Sit in a comfortable but attentive posture,
Allowing your back to be straight but not rigid or stiff.
Feel your head balanced on your shoulders.
Allow your face and jaw to relax,
With arms and hands resting in a comfortable position.
Be attentive to what's happening within your own awareness,
Right here and right now,
Without judgment.
As you sit,
Begin to notice the sensations of breath.
Pay attention for a moment to how your abdomen moves on each in-breath and out-breath,
The movement of air through your nostrils,
The slight movement of your chest and shoulders.
Find the spot in your body where the sensation of breathing is most vivid,
Whether it be your abdomen,
Your chest,
Or your shoulders,
Or the movement of air through your nostrils.
See how fully aware you can be of your whole cycle of breathing,
Recognizing that each part of the cycle is different from the other part.
You will notice your attention shifting away from the breath from time to time.
It's perfectly normal for thoughts to wander into fantasies,
Memories,
Worries,
Or things you need to do.
When you notice your mind has wandered,
Try to meet it with a spirit of friendliness.
You don't need to do anything about it.
There is nothing to fix.
Rather than forcing it,
Just try to allow yourself to become curious about what it's like to be breathing right now,
And you'll find that the attention is naturally drawn back to the physical sensations of breath as it moves through your body.
Stay alert,
Relaxed,
And above all,
Compassionate as you maintain awareness of where the mind goes.
Each time you notice the mind has been distracted or has wandered,
Gently shift your awareness back to sensations of breath.
You Notice the tendency to want to control your breathing.
Let the quality of attention be light and easy,
One of simply observing and noticing.
You don't need to control the duration,
Intensity,
Pace,
Or the pause between each breath.
Just be present.
You you Notice the tendency to have an opinion about things,
Liking the way things are going right now,
Not liking it,
Or sometimes feeling neutral.
This tendency can also be an object of awareness.
We can practice just noticing that there is an opinion or feeling about how things are right now.
When you notice the sensation of liking or pleasure,
You can silently tell yourself,
So this is my liking mind,
Or hello attachment.
When you notice the sensation of not liking,
You may know,
So that's my critical mind,
Or hello aversion,
Or so this is what it feels like to want things to be different than they are.
We can learn how to notice our pleasant and unpleasant feelings about thoughts and experiences without judgment and without having to do anything about it.
As you notice that happening,
Just bring your awareness back to the physical sensations of breath wherever it's most vivid for you,
Just riding the entire cycle of breathing one cycle after another.
You you As this meditation comes to an end,
Recognize that you spent this time intentionally aware of your moment-to-moment experience,
Building the capacity for opening the senses to the vividness,
To the change,
To the aliveness of the present moment,
Expanding your skill to be curious about and open to whatever presents itself without judgment.
Then,
When you're ready,
Allow your eyes to open and gently bring your attention back to the space you're in.
