Hello,
And welcome to Path to Peace Part 3.
This is an ongoing collection of guided meditations,
Designed to work together to take you from the very beginning of a meditation practice into the deep depths that lie within us.
Slowly over these episodes,
Great transformation will occur if you practice these sessions regularly.
If you haven't,
Go back and try Part 1 first,
Do that for about a week,
And then move on to Part 2,
And then come here to Part 3.
So we will begin now.
So come into a seated posture.
This can be on a chair,
Or you can sit cross-legged on the floor,
And be upright.
Sit upright.
You don't have to be poker straight.
Just upright enough to keep you awake,
So it's a bright,
Wakeful posture.
And then allow the eyes to gently close,
Checking with the body,
Starting at the top of the head,
Bringing your attention to anything that's showing up.
This might be tingling,
Coolness,
Warmth,
Pressure.
And then relax the top of the head,
And move that awareness down into the forehead,
The eyes,
Making sure they're not squeezed shut,
Relaxing the cheeks and the jaw,
The shoulders,
And scanning your attention down the arms,
From the upper arms to the lower arms and into the hands,
Feeling whatever you can feel,
Clothing,
Again skin,
Temperature,
Itching.
And then up into the chest,
Relaxing the chest,
The abdomen,
Letting go of any gripping you might find here,
Allowing the belly to soften,
Then the upper back,
Middle back and lower,
The buttocks,
And as you bring your attention here,
Feel how they support the body,
Feel that contact,
As the weight of the body meets the floor at this point.
Then scan your attention down the thighs,
Knees,
And lower legs,
And into the feet,
Feeling whatever you can feel here,
Then just come to stillness,
Softening the body further,
And then bringing that awareness to the breath.
If you can,
Try to feel the breath as it comes in and out of the nose,
Feel it around the rims of the nostrils,
Where it first enters into the nose.
And now see if you can feel the air towards the tip of the nose,
Or can you feel it stronger towards the back of the nose,
Where the nostril and upper lip meet.
So just finding which point is the most sensitive for you around the nostrils,
And try to be with a breath right from the beginning,
Through the middle and towards the end,
And then an out breath all the way out,
Beginning,
Middle and end,
But feel it at this one point.
So you're feeling the air pass over one single point,
And you don't move into the body or out of it,
You keep your awareness stationed,
As if you're a guard on sentry duty,
Feeling these subtle sensations of air coming in and out.
And if you're struggling,
Know that the reason that we feel the breath here,
As one practice,
Is that it is difficult.
It's difficult because it's subtle.
This means we have to concentrate.
So this draws down the awareness,
And draws us deep into meditation.
And you can count from one up to ten.
One on the in breath,
One on the out breath,
But count that in your mind,
And see if you can get to ten.
The likelihood is you'll get to four or five,
And you'll forget which number you're on.
This is an indication that the mind has wandered.
So see that that's happened,
And then just notice that you've gone and drifted into thinking.
Say in your mind,
Thinking,
Thinking.
This will unhook you from the thinking process,
And then place your attention back on the breath.
And being aware that losing the count,
Losing the breath,
Is part of the practice.
You're not doing it wrong just because the mind wanders.
It's quite natural for a mind to keep wandering.
But we're growing in our ability to stay present in the moment by simply bringing it back over and over.
Training the mind,
Through the breath,
To be attentive to the present moment.
Don't grip the breath too tightly.
Be relaxed about the practice.
Just being there and present whenever the breath shows up.
Now bring in the practice to a close.
Spread your awareness through the whole body,
And just check in with how you're feeling.
And when you're ready,
Allow the eyes to slowly open.
Bookmark this,
Practice it regularly,
And shortly part four will be available.
This will take you deeper.
Each session will go a little deeper into the path of meditation,
Longer practices,
And acquiring more skills.
Along the way.
Have a wonderful day.
