S.
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The S.
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Mind time practice is for those moments where you need to take a step back and come out of automatic pilot.
The practice can help you to pause to become aware and choose your response rather than just react.
At times of challenge it can be very helpful simply to notice the thoughts and emotions that are present.
These can be really heightened and when we can see them for what they are,
Just heightened emotion,
Turbulent thought,
It becomes slightly easier not to be quite so driven by what's turned up.
Then we might get some small degree of choice and that's better for ourselves and better for those around us.
So settling now and taking a few more purposeful breaths.
Letting the eyes close,
Leaving the gaze softened if you prefer.
And just noticing what's here now as you're sitting,
Breathing.
Staying with the body.
As you're breathing,
What's here in the chest,
What's here in the belly?
And not at this stage trying to change anything about your experience,
Just tuning in.
Aware of contact between feet and floor.
Feeling weight coming down through the body to the ground.
Noticing contact at the feet,
Any tingling,
Tickling,
Warmth,
Coolness.
Whatever's here.
Becoming aware of the back and shoulders,
Any holding,
Any tightening.
This body,
Right here,
Right now.
Feeling the jaw,
Shoulders,
The hands,
Areas where we can sometimes store quite a bit of tension.
And coming to the breath once more and for a few moments inquiring into what's most vivid for you with each in-breath,
With each out-breath.
Maybe noticing the feeling of air coming in through the nose or mouth,
Or perhaps slightly warmer air on the out-breath,
Cooler on the in-breath.
And just breathing.
Letting the breath just flow as it does,
Not forcing,
Not trying to make any changes.
Allowing,
Breathing.
And then you become aware that the mind has wandered,
Just seeing where the attention went and bringing it back to the breath.
And noticing any feelings and emotions that may be here now.
Simply acknowledging these,
Not trying to shift or change anything,
Just observing,
Curious,
Interested.
If it helps,
Maybe labeling what's shown up,
Oh yeah,
That's anger,
Or that's sadness,
Or that's shame,
Or whatever's there.
And just letting what's here be what's here,
Right now.
Breathing,
Allowing.
And noticing any thoughts that may have turned up.
Aware of the tone of thoughts.
And if it helps,
Maybe seeing thoughts like carriages on a train while you stand on the platform watching them go by.
It's not your train,
You don't need to get on and be swept away,
But just observing the thoughts that come as they pass into the mind and out again.
And there may be many carriages on that thought train,
Fast and loud,
Or maybe just a few moving quite slowly.
Maybe you don't find any thoughts at all.
There's nothing you should be experiencing right now,
There's just what you are experiencing.
And as best you can,
Just staying with a kindly interest,
With whatever you're noticing.
Allowing,
Letting it be.
Unmoving awareness back to the breath.
Staying with what's here,
Breathing with it.
Inquiring,
Allowing,
Matter of our.
Feeling the breath,
Breathing with what's here.
This breath.
And this breath.
And this breath.
And this breath.
And if at any point thinking takes over,
Then just seeing where it goes and coming back to the breath,
Time and time again,
Returning the attention to the breath.
And breathing.
And if the mind wanders off a hundred times or just coming back a hundred times.
Always allowing,
Always kind.
Breathing.
Staying with the breath,
Breathing with what others hear.
And in the last few moments of this practice,
Taking a few deeper in-breaths and deeper out-breaths and maybe forming an intention about how you want to be now.
How you want to be now as you relate to the world and those around you.
And when you're ready,
Beginning to bring the practice to a close.
Opening your eyes and coming to move again.
And just giving yourself whatever time you need before you engage with whatever comes next.
