Mindfulness can be practiced in any situation,
Whether it be intentional seated meditation,
Mindful eating,
Mindful walking,
Or even mindfully paying attention to the environment around you when you're waiting for a bus or a train or riding on them.
Imagine all the moments in life that are in between something when you allow your mind to wander off,
Either thinking about the future,
Worrying about things that you haven't done yet,
Or thinking about the past,
Going through regrets or other situations that you've lived before.
If you can begin to practice mindfulness in these small moments for a few minutes a day,
Eventually you'll be able to catch your mind when it starts to drift off into worries or regrets.
Beginning by taking a few deliberate deep breaths to connect your attention with your body and with your intention to practice.
As you breathe in,
Connecting with your breath,
Cool air in and warm air out.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Noticing the rising and the falling of your abdomen with each breath in and each breath out.
Moving your attention down to your mind,
Observing what thoughts and what emotions are present right now,
Noticing them,
Acknowledging them,
And then allowing them to pass.
If at any time your mind becomes too distracted or too involved in any particular thought,
Using your breath as a tool,
An anchor,
Resetting and redirecting your mind back with each breath in.
Now that we've checked in with our minds,
Expanding our attention to the world around us,
Practicing curious observation and engaging all five of our senses.
Working with our sense of sight,
So as best as you can,
Observing at least three details of objects around you.
This could be taking in colors,
Shapes,
Numbers of people,
Or numbers of cars around you.
As you observe these sites,
Take note of any judgments or any thoughts that you may have about them,
Acknowledging these thoughts,
And then gently returning back to objectively describing them,
Observing them.
As you breathe out,
Releasing your attention from observing the objects around you,
And as you breathe in,
Directing your attention now to your sense of hearing,
Beginning to observe the sounds around you,
Perhaps the sounds of this recording,
The sounds outside of this.
Perhaps you notice the sounds of engines or the sounds of people around you,
Seeing if you can even tune into the sounds of your breath.
As you're aware of these sounds,
Observing their qualities,
The volume,
The tone,
Is there a continuation of sound,
Or are there pauses between?
As you breathe out,
Releasing your attention from these sounds,
And with the next in-breath,
Tuning your attention in now to the sense of touch,
Being aware of your body,
How they're standing or seated,
Feeling the ground beneath you,
The pressure of your feet against the floor.
If you're holding onto something with your hands,
Is that surface rough or soft?
Is there heat or coolness being emitted from it?
Using any thoughts as they enter your mind,
And then redirecting your attention back.
With your next out-breath,
Releasing your attention from these sounds,
And as you breathe in,
Tuning your attention now to the sense of smell,
Curiously exploring the scents around you,
Seeing if you can notice the smell of your shirt or your skin,
Expanding your awareness to other smells.
Smells can often trigger judgments or memories,
So as these associations come into mind,
Noticing them,
Perhaps even labeling them as thoughts,
And allowing them to pass,
Returning back to curiously exploring these smells.
If you're not able to observe any smells at all,
Then noticing what this experience is like in the absence of any smell.
The mind may wander again and again.
If you find that your mind has drifted off,
Noticing that it has is part of the practice.
So with the next inhalation,
Gently redirecting your mind back to the present moment.
Finally we'll engage our sense of taste.
So as best as you can,
Tuning into your taste buds in your mouth,
Seeing if you can detect any flavors,
Perhaps pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth,
Or gently touching your tongue to your lips,
Detecting if there's a difference between the roof of your mouth and your lips.
Then trying to be as curious as possible,
Observing each sensation,
Whether it be salty,
Sweet,
Or in absence of any taste at all.
Now that we've observed all five of our senses individually,
Beginning to expand your attention to hold all five senses at once.
Observing the objects in the space around you as they move and as they shift.
Sounds may come and go.
You may detect a new feeling,
A new smell,
A new taste.
Is there a particular object that holds your attention?
Curiously exploring that object with all of your senses,
Taking note of it,
Observing any thoughts or emotions that have entered your mind and allowing them to pass.
Continuing to scan your surroundings,
Observing each object with non-judgmental awareness.
If at any point in this practice,
A sensation becomes too overwhelming,
See if you can soften your senses a little bit,
Either softening your gaze or shifting your attention to a new softer object.
You may also experience feeling drowsy or bored,
Your attention waning.
If you notice this,
Seeing if you can sharpen your attention as if you're looking through a microscope,
Zooming in and seeing what details can you detect in this object.
Continuing to experience and observe your surroundings,
Practicing this non-judgmental awareness.
On occasion,
Checking in with yourself to see where your attention has gone.
If you find that your mind has drifted off,
Gently bringing it back.
If you found it was helpful to focus on one sense at a time,
Feeling free to do this,
Cycling through your senses again,
Observing sight,
Sound,
Touch,
Smell,
And taste.
You can continue this mindful awareness as long as you like,
Either listening to this recording again or continuing to practice on your own.
When you're ready to conclude this practice,
Taking a moment and perhaps setting the attention to try as best as you can to maintain this present non-judgmental awareness as you continue with the rest of your day.
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