Morning meditation,
Setting your intentions for the day.
Starting by finding a comfortable relaxed meditation position.
Starting with your back fairly upright but not too rigid.
Hands gently resting by your side or in your lap.
If you are sitting on a chair,
Your feet flatten the floor if that is comfortable for you.
If you wish gently allowing the eyes to close.
If not just softening the focus on a neutral point.
The floor in front of you.
And starting by gently turning your attention inwards to the breath.
Just noticing what it feels like to breathe.
What it feels like to breathe in.
What it feels like to breathe out.
Without straining or forcing in any way,
Just gently allowing the breath to deepen slightly.
Trying to keep the in breath and out breath of equal length.
So you may find it useful to count to 3 or 4 on the in breath and the same on the out breath.
So right now we are just doing two things.
We are noticing the felt sensations of each breath and we are gently regulating and equalizing the breath with the help of counting.
And we will probably become aware of thoughts,
Planning,
Judging,
Remembering,
Fantasy.
That is ok.
That is what our minds do.
It is part of the deal.
It is perfectly normal.
It is perfectly human.
We are not trying to stop our thoughts or push them away.
We are just choosing not to get involved.
No need to engage in thinking.
Just acknowledge the thoughts and let them be.
Gently return to the breath and back to the counting.
Each time.
And each time you notice that your mind has wandered,
That is a moment of awareness.
Moment of mindfulness.
Moment of choice.
Congratulate yourself for noticing.
Acknowledge the thought.
Gently choose to come back to the breath and back to the counting each time.
And you may be aware of sounds.
That is ok.
There is plenty of space and awareness just to allow them to be there.
As we now bring a little bit more attention to the sensations of the out breath.
Notice what it feels like.
Real sensations as you release each breath.
You may notice the body's natural tendency to soften and relax as you release each breath.
Maybe the mind can learn from the body.
The body releases the breath and the body relaxes.
The mind releases involvement with thinking and the mind begins to settle.
Now letting go of the counting,
Just allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm.
As we shift the focus of our attention to what it feels like to be sitting here,
In this body,
In this moment,
In this place.
I'm not seeing any physical sensations in the body right now.
Without wanting to change anything,
Without any judgement,
Just acknowledging,
Just bringing our awareness,
How the body feels.
Then opening up to the sense of touch.
Noticing the contact with the surfaces supporting you.
General pull of gravity.
The pattern of sensations of pressure from the weight of the body resting.
Maybe allowing a sense of being held and supported unconditionally by the ground beneath you.
No need to make any effort,
The body knows how to sit.
Right now there's nothing to do,
Nowhere to go,
No calls to answer,
No problems to solve.
Right now just allowing yourself to just be.
Head resting in the body,
Body resting on the ground,
Surrounded by space.
And asking yourself,
What's important to you today?
What's important to you right now?
What really matters?
What do you really care about?
What do you value?
What's important to you today?
What things can you let go of today?
What do you want to get rid of?
What's holding you back?
Maybe feelings of anger or resentment.
What's not serving you?
What can you let go of today?
How do you want to be today?
What values,
Attitudes do you want to express today?
What virtues do you want to show today?
How do you choose to be today?
What qualities do you choose to express today?
How do you want to be in the world?
How do you choose to be?
What support do you need today?
How can you support yourself?
Who express those values?
Who express those attitudes?
How can you support yourself today?
How do you set an intention?
How do you want to be?
How do you choose to be today?
Gently opening up to the space around you.
Noticing the sounds inside and outside the room.
As we bring this practice to a close.
