Present Moment Now

One of the many benefits of meditation is that it can help us ground into the present moment by bringing our awareness into the here and now. However, there are also challenges, the many random thoughts of the past or future which stream into our consciousness as we are trying to remain in the present. This practice shows you how to deal with that quickly as it then eases you into the meditation and the practice guides you into the present moment with joy, gratitude and love.

Please enjoy.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

My name is Lee Anderson.

This is a meditation that I call grounding into the present moment.

Meditation can help us do that,

Ground into the present moment and it brings our awareness into the here and now.

The challenging parts about meditation are the many random thoughts of the past or the future which stream into our consciousness as we are trying to remain in the present.

True meditation occurs when we are unbothered by our thoughts,

Giving them little or no attention,

Just allowing them to pass by our mind like clouds in the sky.

This is a skill that can take years to master but a good approach is to first give them some attention before you begin to meditate.

A bit like a child wanting your attention and energy,

A busy mind with lots of random thoughts will often calm down after you accept that these persistent thoughts are here.

With acknowledgement of your most insistent thoughts,

The path to a peaceful meditation opens.

So let's begin this meditation session by taking some time with our thoughts,

All your worries,

Fears,

Your to-do lists,

Your work agendas and all sorts of things.

Just acknowledge them all now.

Allow a continuous stream of random thoughts to pour from your busy mind into your awareness for you to notice and pay attention to.

Perhaps you can consider this a form of expelling your mind of all the many conscious thoughts which normally run wild.

Take your time here,

Even pausing in between gaps of thoughts for a few longer moments to allow more thoughts to surface.

And don't be too concerned with their details,

Their format or logic.

Just keep on noticing them pass by as your mind empties and slowly calms.

And now maybe you are settling in and starting to get comfortable.

So take a look around the room or the space that you're in and really take notice of it.

Look and acknowledge its features,

Floor,

Ground,

The walls,

The ceiling,

The sky,

The decorations,

Any structure,

Colours,

Shapes,

Maybe sounds it's making or shielding.

And as you begin to feel more familiar and relaxed in this space,

Maybe you can take a closer look at yourself,

The finer features of your hands,

Arms and body shape under your clothes,

The weight of your body and feeling into the places that are connecting you to the seat,

The mat,

The ground,

The floor,

Whatever's underneath you supporting you.

And now maybe notice the space in between your body and this outer space,

The room.

What features can you notice of this in between space?

Is it empty?

Or is it full with qualities such as temperature,

Light,

Smells and sounds?

So as you gently soften your gaze or close your eyes,

I invite your attention to allow and notice any of the sounds.

Please don't focus too hard on any one sound,

Just allow your awareness to travel from hearing one sound to hearing another sound and resisting the urge to label the sounds.

Doesn't matter if it's a chirping bird or the hum of a heater or cooler or if it's a car out on the road.

Simply observe the sound as just that,

Merely a sound.

It's a vibration.

Allow your mind to keep moving,

Not lingering on any one sound for too long.

Just taking your time,

You might begin to notice more and more sounds.

The point of this awareness exercise is to hear everything,

Even the subtle sounds.

Just like a little earlier,

We let all the thoughts come with acceptance.

Now let all the sounds come with acceptance and then let them pass on by as your awareness remains in the present moment.

This is a practice that you can use any time.

You simply have to stop,

Pause and embrace the many sounds around you.

It's an easy and fabulous exercise to bring your awareness more into the present moment.

And now let's invite our attention to notice the qualities of the natural breath.

Perhaps noticing the breath in through the nose and then out through the nose or the mouth,

Whichever feels more natural for you in this moment.

And what do you notice about the breath or its movement through the nose as it travels naturally and freely?

No need to force or control the breath,

Allow your body to breathe by itself.

You pay attention to the sensations of the breath.

Noticing any sensations in the nostrils or perhaps even when the breath fills the body,

You might notice a rise and a fall of your chest or your belly.

Just allowing your awareness to continue following the travelling breath.

And let's really be here.

Gently inhaling,

Gradually exhaling and relaxing.

