My name is Andrew Jan and I'll be guiding you through today's meditation.
In this session we'll practice focusing the mind on a single point.
This method is inspired by the Buddhist practice of Anapanasati,
That is,
Mindfulness of breathing,
Here placed within a Taoist framework.
It is offered as a way to release tension and bring peace.
Please note it is not medical advice,
But rather an invitation to explore your own path of wellness and spiritual growth.
Focusing on one point is just one of many approaches to meditation.
Others include attending to sensations and energies,
Witnessing thoughts and feelings without judgement,
Or guiding the chi,
Where intention helps energy flow in certain directions or patterns.
Today we'll keep it simple,
Steady and clear,
Resting the mind on a single point.
Sitting comfortably,
Either sitting cross-legged on your mat,
Or sitting on a chair or a stool with your back free,
Your feet parallel,
And firmly on the floor.
We're going to do that single-pointedness meditation,
Anapanasati.
So here we take a breath in,
And we feel the breath touch the tip of the nose,
We take the breath in through the nostrils,
And we breathe out and feel the breath touch the underside of the nose.
Breathing in and breathing out,
So let's begin.
So take a breath in through the nostril,
And feel the breath touch the underside of the nose as you breathe in.
And breathe out and feel the breath touch the underside of the nose as you breathe out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Initially you may need to encourage or slightly force the breath,
But with time the breath starts to become fluid,
Smooth and gentle.
Breathing in and breathing out.
And with time that sensation on the tip of the nose as a tingling,
As an itch,
As a ball of light becomes more and more prominent,
And the breath becomes quieter,
Softer,
And even starts to disappear.
And if you're distracted by any thoughts,
Just allow the thoughts to go to the tip of the nose or disappear.
Just observe them,
Try and allow them to go to the tip of the nose,
And then pass.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Any sensations in the body or mind,
Also direct to the tip of the nose.
Any imaginary sounds,
Imaginary light,
Imaginary heat or cold,
Direct everything towards that one point.
Breathing in and breathing out.
You may notice that your body starts to change shape.
The shoulders drop,
The neck becomes longer,
The abdomen sinks in,
The coccyx tucks underneath.
And as the body changes shape,
You start to get vibrations or feelings in that place,
And you can also direct those to the tip of the nose.
Breathing in and breathing out.
You may even notice as your breath starts to disappear,
Rather than breathe,
You start to swallow your saliva down instead.
It now becomes like the whole universe is focused onto one point.
See if you can focus on that one dot of light on the tip of your nose.
Feel like there's a vibration just at the tip of your nose that marries that one dot of light.
Feel like you can feel its temperature in that one dot of light.
Everything condensed into one point.
It's like you're in this imaginary realm where out of the million,
Trillion,
Zillion possibilities,
The possibilities for thought,
Awareness,
Scattered in time and place,
You can focus on this singular,
Tiniest dot with all your senses at one point at the tip of the nose.
As you focus on that one dot of light or that one sensation,
Feel like in part,
By focusing on that one dot,
Which is exactly the same as exactly those million,
Zillion,
Trillion other dots,
That you can be,
That that represents all those others.
So by focusing on the one,
You focus on everything and everything becomes one.
Be enlightened to that paradox where to become one,
You become everything.
So now it's time to come back,
To come back.
So what we're going to do is you can use your hands,
But try and feel like you grab that one dot of light,
That one dot of sound,
That one dot of vibration.
And we bring that down the front,
Down through the throat,
Bring that one dot down through the throat,
Down through your loving heart,
Through the solar plexus,
Let it go through the navel,
Through the sexual center,
Behind the pubic bone,
All the way to the perineum.
We're going to go around the body before we rest.
To the sacrum,
Let this one dot of light go around the body,
To the second and third lumbar vertebrae,
The Ming Men,
To T11,
Thoracic 11,
To T5 between the shoulder blades or scapulae,
To cervical number 7,
C7 or Das Wei,
To the base of skull or jade pillow,
And then to the crown or the Ba Hui point,
To the third eye,
And going,
Retracing our steps,
Tip of the nose,
Throat,
Heart,
Solar plexus,
Navel.
And now from the navel I want you to go inside the body to one point midway between the navel and the back,
To that one point between the navel and the back,
And let that point just sit there and vibrate.
This is the lower Dan Tien,
The lower elixir field,
Let it sit there and vibrate.
And now you can use your hands to guide,
But we're going to rotate it in one direction,
Going outwardly towards the pubic bone and diaphragm.
Do that at least nine circles,
A spiral going outwardly to the pubic bone and diaphragm.
And then once you reach the pubic bone and diaphragm,
Start getting smaller and smaller and smaller,
Till you reach that one point,
That one point between the navel and the back,
And then rest.
Thank you for joining me in this meditation on focusing the mind to a single point.
As you return to your day,
Carry with you a sense of clarity and steadiness.
May this practice support you in finding balance,
Focus,
And calm with each moment.
I look forward to sharing the next meditation with you.
