Okay,
So let's settle into a comfortable sitting position and gently close your eyes.
Or if you choose to leave them open,
Rest your gaze on a spot a few feet in front of you.
Find your posture sitting with a sense of dignity so you are alert and awake,
But you are also relaxed.
Feel the weight of your body in the chair.
Notice the places where your body makes contact with the floor and with the chair.
Maybe take a moment to remember your intention for being here and committing to being present as best you can for the duration of this practice.
Find that gentle determination to stay with the practice,
Knowing that you can begin again,
Refreshing this intention and commitment as often as you need to.
Let go of the past of planning or worrying about the future.
For now,
Your job is simply to relax into the present,
Releasing thoughts as many times as you can.
Begin again with attention to the present experience.
Begin by simply noticing sound and sensation of hearing.
Observe the sounds inside your body and the sounds outside your body and notice the texture and the pitch of the sounds.
Notice the texture and the pitch of the sounds.
Notice the texture and the pitch of the sounds and maybe listen for the quietest or the most distant sound.
You find yourself carried away at any time from the experience of hearing.
Just note that and gently guide your attention back to the sound.
Now allow the different sounds to fade into the background of your awareness and rest your attention on the breath,
The sounds in your abdomen as the breath moves in and out of your body.
Observe the slight stretching as your abdomen rises with each in-breath and the gentle falling with each out-breath.
Focus your attention gently and firmly on each in-breath and each out-breath.
Observe the sensations of the inhale and the exhale.
Maybe the slight pauses between the in-breath and the out-breath.
There is no need to try to control or change the breathing in any way.
Just simply observe your body breathing.
When your attention wanders off the breath,
Just notice that and gently guide it back,
Letting go and beginning again with your attention resting on the breath.
Now when you're ready,
Allow the breath to fade into the background of your experience and bring your attention to the sensations in the body.
Note all the different sensations that may be present in the moment,
Sensations of touch,
Pressure,
Tingling,
Pulsing,
Itching or whatever it may be.
You might even have the sensation of hunger,
Restlessness.
You might have a pain somewhere in your body.
Just notice those things,
Those sensations.
You might scan the body from the toes up to the head or just open your awareness to the body as a whole,
Noticing whatever arises and letting go of your attention to that sensation or area.
If you find sensations that are particularly intense,
Maybe bring your awareness to the area and explore with gentleness and curiosity the detailed pattern of sensations there.
What do the sensations feel like?
Do they vary over time?
Continue to observe the sensations in your body for a few more moments.
When you notice that your awareness is no longer on the body,
Note what is on your mind and then gently congratulate yourself.
You have already come back and are once more aware of your experience and begin again.
Now when you are ready,
Allow the sensations in your body to move into the background of your awareness and allow your attention to move to your thoughts.
See if you can notice the next thought that arises in your mind.
Now watching each thought as it arises and passes away,
Notice them as they arise and then gently let them go.
You might want to label these processes as thinking or thought.
You notice yourself being pulled into a thought or story,
Just observe that as well and gently let go,
Returning your attention again to the awareness of thinking.
If you notice your mind repeatedly getting lost in thoughts,
You can always reconnect with the here and now by bringing your awareness back to the movements of the breath.
Now continue to practice this on your own for a few moments.
In the final moments of this meditation,
Reflect back on how this practice was for you.
Notice that there is any judgment about how you did or maybe even who you are.
Trust that any time we bring mindful attention to our experience,
Any time we stop and have the intention of coming into the present,
We are nourishing ourselves,
Taking care of ourselves in a very fundamental way,
No matter what comes up during the practice or what our minds and bodies are doing.
Now gently and as you are ready,
Allow your awareness without opening your eyes to include the room and slowly expanding it to include the people around you.
Maybe take a moment to appreciate yourself and the others here practicing with you.
When you are ready,
Very slowly and gently allow your eyes to open.
