Be Centered & Aware Of Your Natural Self

This is a meditation that is a bit stronger than the shorter meditations. It starts off like the previous ones – feeling the body and the breath – to strengthen concentration, to bring the meditator fully into the present moment. Then, the main part of the meditation involves the practice of Self-inquiry, as inspired by Ramana Maharshi, by asking oneself the key question which leads inward: Who am I? The purpose of this is to become centered in the awareness of our deeper more natural selves.

Transcript

Hello,

Welcome.

This is a 25 minute guided meditation.

So try to sit comfortably.

Try to sit with a nice straight back,

Holding your head up slightly.

You can also lie down,

But there's the problem that you might fall asleep when lying down.

But you choose.

Just get really nice and comfortable.

Close your eyes.

Take a deep,

Deep inhale.

Fill up your lungs.

Hold the breath for a moment.

And let it go.

One more time.

Deep,

Deep inhale through the nose.

Hold the breath when you're full.

Hold the shoulders back and just imagine that the air in your lungs is collecting any tensions from the body,

From the nervous system,

From the mind.

And just let it all go.

Good.

Remember meditation is simply about letting go.

So feel your body in contact with whatever you're sitting on or lying on.

Feel the contact with the earth.

Listen to all the different sounds you can hear,

The sounds that are happening right now.

Feel the contact of your clothes wherever they're touching your skin.

And now bring your full attention to just hearing this bell.

Contact with the sound of the bell.

And now bring your full attention to just hearing this bell.

And now bring your full attention to just hearing this bell.

And now bring your full attention to just feeling the breath,

The natural breath,

As it comes in and out of your nose.

Feel the breath that goes in your nose,

In your sinuses,

As it goes down your throat into your lungs.

Just breathing in and out of your nose,

Though.

Feel each molecule there as it comes in and out of your body.

Notice if there's any tightness anywhere in your body.

And release it.

Let it go.

And just feel the breath,

The natural breath that goes in your nose,

All the way down deep into your lungs.

Feel the touch of each molecule of air as it comes in and out of you naturally.

Let go of any thoughts that may pop up,

Any daydreams,

Any reactions,

Any plans or memories.

Let it all just float away.

Just feel the breath,

Focusing on the breath as a tool to help you get anchored in the present moment,

Since the breath only happens in the present moment,

Wherever you are.

Let go of everything else.

Stay with the breath.

Let go of everything else.

Are you thinking about something?

Are you daydreaming?

Let it go.

The key thing is to understand this is just the nature of the mind,

The habit of the mind,

The tendency of the mind to think,

Think,

Think.

Understand that thoughts are like clouds that block the sun.

The thoughts are blocking your awareness of the present moment.

So just let them float away.

Just feel the breath completely,

The breath that only happens in the present moment,

Wherever you are.

And now feel the breath in a smaller area.

Feel the breath just in your nose.

Feel everything that you can about the breath.

Stay with the breath,

The precious breath that keeps you alive.

Have a sense of gratitude for this breath.

Letting go of everything else.

Again,

Notice,

Are there any thoughts?

Again,

Realize that is just the habit of the mind.

So let go of any frustrations.

Be very patient and gentle with yourself.

The key thing is to realize when your attention is wandered off with thoughts of any kind.

And how powerful thoughts are in taking us away from the present moment.

Just let them float away,

Have no interest in them.

And don't try to make your mind quiet.

That just makes it worse.

It's like gasoline on a fire.

Just let go.

Have no interest in the thoughts.

Feel the breath happening right here.

Feel this wonderful breath that is happening right now.

Feel it completely.

Again notice if there are any tensions,

Even the smallest tensions get in the way.

Any tensions in the body,

Just let them go.

Feel the breath in your nose.

Feel the touch of each molecule of air.

Feel the temperature of the breath as it comes in,

As it comes out.

Notice the temperature difference.

Notice if more air goes in through one nostril than the other.

Or is it equal?

Whatever it is,

Just observe it calmly.

Feel the breath fully.

100%.

Find the balance between too much effort and too little effort.

Now feel the breath in a smaller area.

Feel the breath in a little 2mm wide ring around the entrance to your nostrils.

By feeling the breath in a smaller area,

Your concentration is getting sharper.

Again,

Are there thoughts of any kind?

Let them float away.

Feel the breath.

Feel the breath fully.

Become aware of the habit of the mind to become active,

To start thinking about this or that,

To take you away from feeling the breath.

Becoming aware of the power of thoughts to take us away from the present moment,

Just feel the breath in that little 2mm wide ring at the entrance to your nostrils.

Your concentration will get sharper by doing this,

And you'll be able to think more clearly with more focus whenever you need to focus on something.

Let go of any tensions you may notice in the body.

Let go of any tensions you may notice in the mind.

Now for the next minute,

Try to feel your breath in that little tiny area at the entrance to the nostrils as if your life depended on it.

Even if your mind was noisy before,

Let it go,

Focusing on it now,

Feeling the breath completely right here,

Right now.

If you're having trouble feeling the breath,

Take a couple deep inhales and exhales.

Just like that.

Good,

Very good.

And now,

Moving into the next part of this meditation,

All you're going to do now is just feel your inner aliveness,

Your essence,

Your center,

Your beingness.

All these words are pointing at the same thing.

So you're feeling your deepest,

Most natural self.

So understand you're not trying to achieve anything.

