The purpose of this meditation is twofold.
The first is to introduce the idea of the breath as an anchor point for the mind,
A place for us to focus on and steady ourselves and potentially calm the nervous system.
The other purpose is to explore two very useful tools of learning to start where we are and just starting over,
That when the mind wanders,
We just start over.
For this practice,
I recommend sitting upright either on a chair or the couch or your meditation cushion.
So allowing yourself to find your seat and allowing your eyes to close gently.
Arriving,
Arriving in the room you're in.
Noticing the temperature.
Noticing the feel of the space around you.
Arriving here.
Not before,
Not later,
But now.
Arriving in your body,
Sensing your whole body sitting.
Embodied presence.
Meditation is an invitation to bring the mind to where the body is,
To unify body and mind.
And allow your attention to gently settle on the sensation of your breath.
Not thinking about the breath,
But sensing into the sensation of your breath flowing in and out.
And you can do this by sensing the gentle expansion of your belly with the in-breath and the gentle contraction of your belly with the out-breath.
Allowing these sensations of the breath moving in and out to be your anchor,
Your anchor to the ever-present now.
One breath at a time.
One inhale at a time.
One exhale at a time.
If you notice that your mind is restless,
You can say to yourself,
This is restless mind being with the breath.
If you notice your mind is sleepy,
You can say to yourself,
This is sleepy mind being with the breath.
If you have a pain somewhere in your body,
You can say to yourself,
This is being in pain with the breath.
We just start where we are.
We don't need conditions to be different than they actually are in order to practice mindfulness.
If you find that you have gotten lost in a thought,
Then gently let the thought go and start over.
Starting over is not separate from practicing.
It is practicing.
This is a learning.
Patience and persistence.
Wise effort in our learning.
If the mind goes off into planning or rehashing or remembering,
Just notice and begin again by sensing into the feel of the movement of the breath.
The attitude in which we invite our minds back to the present moment of the body breathing matters.
Invite kindness,
Patience,
Curiosity,
Just coming back.
No need to fuss if the mind wanders.
As soon as you catch it,
Just come back.
That is a moment of mindful awareness.
Just the seeing that the mind has taken off.
Patience and persistence.
Patience with ourselves and persistence in our effort to just start again.
Such tremendous tools,
This willingness to start where we are,
That we can practice regardless of conditions.
We don't need conditions to be,
Our body to be a particular way in order to practice.
This can take place anywhere.
And such a powerful tool to just start again.
Both of these are powerful tools on the cushion and in life that we see if we've been misguided in some way or unskillful in some way,
We just have the willingness to start again.
And that in life we learn to be with conditions as they are.
Just beginning again and again.
Cultivating this willingness kindly.
Accessibility and be continued.
Now,
You
