Welcome to this open awareness MBSR guided practice.
As we begin this practice,
Taking a few moments to settle into a posture that allows your body to feel both supported and awake.
Whether you're sitting on a chair.
Resting on a cushion.
Or choosing another position that supports your practice today.
Allowing yourself to settle without needing to force stillness.
If your body would benefit from a small adjustment now.
Perhaps making that adjustment before allowing yourself to become more still.
If it feels comfortable,
Gently allowing the eyes to close or lowering the gaze.
Taking a moment to recognize that you have intentionally made this time for practice.
There's nowhere else you need to be.
Nothing you need to accomplish,
Simply allowing yourself to arrive.
Beginning by becoming aware of the physical sensations of sitting.
Feeling the places where your body makes contact with the chair,
The cushion,
Or the floor.
Perhaps noticing the weight of the body being received by whatever is supporting you.
Allowing yourself to feel supported.
There is nothing you need to hold up in this moment.
Simply allowing the body to rest.
Receiving the experiences of sitting.
Just as it is.
Now allowing awareness to settle wherever the sensations of breathing are most available today.
Perhaps at the nostrils.
The chest.
Or the gentle movement of the abdomen.
Or maybe somewhere entirely different.
There's no need to breathe differently.
No need to lengthen the breath.
No need to deepen it.
Allowing awareness to accompany the breath as it naturally comes and goes.
Receiving each inhalation.
Receiving each exhalation.
Just as it is.
You may notice that thoughts naturally arise.
Plans,
Memories,
Judgments.
Questions about the practice.
This is what minds do.
Whenever you become aware that attention has wandered.
Gently acknowledging that awareness has returned.
Than perhaps reconnecting with one breath.
Before continuing.
Beginning again.
Without judgment.
This is simply part of the practice.
And for the next few moments,
Allowing the breath and the body to become a place of steadying.
Not because they are the only things to be aware of.
But because they offer a familiar place to return whenever the mind becomes busy.
No need to hold your attention tightly.
Simply allowing awareness to rest here.
Breathing.
Sitting.
Receiving.
Moment by moment.
As this practice continues,
We'll begin allowing awareness to expand beyond the breath alone.
The breath doesn't disappear.
The body doesn't disappear.
They remain available throughout the practice.
A familiar place to return whenever you need them.
Rather than concentrating on one experience,
We'll begin gently allowing awareness to receive whatever naturally comes into experience.
There's nothing you need to search for.
Nothing you need to create.
Allowing awareness to become a little more spacious.
Just as the sky is spacious enough to include many different kinds of weather,
Awareness is spacious enough to include many different experiences.
So for the next little while,
We'll continue allowing awareness to expand.
Including sounds,
But also sensations within the body.
Thoughts as they arise.
And whatever else naturally comes into awareness.
There's no need to decide what deserves your attention.
No need to push away any experiences.
Simply allowing awareness to receive whatever is here.
One moment at a time.
For these next few moments,
Allowing awareness to remain open to sounds.
There's no need to search for them.
Just allowing hearing to happen.
Perhaps sounds nearby.
Perhaps sounds in the distance.
You may notice moments of quiet.
Or moments with many sounds.
Receiving each sound as it arrives.
Allowing it to remain for however long it remains.
And allowing it to fade when it fades.
Nothing to hold on to.
Nothing to push away.
Allowing sounds to come.
And go.
You may notice that the mind begins telling stories about what you hear.
Naming the sound.
Wondering about its source.
Perhaps liking it or wishing it would stop.
Whenever you become aware that attention has become caught in those stories.
There's an invitation to gently reconnect with one breath.
Feeling the body sitting here.
And then opening once again to hearing.
Beginning again with kindness.
Now while remaining slightly aware of sounds.
But turning the volume down a bit.
Perhaps also allowing awareness to include sensations within the body.
There's no need to choose between sounds in the body.
Awareness is spacious enough to include both.
Perhaps becoming aware of the sensation of breathing.
The feeling of sitting.
Places of contact.
Areas of comfort.
Areas of discomfort.
Or perhaps sensations that are difficult to describe.
Allowing whatever is here to simply be part of your experience.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Sooner or later,
Thoughts will naturally appear.
Planning.
Remembering.
Imagining.
Maybe reflecting on the meditation.
Or wondering how much time has passed.
This is the nature of the thinking mind.
There's no need to stop thoughts or to follow them.
Whenever you become aware that thinking is happening.
Perhaps recognizing it.
By silently saying,
Thinking.
And then gently reconnecting with one breath.
The feeling of the body sitting.
And allowing awareness to open once again.
Thoughts become just another part of the experience.
Not a problem to solve.
Just something that arises and passes.
Perhaps becoming aware now of the emotional tone of this moment.
There's no need to search for an emotion.
Just allowing yourself to become familiar with whatever is here.
Perhaps it's calm.
Restlessness.
Contentment.
Impatience.
Joy.
Sadness.
Curiosity.
Or perhaps nothing you would identify as a particular emotion.
Whatever you discover.
Allowing it to belong.
Receiving it with the same openness you've offered to sounds.
To sensations and to thoughts.
