Take your time to settle in to a comfortable resting position.
That can be sitting down,
It can be lying on the floor or on your bed.
See if you can let the surface beneath you hold your weight,
Support your body.
If you like you can close the eyes or just soften the gaze a bit.
And we'll start by tuning in to the sensation of the breath.
It's just taking a few easy simple breaths,
Feeling the air move in and out of the body.
There's nothing to fix or control here,
We're just noticing the breath as it is.
And in this practice today we're going to explore a technique called noting.
So as we endeavor to lightly rest the attention on the breath or on the body,
Inevitably the mind will wander.
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Sensations will pull us away.
That's just what the body and the mind does.
So when that happens,
Rather than getting caught up in it,
We simply note what we've experienced or what we've noticed.
So if it's a thought,
We note thinking.
If an emotion arises,
Sadness,
Frustration,
Joy,
You could note feeling or even name the emotion if you like.
And if there's a sensation in the body,
Like warmth,
Tension,
Tingling,
Maybe some tightness,
You can note sensing.
And you don't need to get this perfect every time,
You don't need to catch every thought or sensation.
Just give things a name,
Lightly,
If you notice it,
And then gently return your attention to the breath,
To your home base,
Your anchor.
So let's try this now for a minute or so,
Resting with the breath,
And when something comes up,
Give it a gentle note,
Thinking,
Feeling,
Sensing,
And then gently back to the breath.
So notice how those thoughts and feelings and sensations,
They all come and they all go.
None of them last forever.
They arrive,
Stick around for a little bit,
And then move on.
If at any point you find yourself judging or doubting the practice,
That's completely normal,
And you can even note that as thinking or feeling,
And gently return your attention back to the breath.
So our practice here is not about stopping thoughts or sensations or feelings,
It's about observing them from a somewhat detached and neutral state,
Welcoming all visitors to sit around the fire,
As Rumi said.
Just take a few more moments here,
Practicing the noting technique,
Keeping that sense of lightness and ease.
And when you're ready,
You can let your attention widen out,
So feeling your whole body sitting or lying,
Making contact with the ground,
Feeling the ground supporting you,
Noticing any other sensations in the body,
Or sounds around you.
And when you're ready,
You can open up the eyes or lift the gaze.
So noting is a simple technique,
And potentially a powerful one,
But it does take a degree of practice and consistency,
Just like anything worthwhile.
So feel free to bookmark this meditation and come back to it if you found it beneficial.
Just remember it's not about getting it right or doing it well,
It's just about showing up and doing it regularly.
And then over time,
A nice side effect of the practice is that we may be able to more skillfully notice thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions arising in our day-to-day life and not getting as carried away and swept up by them.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Go steady.
I'll catch you soon.
