Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today I want to talk about what mindfulness is.
Mindfulness and meditation have become big business.
You read about it in the paper and hear about it on the radio and TV.
Today there are a number of apps,
And yet many people still wonder,
What is mindfulness?
I've told you in many of my lessons that meditation isn't about stopping your mind from thinking.
It's about focus.
Mindfulness when you get right down to it,
Is nothing more than training your brain to focus on the now.
I've also said that forever is now,
Because this moment is all we really have.
Mindfulness means learning to focus on what you're experiencing in this moment.
Just this moment.
And you learn this ability through practice,
By doing it over and over and over again.
It's just like the way you learn to catch a football,
Or do a flip on a four inch balance beam.
No one just gets up on a balance beam and does amazing tricks without years of practice.
Same goes for playing football,
Or playing the guitar,
Or playing harmonica.
You have to practice,
And gradually you begin to live more in the present moment.
I first got interested in meditation in 1968,
When the Beatles went to India to study with the Maharishi.
I was 19 years old.
I started reading everything I could find on meditation.
But I really got into it seriously when I turned 20.
I bought every book I could find on meditation,
And related topics like Hatha Yoga,
Raja Yoga,
The sacred writings like the Upanishads,
And the Vedas,
And many more.
Keep in mind that at that time,
I didn't have any apps or programs I could use.
I didn't have any recordings I could listen to.
It was just me,
Wearing my special meditation robe,
Sitting in my meditation room,
Burning my special meditation incense,
And focusing on a candle.
If you think about it now,
As you can probably tell,
It makes me laugh.
But anyway,
Let's get ready to get in touch with our breath.
Make sure you're someplace where you can be,
Won't be disturbed.
It doesn't have to be a special meditation room,
But just someplace relatively quiet.
A bedroom,
A back porch,
The front seat of your car,
Whatever works for you.
And silence your other devices.
This is your time.
Make the most of it.
Make the best use of it.
Close your eyes now,
And let's get in touch with our breath.
Just breathe normally,
And don't force anything.
Just follow each and every breath,
From start to finish,
To starting again.
Breathing in,
And breathing out,
Just one breath at a time.
Just continue to breathe normally,
As we start to scan our body.
You're just looking for any areas of tension,
Or tightness.
Unfurrow your brow,
And unclench your jaw.
Try to relax your face.
Come down to your neck,
To your shoulders,
And just ease any tension that you find.
Move down your chest,
And your belly,
Your hips,
And your legs,
Your ankles,
And toes.
Down your arms,
And your fingers.
And as I said before,
Don't be afraid to move.
Wiggle your fingers.
Shrug your shoulders.
Rotate your neck.
Do whatever you need to do,
To get your body more relaxed,
And more comfortable.
Now as we settle in,
And get more comfortable,
Let's really start to observe our breath.
Notice it as it comes in,
And as it flows out.
Breathing in,
And breathing out,
Just one breath at a time.
Observe your breath.
Don't just let it happen,
Without giving any thought to it.
Focus on each breath,
And then the next,
And then the next.
Just listen to the sound of my voice,
And follow your breathing.
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
One breath at a time.
Don't control your breath.
Just observe it.
Let your breath do what your breath does,
All by itself.
And when you notice thoughts running through your mind,
That's okay.
It's perfectly normal.
Our thoughts will quiet down,
As we get more into our breathing.
Feel your body getting heavier,
Each time you exhale.
And breathe,
Just breathe.
I've said this before,
But in 54 years of meditating,
I found that meditation can change your life.
It can help you to find calm,
When you need it.
It can help you to concentrate.
It can help you to get through the toughest of situations.
It can help you to relax.
It can help you get better sleep.
And again,
Meditation and mindfulness is just the practice of training your focus.
It separates you from your thoughts,
To let you be the observer.
Because we are not our thoughts,
And we are not our emotions.
Mindfulness allows you to become more mindful.
We are not our bodies,
And we are not really our minds either.
And at first,
That's a hard concept to comprehend.
We're really just the observer behind it all.
And once you can begin to detach from your thoughts and your emotions,
You can start to choose the things that you actually want to focus on.
To train your focus on the things that have meaning.
And that means you accomplish more.
You get more done.
And more importantly,
You can live your life more fully.
When you have thoughts,
Just watch them.
Don't judge or get attached to them.
Observe.
Just observe.
We want to learn to be the observer of our thoughts.
And it's going to take time.
And it's going to take practice.
But I know that you can do it.
Because I did it.
By following my breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time.
And then again.
And then again.
You've heard me say it many times,
Meditation will change your life.
And that isn't just my opinion.
That's been proved by science.
They've done brain imaging studies that prove that practicing mindfulness alters the functioning of the brain.
It improves your cognition.
It improves learning.
It improves your mood and your feeling of general well-being.
Mindfulness and meditation are used in schools to enhance learning.
In sports to improve their performance.
And even in business to boost fulfillment and productivity.
Practice means being fully present and attentive to what's going on.
What's going on in this moment.
Without judgment.
Being mindful can help you to live your life more fully.
I've also said this before,
But letting go and loving yourself and being in the present moment are all just steps along the same path.
When you find one,
You'll find the others.
There's no question in my mind that you can do it.
It just takes commitment.
It takes practice.
And it will take time.
But each time you get in touch with your breath,
Your life is a little calmer.
It's a little quieter and it's a little more full.
And you can do it.
You can achieve it all by just breathing in and breathing out one breath at a time.
Now as we come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room.
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch and feel how good it is to be alive.
I want to thank each and every one of you for taking time to join me in this moment.
All moments are precious and I'm honored that you decided to spend some of your moments with me.
And if you're interested,
Please join our group Meditation with Michael here on Insight Timer.
We'd love to have you.
As always,
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session.
Till next time.
