Welcome to Meditation for Modern Life.
I'm Manisha Dudley.
Today's guided meditation is a simple practice of refining our awareness of the present.
As we sit for the next few minutes,
We will access quiet spaces within the clatter of the mind's activity.
We can't stop our thought stream,
And we can't turn off the activity of the mind.
But we can access a quieter space by fine-tuning the noise to reveal a more clear and true sound.
To begin,
You may choose to be sitting or laying down.
Either way,
Welcome alertness and calm composure to your practice.
Begin by bringing awareness to your body.
Note whatever is going on,
Any tightness,
Pain,
Or sensitivity you are experiencing.
You may want to scan the body and check in with any areas you tend to hold tension.
Pay particular attention to your brow,
Your temples,
Your eyes,
Your mouth,
And jaw.
Notice if there is any tension at the base of the skull.
Feel any discomfort in your shoulders,
Your back,
Your stomach and abdomen,
Your hips.
You may feel very composed and relaxed.
You may feel agitated and tense or somewhere in between.
Whatever the case,
Draw a sense of serenity into the body such that you land in a place that's a little softer and a little more peaceful than where you began.
When you are ready,
Begin to travel toward the present by connecting to the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Feel your whole body breathing.
When you are tempted to follow your thinking,
When you find yourself getting lost in thoughts,
Allow your breathing to steer you back toward the present and to the experience of this moment only.
Become familiar with your breathing.
The inhale followed by the exhale.
The exhale followed by the exhale.
The rise followed by the rise.
The drawing in followed by the letting go.
When you veer off course,
Write your path back toward the actual,
Toward the now,
Guided by your breath.
Counting the breath can help.
Inhale 1.
Inhale 2.
Exhale 2.
Inhale 3.
Exhale 3.
Inhale 4.
Exhale 4.
Inhale 5.
Exhale 5.
Inhale 6.
Exhale 6.
Inhale 7.
Exhale 7.
Inhale 8.
Exhale 8.
Inhale 9.
Exhale 9.
Inhale 10.
Exhale 10.
Inhale 11.
Exhale 11.
Inhale 12.
Exhale 12.
Exhale 12.
From breath to breath,
Stay the course.
Allow the mind's offers of planning,
Worrying,
Hoping,
Remembering,
Thinking to fade into the background.
Move closer to the present by not doing what the mind suggests.
For now,
The only doing of anything is being.
Being exactly as you are without building momentum to go anywhere.
Stay connected to the breath.
As we turn our attention away from all invitations to drift with the thought stream,
We arrive in the present.
Connected to our breathing,
From moment to moment,
We travel deeper into the thick of the now.
And here,
We experience stillness,
And there's a new,
True quiet.
Here the clatter of the mind becomes a distant murmur.
Stay with the breath,
And keep with this quiet.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
In your best way,
Receive all of what this moment has to offer.
Simply be.
Just be with the complete experience of the present.
I'll bring our meditation to a close now with a poem by Pablo Neruda.
Keeping quiet.
Now we will count to 12,
And we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the earth,
Let's not speak in any language.
Let's stop for one second and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment,
Without rush,
Without engines.
We would all be together in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea would not harm whales,
And the man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
Wars with gas,
Wars with fire,
Victories with no survivors,
Would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers in the shade,
Doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about.
I want no truck with death.
If we were not so single-minded about keeping our lives moving,
And for once could do nothing,
Perhaps a huge silence might interrupt the sadness of never understanding ourselves,
And of threatening ourselves with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us,
As when everything seems dead and later proves to be alive.
Now,
I'll count up to twelve,
And you keep quiet,
And I will go.
Thank you for listening.
Have a great weekend.
