Finding Stillness

More than meditation, it’s through stillness that the mind settles, the body heals, and you become more aware of and sensitive to the subtle language of the body: physical sensations. Stillness is also the birthplace of self-awareness. When you truly understand yourself, you are empowered to make more conscious and responsive decisions rather than the same old reactive and subconscious choices. To know ourselves, we must practice being still.

Transcript

Find a comfortable position for this practice,

Preferably either sitting upright in a chair or cross-legged on the floor,

Maintaining an upright yet relaxed posture that allows you to stay alert and attentive for the duration of this meditation.

The invitation as we begin this practice is to close your eyes if you feel comfortable doing so.

As you bring your gaze inward and into your body,

Notice the different sensations that you feel as you breathe.

Notice the air as it enters the nostrils,

The coolness of the breath as it travels down the throat,

The rise and the fall of the chest and the rib cage,

Or the subtle expansion and contraction of the belly and abdomen with each inhale and exhale.

Notice the qualities of the breath,

The pace,

The rhythm,

The depth,

But without trying to change or control your breathing in any way.

In this moment,

Your body knows exactly how much air it needs,

So it's as if you're curiously watching your body breathe.

During this meditation,

We'll be practicing and cultivating the quality of stillness.

You'll notice that thoughts,

Body sensations,

Or lingering feelings and emotions may distract you and pull your attention away from your breath and body.

The invitation is to practice being still,

Observing these experiences without reacting to them,

Noticing the impulses to move,

Fidget,

Adjust,

Scratch,

Or open your eyes,

And simply allowing them to be there,

Allowing them to arise and pass without reaction.

If you notice discomfort or agitation in the body,

Rather than fighting tension with more tension,

Soften,

Relax,

And surrender into the experience.

Become still,

Not tense.

Pay attention to your body and let it show you what authentic acceptance,

Surrender,

And stillness actually feel like so that you are empowered to call upon these qualities when you need them in everyday life.

Now allowing your attention to come to rest on the small area between your upper lip and the entrance of your nostrils.

Anchoring your attention here and watching the breath come in and out as if nothing else exists or matters in this moment.

For the next few minutes of silence,

Whenever you notice that the mind has wandered away or become distracted,

Gently and softly shift your attention back to your breathing,

Back to the air coming in and out of the nostrils.

And it doesn't matter how many times your mind wanders away,

Just keep coming back to your breath as soon as you notice that your mind is elsewhere.

Nothing else is necessary,

Nothing more is required.

Stay focused and say the real word,

The words I'm telling you.

Breathe in.

Begin you coming back to the breath each time you notice that the mind has wandered away,

Without judgment,

Without analysis,

Without thinking that you've failed.

Just a soft,

Gentle,

And immediate shift of your attention back to your breathing,

Trying to sustain your focus through as many breath cycles as you can.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Continuing to maintain a sense of stillness,

You'll now transition to consciously connecting your breath.

This means there won't be any pause after your inhale or exhale.

It's like a single,

Continuous circular breath.

You'll start with a conscious deep inhale,

Filling up your chest and lungs,

And allowing your body to naturally let go of the exhale.

Here's a demonstration so you can hear the appropriate depth and pace of each breath.

For the next few minutes of silence,

Continue consciously connecting your breath,

Calmly observing and accepting any internal experience that arises with an embodied sense of stillness.

For the next few minutes of silence,

Continue constantly connecting your breath,

Calmly observing and accepting any internal experience that arises with an embodied sense of stillness.

For the next few minutes of silence,

Continue consciously connecting your breath,

Calmly observing and accepting any internal experience that arises with an embodied sense of stillness.

If you feel comfortable and able,

Increase the pace of each breath to the following pace of each breath.

Exhale your breath completely and hold the exhaled position.

Take your full attention inward and observe your inner experience in this short space of time without any breath in your body.

Inhale,

Exhale.

When your body lets you know that it's time to take another breath,

Take a deep inhale Now rest your awareness within your body,

Noticing what it's like to be in your body right now.

Not imagining what the body looks like,

But going to the direct experience,

The felt sense of the body.

We will now move into the body scan of this meditation.

We'll start by bringing your attention to your feet and noticing the sensations that you can distinctly feel at the bottom of your feet.

Maybe the pressure of your feet against the floor,

Or some tingling or prickling sensations that are hard to describe,

Or you may feel nothing at all,

Just numbness or emptiness.

Whatever you feel or don't feel is fine.

With the same level of curiosity,

Begin exploring the tops of the feet,

Moving along to the ankles,

Calves,

And shins,

As you move your awareness slowly and attentively towards the knees.

You don't have to spend too much time at any particular part of the body.

Simply acknowledge the presence of sensation at this part of the body and continue scanning.

Once your scan reaches your knees,

Continue along the fronts and backs of the legs,

Making your way towards your hips and your seat.

Remember that sometimes you may not feel anything at all when you scan a body part,

And that's completely fine.

When you notice numbness or emptiness,

Just keep your attention at that body part for a little time,

And if you still feel nothing,

Simply acknowledge this current experience of numbness and move on to the next part of the body.

You'll have another chance to pass your attention through this body part again,

Either in this meditation or in the future.

Once you've reached your hips with your body scan,

Shift your attention to your lower stomach and begin exploring the entire front section of the torso,

Making your way up to the top Do this same type of bottom-to-top exploration of your back,

Starting with your lower back and working your way up to your neck,

Covering the entire backside of your torso.

After scanning your back,

Bring your attention to the tips of your fingers and noticing the sensations you feel as you scan your hands,

Your arms,

Slowly and attentively making your way past the elbows into the shoulders.

Finally,

Notice the sensations in the neck,

Throat,

Jaw,

And face.

Once you've scanned your whole body and reached the top of your head,

Take a moment to notice your whole body as you take a couple of deep breaths.

For the next few minutes of silence,

Beginning with your attention at the soles of your feet again,

Make your way to the top of the head,

Attentively passing your awareness throughout your entire body.

If your mind wanders or gets distracted,

Just bring your attention back to the last body part that you remember scanning.

For these final few moments,

Relax your focus and allow your attention to expand and rest within the entire framework of your body,

From the top of your head down to your toes and everything in between,

Simply noticing what it's like to be in your body right now.

It's now time to gently reawaken the body.

Before opening your eyes and re-engaging with the world,

Take a few moments to acknowledge whatever emotion or feeling is present in the body right now,

Whether it's pleasant or unpleasant,

Comfortable or uncomfortable,

Just acknowledging,

Accepting,

And appreciating whatever is present for you right now.

Thank you.

Reviews

Good stuff!!💯esp when he went silent for a minute or two✔️

I love all of Luke’s meditations and am presently taking his course and reading his amazing book, Somawise. This is my absolute favourite track of his so far. Thank you Luke

This is clear directed and, of course, effective. Blessings 🙏

Einfach toll.

powerful

Appreciate the long periods of silence - they allow me to focus inward and on being still.

Nice back to basics meditation. I liked the silent pauses throughout, but could have done without the rather loud and jolting bell at the start and finish.