bring it back without Breathe,
Relax,
And feel.
Take time to slow down the pace of life.
Watch the rise and fall of moods.
The birth and death of dreams.
Feelings and sensations seem so real,
Yet they shift like changing clouds and flow with the high tide out to sea again.
Allow it all to be,
No need to grasp or push away.
Present with each moment,
The whole of you,
Body,
Mind,
And soul,
Opens to receive.
Breathe,
Relax,
And feel.
Take time to slow down the pace of life.
The birth and death of dreams.
Breathe,
Relax,
And feel.
Breathe,
Relax,
And feel.
Breathe,
Relax,
And feel.
In a moment the bells will ring to signal the end of this sitting practice.
And as we come to an end,
Staying centered for a moment or two in the sitting posture,
As the sound of the bells recede,
Experiencing the sounds and the wakefulness they invite.
And then before leaving the sitting,
You might commit yourself,
Right here and now,
To carrying this wakefulness with you throughout your day or evening.
Remembering that you can touch base with your breathing in any moment and thereby bring some mindfulness and calmness,
Some clarity perhaps,
Into that moment of your life,
When and wherever it is,
As it is unfolding.
And affirming as well the importance of regular,
Formal practice,
Every day if you can.
Thank you.
