Gather Around This Moment

This is a brief guided meditation that encourages breath and body awareness as a means to understanding what is actually happening right now, and settling comfortably into this moment. Use as a standalone meditation to start your day, as a mid-day reset, or to prompt the beginning of a longer meditation.

Transcript

Let's begin to gather our attention, Gather our awareness. Sometimes instead of direct the mind, Nice to think of this idea of gathering. We're coming out of some aspect of our day-to-day life and putting ourselves in this place, Secluding the mind from chores, Work, Interactions other than the ones here. So for now, Letting all those other things fall away as we gather around the present moment, The body as it is in this moment. We can spend some attention on arranging our body so that it's comfortable, Upright, At ease, Have a good perch to view this moment from. And we may notice as we become still, The rising and falling breath. The breath can show us aspects of the mind in more extreme circumstances. If we get afraid, You know, Have a near miss in a car accident or hurrying about the house because they're late, The breath will be a certain way. And if we look at the breath at that moment, Understand something about the mind, Or if we're watching a funny movie, We're taking our ease with a friend, Might observe the breath in that moment, Tells us a different tale. We can do that in any moment, Do some observing of the breath, Learn something from it. We also have the power of adjusting the breath in that moment of fear and anxiety, Stopping before we run out the door, Taking a few deeper than usual breaths. The feedback goes both directions. The body can become more calm. Observe anywhere in the body where the sensations of breathing are apparent, And be curious and intimate with those sensations. See how subtle or how much subtlety you can perceive in the movement of the breath in each moment, How it takes shape in the abdomen, In the ribs, Up into the upper chest and throat, And be aware of the areas that are adjacent to the sensations of breathing as well. And ultimately, Expanding the mind into that adjacency that is the whole body, Maybe beyond, Just particularly present with the noticeable sensations, And sort of subtly letting the mind's attention be infused into what's next to what's next to, And then expand the awareness to include the whole body breathing.

Reviews

Very relaxing! Love the concepts of gathering your attention and focusing on the breath in this way. It was a very nice ending as well.

Love this meditation that centers around the idea and sensations of gathering around the present moment. It felt like a true gathering. I also appreciate that there is no ending to this track. Thank you Mark.