Let's begin.
First,
Bringing attention to body as a way of inviting our attention into this moment.
Feet comfortably resting upon the floor if you're in a seated position.
And feeling the support of the chair upon the floor.
Thighs and bottom.
And inviting a rising up of spine towards sky,
Nothing forced or rigid.
As if we're stacking each vertebrae one atop another.
All the way up through neck and then through top of head lifting up towards sky.
And then a shoulder roll or two,
Noticing any tension or tightness,
Biting arms,
Draping down from shoulders.
Coming to rest with hands in a comfortable spot.
Lining head atop spine and shoulders.
And a loosening of jaw.
And eyes either opened or closed,
Whichever you prefer in this moment.
Simply feeling this sensory experience of being seated here in the moment.
As a way of further inviting our attention into body and into this moment,
Bringing your attention down to toes and feet.
Simply noticing the presence of any tension or tightness in toes and feet and inviting a letting go as best as you can.
Bringing your attention now into calves,
Thighs,
And hips.
Noticing tension in this region.
And inviting a letting go as best as you can.
Bringing your attention now into torso and so into.
Belly and low back.
Ribs and mid back and chest and upper back.
Just noticing what tension may exist in this region and inviting a letting go as best as you can.
Bringing your attention now into fingers and hands,
Forearms and arms.
Noticing tension.
Inviting,
Letting go.
Bringing your attention now into shoulders and neck and rising up the back of head.
Noticing tension.
Inviting,
Letting go.
Bringing your attention now forward across ears and jaw.
Muscles around mouth.
Upwards across cheeks and nose.
Muscles around eyes.
Forehead and temple.
And arriving at crown,
The top of head.
Notice the intention.
Inviting,
Letting go.
As best as you can.
And now having practiced this simple act of self-care by checking in to sensations and body.
Now landing on a central focal point or home base for your attention.
And breath is typically the most common that we hear of with meditation,
But an honor for some folks.
Breathing doesn't work.
And so you can also choose some other sensory based experience,
Maybe the feet resting upon the floor.
Hands resting upon thighs.
Any sensory-based experience will bring our attention into this moment,
As well as using body breathing.
Maybe the rise and fall of chest and belly.
The boom into there through nose or mouth.
Keeping this simple.
Just directing your attention to fully.
Receive this sensory experience coming from body in this moment.
This theme of.
Keeping things simple.
When,
Not if,
When you notice your focus has drifted away from that sensory focal point.
Typically into some sort of thoughts of the past or the future.
Keeping our response to that awareness simple as well.
First,
Just noticing if you're judging yourself.
Unnecessarily.
Because your focus has drifted away.
That's going to happen to each and every one of us.
So maybe first just acknowledging that the judging may be going on.
Redirecting your attention from the judging as well back to body breathing or your other sensory choice.
Keeping it simple.
Breathing.
Observing this unfolding moment.
Noticing when focus has drifted away from body breathing or whatever your sensory choice is.
Noticing,
Perhaps any judging.
You're doing when you notice your focus has drifted away.
Then with gentleness and kindness,
Ushering focus back to breathing or your sensory choice in the moment.
Continuing with this theme of keeping it simple.
It's not uncommon that when we encounter something that may seem difficult or challenging,
We begin to think,
This is too hard.
Only experts can do this.
And I'm not an expert.
And that's a wonderful opportunity of inviting in the mindfulness quality of beginner's mind.
It's a wonderful quote from.
I may mispronounce,
Shenru Suzuki.
In the beginner's mind,
There are many possibilities.
In the expert's,
There are few.
Mindfulness is coming to this place of fresh new eyes,
Encountering a fresh new moment.
And if we encounter a difficulty noticing the tension that may come with that and inviting a letting go of that tension.
Trusting,
Which is another mindfulness quality that these beginners' eyes Perhaps we'll see things otherwise missed through the filtering expertise.
Celebrating beginner's mind when we encounter difficulty or challenge that the expert may not see through.
So in this moment,
In practicing in the silence,
Noticing if you're letting the delusion of expertise.
Like this opportunity of bringing a fresh perspective.
To your practice in this moment.
Rusting that a beginner's mind has as much value,
If not more.
And the filtering of expertise.
Reclaiming our capacity of simply noticing,
Receiving.
Through our sensory doorways in this moment.
I think boredom sometimes is actually.
.
.
Derived from expert mind,
How can we be bored when each moment is fresh and new to be received as a gift?
Now opening your eyes if they were closed,
Inviting in visually your surroundings,
Maybe a little stretch and movement to transition back into activity.
And bringing in the freshness of beginner's mind into whatever you do next.
So thank you for joining me.
And until we meet again,
May you be well.
