Hello,
And welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Mark Coleman,
And today we will be focusing on cultivating a mindful focused attention.
Beginning the practice by sitting in a comfortable,
Upright,
Yet relaxed posture,
Where you can sit with ease for the next 10 minutes.
Now closing your eyes or lowering your gaze,
And turn the gaze of attention inwards.
Take a moment just to notice how you're feeling in this moment.
What's the quality of your body,
Your mind,
And your heart?
And then from this place,
Again,
Attuning to your posture.
Taking that sense of grounded connection with your seat,
With the ground,
And then turning awareness to the body and to the breath,
And noticing how the breath is naturally breathing by itself.
In this practice,
We don't control the breath or try to change it or manipulate it,
Simply becoming aware of the movement and the sensations of breath.
Now turning your attention and refining that awareness,
Noticing the beginning of an in-breath,
And feeling all the sensations of an in-breath.
Notice the beginning of an out-breath,
Noticing all the changing sensations of the out-breath.
And be aware if there's any pause or space between breaths,
Resting in that stillness between breaths.
It's important to feel and sense each passing inhale and exhale,
Noticing where you feel the inhale most distinctly,
Sometimes at the nostrils,
The cool air tickling,
Or the back of the throat,
Or the rising and falling of the chest and the belly.
Let your attention settle where you feel the breath most clearly,
Ideally at the tip of the nostrils,
But wherever for you is the most tangible,
Connected experience of the breath.
And let your attention dwell there,
Staying curious,
Connected through each of the passing sensations of inhaling,
Exhaling,
And the stillness between pauses.
And it's natural that the attention will wander from the breath,
Perhaps into thoughts or images or daydreaming or spacing out.
No need to be discouraged by that.
It's very much part of the practice.
We simply acknowledge each time the attention has wandered,
That itself is a moment of mindfulness,
And we release the thoughts and we reestablish awareness,
That connected to each inhale,
Each exhale,
Noticing how each breath is distinct from the last,
Is unique.
So bring a close,
Careful,
Attuned attention to each moment of breath.
As a support for mindfulness and focus,
You may use a soft mental note of in on the in-breath,
Out on the out-breath,
Just as a slight whisper in the back of the mind,
Primary focus on the sensation of breath.
In a similar way,
You may use counting,
One on the in-breath,
Two on the exhale,
Up to ten and then starting again at one.
And if the attention wanders,
You begin again at one.
Remembering to stay relaxed in the body,
Relaxation is a support for concentration.
It's also natural that you'll notice many other things in your experience,
Sounds,
Other physical sensations,
Images,
Emotions.
And for the purposes of this practice of cultivating a focused attention,
We acknowledge those things and simply return awareness to the breath over and over,
Allowing the attention to absorb and to permeate into each passing sensation of breath.
Breathing in,
I know I'm breathing in,
Breathing out,
I know I'm breathing out.
Staying mindful and present during the pause between breaths.
As a support for concentration,
Noticing and feeling the beginning of each in-breath,
Sustaining the attention just for the duration of that inhale.
Aware of the beginning of the out-breath,
Sustaining the attention just for the duration of that exhale.
And beginning again over and over.
Each time the attention wanders,
That itself is a moment of mindfulness.
No need to judge or criticize.
Release the thoughts and resume awareness of the breath.
In this last minute of the practice,
Reestablishing and recommitting to just being here this moment,
This body,
This breath.
And as you bring this practice to a close,
Bringing awareness to one final breath,
Feeling the fullness of the inhale,
The exhale,
The pause.
And then knowing you can bring this quality of focused attention,
Mindful awareness,
To any moment and any experience in your day.