If an emotion feels especially strong.
Perhaps allowing the breath to become your anchor once again.
Feeling the support beneath your body.
Receiving one breath at a time.
Until you feel ready to gently widen awareness once more.
To emotion.
Now perhaps allowing awareness to rest with whatever is most prominent in this moment.
It may be sound.
A sensation in the body.
The movement of breath.
It might be a thought or an emotion.
Or perhaps several experiences at once.
There is no need to decide where awareness should go.
Allowing yourself to receive what naturally presents itself.
As one experience fades,
Another may arise.
Awareness gently receiving each moment.
Just as it is.
If at any point you notice that awareness is narrowed.
Or become caught in a particular experience.
Perhaps reconnecting once again with the sensations of breathing.
Allowing the breath and the body to steady awareness.
Before gently opening once more.
As we continue,
There's nothing new you need to do.
Allowing awareness to remain open.
Receiving whatever naturally comes into experience.
Moment by moment.
The breath continues.
The body continues to be supported.
Sounds continue to arise and pass.
Thoughts appear and fade.
Sensations change.
Everything moving in its own time.
There's no need to keep track of it all.
Allowing awareness to receive what is most present.
As we continue.
Allowing awareness to remain open.
Perhaps becoming aware that experience is never completely still.
Even during moments of quiet.
There's movement.
Breathing.
Sounds.
Sensations.
Thoughts.
Perhaps emotions.
Some experiences remain for only a moment.
Others stay a little longer.
There's no need to hold on to those that feel pleasant.
And no need to push away those that feel unpleasant.
Allowing each experience to unfold in its own way.
Receiving each moment.
Just as it is.
You may notice that from time to time,
The mind becomes busy.
Perhaps carried away by planning.
Remembering.
Problem solving.
Or simply wandering.
Whenever you become aware that this has happened.
There's nothing to fix.
No need to judge yourself or your practice.
Acknowledging that awareness is returned.
Perhaps reconnecting with one breath.
Feeling the body sitting here.
Allowing that familiar anchor to steady you.
And then gently opening once again to whatever is here now.
Beginning again.
As many times as needed.
Each beginning is simply another moment of practice.
For these next few moments,
Allowing awareness to rest with whatever naturally becomes most apparent.
It may be a sound.
Or a sensation.
The breath.
A thought.
And emotion.
Or perhaps simply a sense of sitting here.
There's no need to prefer one experience over another.
Whatever comes forward,
Allowing it to be received with curiosity and kindness.
Without needing to hold on to it.
Without needing it to go away.
If at any point the practice feels uncertain.
Perhaps returning once again to the simple experience of breathing.
Feeling the body supported.
Receiving one breath.
Then another.
Knowing that the breath and the body remain available throughout the practice.
A familiar place to begin again.
For the next few moments,
There's nowhere else you need to direct awareness.
Nothing else you need to look for.
Allowing yourself to rest with whatever naturally comes into experience.
The breath remaining available,
The body remaining supported.
Sounds,
Thoughts,
Sensations,
Emotions.
Each arising.
Each changing.
Each passing in their own time.
Awareness receiving it all.
Without needing to hold on.
Without needing to push away.
Just allowing experience to unfold.
If during these quiet moments you notice that attention has become caught in thinking or carried away by a particular sound.
Or perhaps pulled toward a sensation in the body.
There's nothing you need to change.
Simply recognizing where awareness is now.
And perhaps reconnecting with the sensations of breathing.
Feeling the body sitting here.
Supported.
Steady.
Allowing the breath to become a familiar place to begin again.
Then whenever it feels natural,
Allowing awareness to open once more.
Perhaps noticing that each moment is slightly different from the one before it.
Without needing to compare.
Without needing to evaluate.
Just receiving this moment.
Than this one.
Than this one.
Just as it is.
There's nowhere else to arrive.
Nothing to accomplish.
Only this unfolding experience.
Now gradually allowing awareness to gather once again around the body.
Feeling the movement of breathing.
The weight of the body resting.
The contact with the chair or cushion or floor.
Receiving the support beneath you.
Allowing awareness to become a little more focused once again.
Perhaps becoming aware once again of sounds in the room.
The temperature of the air on the skin.
Any light passing through your lowered eyelids.
Without leaving the practice behind.
Allowing awareness to include the space around you once more.
As we bring this practice to a close.
Perhaps taking one or two breaths with full awareness.
Noticing that the breath has been here throughout the entire practice.
Always available.
Reflecting for just a moment on your experience.
Not asking whether it was a good practice or a difficult one.
But acknowledging that you practiced.
That you made the time to be present with your experience.
And that in itself is enough.
As you prepare to continue with the rest of your day.
Seeing if it might be possible to carry the same quality of awareness with you.
Perhaps noticing a single breath while waiting in line.
Feeling your feet on the ground as you walk.
Or pausing for just a moment before responding in conversation.
The practice doesn't end here.
It simply continues in different forms throughout the day.
When you feel ready.
Gently allowing the eyes to open if they have been closed.
Taking in the room.
Noticing color.
Light.
Shape.
Allowing yourself to return at your own pace.
Thank you for taking this time to practice.