Begin to focus more and more on the feeling of relaxation and ease that's rising in your body.

Keep your focus on this feeling in your body and ask yourself this question.

How do I know my body is here?

How do I know it?

And observe how this question connects you to the feeling of life force in your body.

Keep focusing on this feeling from within the inner space of your body as you continue to breathe naturally and intuitively.

Maybe your mind has begun to chatter.

Maybe thoughts have started to pull at your attention.

That's OK.

It's just what the mind does.

So it's absolutely OK to acknowledge them and gently guide your attention back to the sensations of your breath as it moves through your body in the here and now.

So any thoughts you can let them drift away,

Not giving them any energy or adding any emotions or narration to their story.

Simply remaining neutral as you accept and acknowledge their existence and return your awareness to the flowing breath,

Grounding you into each present moment.

You can let your day,

The week,

The month,

Even the whole year,

You can let it all fade from your awareness.

And knowing that the only moment we really have is the one right now,

This present moment.

Remaining focused on the breath,

The miracle of the breath flowing in through the nose,

Into the body.

We bring in air to energise and cleanse every part of your body.

From in your lungs to your blood,

From your heart into your muscles,

Bones,

Skin and other organs.

You bring in this vital life force energy into each and every cell.

And as you breathe out,

Your body lets go into relaxation and your lungs release back the breath out back into the air.

And it takes anything that no longer serves you.

Our graceful,

Vital and powerful breath,

Purifying and rejuvenating in each present and powerful moment.

And simply noticing the breath,

How it's calm,

The busy mind and relax the energetic body so you can invite your awareness deeper within.

And intuitively,

You can scan around your body to see if there is any tension or tightness,

Anything that was unnoticed.

Or just maybe even too familiar,

Too comfortable in your body.

But you no longer need it.

This old tension or outdated stress,

It no longer serves you.

So as it comes into your awareness,

You can accept it as it presents in this moment.

You can acknowledge it and then after paying it a little attention,

You can let it ease up and let it pass you by.

Notice the relief of release,

Relief of letting go of what no longer serves us.

Not here,

Not now,

Not in this present moment.

Peaceful.

Relaxed.

At ease.

Natural.

In your perfect self.

Noticing the pace you feel as your entire body breathes.

Notice how light you feel,

How free you feel.

And how grounded you are in this present moment.

And continue to rest in the stillness of your body.

The peace in your mind as you ground yourself and nourish yourself in this present moment.

This wonderful moment that you have breath in your body and you have life.

And now please invite in some gratitude for all the wonderful things that we have in our life right now.

And acknowledge the things you are grateful for.

So not the intellectual idea of gratitude and thankfulness.

I invite you to really feel it.

What does gratitude feel like in your body?

And be grateful for the roof you have over your head that gives you security,

Safety and warmth.

Be grateful for the clean water you have to drink and bathe in.

Be grateful for the variety and abundance of food we have to eat.

Be grateful for your family and friends and all the wonderful people that support you and sustain you.

In gratitude,

Breath in and fill your body.

And as you gently breath out,

Let the breath go from your body as you are grateful for this gift that is life.

And then maybe you would like to lift your hands and let them come to rest over your chest.

And I would like you to feel your heart beating and your body breathing.

Feel this in your hands,

Into your palms and fingers.

And then with your palms,

Hands,

Please give yourself a little love.

Offering gratitude to your body,

Your mind,

Your breath and giving gratitude and thanks for this moment and your ability to become present and pay attention to yourself.

Graciously accept and acknowledge your own uniqueness,

Your very own beauty,

Because you are wonderful.

You are an amazing creation in the body,

Mind,

Heart and soul.

And while we share this space together,

There is no separation between us.

We are one.

I honour the place in you which the entire universe dwells.

I honour the place in you which is of love,

Of trust,

Of light and of peace.

When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me,

We are one.

Namaste.

And thank you so kindly for practicing with me today.

I'll see you soon.

Bye.

Reviews

Amazing, really helped bring me back to the present moment! Thank you 🙏