So let's go ahead and get started finding a comfortable seated position or if you prefer to lie down that is completely okay.
Sensing if you want to practice with your eyes open or closed today.
If you're choosing to practice with your eyes open,
Just choosing a focal point in front of you that is not too busy,
Not a lot of distractions and holding a soft case there throughout the practice.
And if you are meditating with your eyes closed,
You can go ahead and close them down now.
And allowing the back to be straight,
Not too rigid,
Just alert enough for the practice.
Resting your hands on your legs or on the side of your body.
Allowing the feet to be grounded on the floor.
If you are sitting cross-legged,
Also noticing your legs,
Your feet,
Your ankles as they touch the object that you're sitting on.
If you're sitting on a chair and your feet are not reaching the ground,
You can always use a pillow under your feet.
That way you are feeling the support of the ground,
Of the earth.
And settling in here.
Noticing the natural rhythm of the breath.
Noticing the quality of the body here.
Sensing as it settles in this moment in the practice.
Noticing any points of contact of the body with the object that you're sitting on.
And really feeling into these points of contact.
Noticing any particular sensation,
Temperature,
Texture,
Whether the object is soft or hard.
As we settle in the practice,
Noticing the quality of the breath as well here.
Observing the quality of the breath,
Whether the inhalation and exhalation are long or short.
Recognizing that there is no right or wrong here.
We're simply observing.
We're not forcing the breath.
We're simply allowing it to be just as it is here.
Noticing as we rest our attention on the breath,
If there's any particular point of contact that we notice in the body as the breath moves in and out of the body.
Perhaps you may really sense the breath in the nostrils as the breath comes in through the body.
Perhaps you may notice it in the chest or the abdomen area.
And as we practice today with our thoughts,
You're going to recognize that in our practice of meditation and mindfulness of meditation,
As we settle in and we become aware of this present moment,
Thoughts are going to naturally arise.
Thoughts are part of who we are as human beings.
They allow us to shape the reality that we perceive every single moment.
And in this practice,
The invitation is to really meet our thoughts as they arise.
So the way that we're going to practice today is by using the breath as the anchor of our present moment awareness.
So we're going to be resting our attention on the breath,
Almost like a home base.
And as we notice our breath as it goes in and out,
Perhaps we notice the expansion and contraction of the breath.
Thoughts will naturally arise.
And as they arise,
The invitation is to note that you're thinking.
So you can silently note thinking as a thought arises.
We're meeting the thought.
We're acknowledging the thought.
We're not becoming engaged in the thought.
We're not sending energy to the thought,
The conversation,
The question,
The idea.
We're simply noticing,
Noting,
Thinking,
And then slowly coming back to our home base.
The breath,
Remembering that if we by any chance get caught up in the thought,
Perhaps we allowed ourselves to go and we got wrapped up in thought,
That is also okay.
My reminder here is that you have your anchor.
You have your home base to go back and rest your attention,
Your awareness there.
So as you note thinking,
You acknowledge,
You let it go.
And then you gently come back to this home base,
The breath.
As we continue with the practice,
Noticing and noting the thought,
I want to invite you to become aware of the subtlety,
The subtle difference between the way in which your thoughts are arising for you.
So perhaps you may notice that your thoughts are coming up for you in the shape of words or perhaps in the way of images.
And this is a reminder that this is the practice.
There's a subtle difference that we start to realize and notice as we practice mindfulness of thoughts.
So really resting our awareness,
Our attention on our thoughts will allow us to relate to our thoughts in this way in which we can notice a subtle difference.
So we are present for these thoughts that arise.
Perhaps you may notice that you want to drop the noting,
Thinking,
And instead you want to focus on this subtle difference between images and words.
This is the time for you to explore what feels better.
If you notice any type of judgment towards what you notice,
Kindly letting that judgment,
Opinion go.
If you're engaging with your thoughts,
Kindly noticing,
Acknowledging,
And letting it go.
And always remembering you have a home base within you,
An object that is always present for you,
The breath.
And if it's available to you and if it feels comfortable,
I want to invite you to place one of your hands or both of your hands on your forehead.
This may feel a little awkward at first,
But the simple touch of our hands against the forehead is a way in which we can send ourselves warmth,
Care,
Attention.
And specifically today,
Working with mindfulness of thoughts,
This is a way in which we can honor our thoughts,
Our brains,
Our minds.
So perhaps if you would like,
You can also send your mind,
Your thoughts,
And your brain thoughts of gratitude,
Feelings of warmth.
It could be as simple as saying,
Thank you,
Mind.
Thank you,
Brain.
Thank you,
Thoughts.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And whenever you're ready,
Bringing your hand down,
Resting on your leg for a couple moments,
Just coming back to the breath,
Releasing all attention on the thoughts,
Simply resting the attention on the breath.
And whenever you're ready,
Inviting a deep breath,
Deep,
Mindful breath,
Inviting some mindful movement to the tips of your fingers,
Your toes,
Perhaps moving your neck from side to side.
And if your eyes have been closed,
You may float them open now.