You're not trying to reach a higher altered state of consciousness.

You're just relaxing into the present moment and feeling your deepest,

Most natural self.

Let go of any thoughts that come up.

Let go of any thoughts that act like clouds blocking the sun.

Just let them float away.

Have no interest in them.

Let go of any thoughts that act like clouds blocking the sun.

Are there any thoughts of any kind,

Memories,

Plans about the future,

Reactions,

Daydreams?

Become aware of the power of thoughts to get in the way of your feeling your essence,

Of you feeling your center,

Like thick clouds blocking the sun.

Remember this.

It's an important insight to gain.

So many benefits arise when you're able to just sit in stillness and feel your beingness and let go of everything else,

Just natural regeneration happens.

This natural restorative aspect happens to you when you can just sit in stillness,

Feeling your inner aliveness.

Trust this.

This is your nature.

Let go of everything else.

Let go of the clouds that can block the sunlight.

Just let them float away with the wind.

Feel your essence.

Feel your beingness right here,

Right now.

Completely relaxing your body.

Making sure that if you're sitting that you're not hunched over,

That your back is not bent,

That your head is not leaning downward.

Lift your face up towards the sky slightly,

Keeping your eyes closed.

Understand that when you're feeling your beingness,

You're feeling the part of you that has always been you,

Unchanging,

Even though your body has changed so much since the moment you were born.

You've grown so much.

You've tripled,

Quadrupled in size,

If not more.

But it's still you when you look at a photo of yourself as a little boy or a little girl.

It's still you,

Even though you may look totally different.

Feel that part of you that will always be you,

Unchanging,

For the rest of your life,

No matter what happens to your body.

Letting go of any thoughts that arise,

Whatever they are.

Notice how your breathing has naturally become very light,

Very shallow.

That's perfect.

Relax any tensions you may notice in the body,

In the nervous system,

In the mind.

Let it go.

And when you're meditating like this,

Feeling your beingness,

Feeling your inner aliveness,

Your deepest,

Most natural state,

You can ask yourself the key question,

Perhaps the most important question there is for you about yourself.

This question acts like a doorway into a deeper awareness of yourself.

The question is,

Who am I?

Who am I?

You can ask it in English or you can ask it to yourself in your natural language,

Your mother tongue.

Who am I?

Feel your essence.

The question acts like a doorway into your deeper existence.

But let go of any answers that come to you.

Those answers come from the mind.

They come from your ego.

Those answers are clouds blocking the sky.

So feel your essence.

Feel that timeless you that is much more than who you think you are.

Feel that expanded you that is connected to all of nature,

All of existence everywhere.

Relax into it.

Who am I?

Without repeating it just every so often when you need to as a booster,

Ask that sacred question about yourself.

If any thoughts have arisen,

Any answers have arisen,

Let them float away.

Feel your essence.

Feel your beingness.

Understanding what a sacred space it is,

What a sacred activity it is to just sit in silence,

To feel your inner aliveness,

To let go of any thoughts which arise,

Any thoughts which act like clouds blocking the sun.

Just letting go.

Understanding the wonderfully regenerative effects of doing this.

Prioritizing silence.

You you you you Take a deep deep inhale through the nose and hold the breath when you're full Pull the shoulders back sit up straight and let it go One More time reach up with both arms towards the sky as you take another deep inhale filling up your lungs Hold the breath stretch out a little bit And give yourself a loving self hug as you exhale Having a sense of gratitude that you're fully alive and fully relaxed right here right now Learning how to meditate and practicing consistently is one of the best gifts you could ever give yourself And the key thing is to keep it simple whatever The meditative experience is that's what it is accept it Sometimes the meditations maybe get more difficult They may be quite noisy in your head and you may think oh that wasn't a good meditation Don't think like that Because there is no such thing as a bad meditation If your mind is noisy,

It means that stuff that's been buried Is coming to the surface and it gets to be released And eventually with consistent practice with patience What fuels the thoughts all those buried emotions?

They'll become thinner and the thoughts will become thinner They'll become thinner and the thoughts will become thinner as well.

Just be patient though Have a wonderful day or a wonderful night Take care

Reviews

Amazing for beginners and experienced people. Love it.

There were a lot of directives to "just let it go", it was good otherwise.

Extremely powerful!

Excellent, thank you so much. This was just what I needed, much needed to hear and experience this meditation today, remind myself of why I meditate. Namaste.

Wonderful 💗

This is such an amazing meditation. One of my go tos when i need a guided one! Much appreciated.

Wonderful guidance! Expertly led through a lovely progression that smoothly builds upon the one before it. I come back to this meditation often. Thank you for being a part of my practice

Thank you Marcello 🙏 just as always, your meditation has gotten me back into my pure and True self. First time trying them here on insight though 😉 I love you man, thank you 💜

Wow. This one is so smooth, my new favorite of yours. Good length for intermediate meditators like me. Thank you Marcello.

Exactly what I needed this morning, after waking into worry thoughts. Thank you!

Lovely meditation.🌟 Thank you M! Feels like full circle having learnt meditating with you all these years ago and now you are guiding me again 😊💖

That was one of the very best meditations I’ve done yet on this app. Thank you so very much!

Thank you for this beautiful meditation! 🙏 I needed to hear today that there's no such thing as a bad meditation. Loving your meditations as they are not overloaded with noise, are to the point, and cover the essentials of a meditation.