Welcome to a meditation that helps produce calm and freedom,
Offering you a deeper understanding to the question,
Who am I?
Through the process of elimination,
We can remove the parts that are not us,
And therefore we're left with the part that is us.
I invite you to sit back,
Get comfortable,
And allow yourself to be guided through this meditation.
Closing your eyes,
Just become aware of your breath.
Is it short,
Sharp,
And shallow?
If so,
Just gently extend the inhalation,
The pause,
And the exhalation.
Purposefully,
Taking your time to inhale through the nose,
Pause,
And then exhale through the mouth.
Repeat this cycle three times,
And if your mind is active,
If thoughts are present,
Then focus your attention on counting for five beats.
Five beats for inhalation,
Five for the pause,
Five for exhalation,
Five for the pause,
Five for the pause,
And then repeat the cycle.
Five beats for the pause,
And then repeat the cycle three times.
Without moving your body,
Bring awareness to a part that feels discomfort.
It might be an urge to scratch yourself or adjust your body position,
But don't do either.
Just be aware of it.
Bring your focus back to your breath,
Breathing in.
Back to your breath,
Breathing in.
Pausing.
And exhaling.
And become aware that you are not your physical body.
You are the awareness of your physical body,
Aware that the discomfort itself will dissipate.
Slowly bring your attention to what it is that you're thinking,
Whatever thought,
Right now,
No matter how random.
And bring awareness to the fact that you are not your thought.
Thoughts come and thoughts go.
Just gently allow the thought to drift away by bringing your attention back to the breath.
And then,
You'll notice that the physical sensation in your body moves,
It rises and falls,
And that the thought in your head rises and falls.
They're both impermanent.
And then,
You'll notice that the physical sensation in your body moves,
It rises and falls,
And that the thought in your head rises and falls.
They're impermanent.
You're not the physical body and you're not the thought.
Next,
Gently shift your awareness to the action of thinking itself,
The action of thinking.
And be aware that you are not the action of thinking.
Bringing your awareness back to your breath,
Breathing in,
Breathing out,
Letting go of the physical body,
Letting go of the thought,
Letting go of the action of thinking.
Just focusing your attention on your breathing,
Breathing in,
I am breathing in,
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
And slowly bring your awareness to the emotions that you're feeling.
These emotions are influenced by your body,
By your thought,
By the actions of thinking itself.
But you are not the emotion.
Be aware of the emotion,
And be aware that I am not the emotion.
And just letting it sit,
Breathing in,
I am breathing in,
I am breathing in,
Breathing out,
I am breathing out.
Before you end the meditation,
I invite you to sit comfortably and just contemplate what you have just learnt.
I am not the physical body.
I am not the thought.
I am not the action of thinking.
I am not the emotion created by these.
So who am I?
I am the observer of all of this.
I am the witness.
I am that which sees this.
And when we're aware of that,
We can step back and witness how we get caught up in our thoughts and our feelings how we get caught up in the emotions and yet none of that is who I am.
I am the observer of all of it.
And therefore when I practice to let go of the thoughts that no longer serve me,
Then the emotions I feel dissipate.
I get closer to who I am.
And the thoughts that do serve me rise to the surface.
This is who I am.
The observer The observer of all Pleasant and unpleasant And I witness that each pass.
If I do not cling to pleasant or unpleasant,
It passes.
And I am open to the next experience.
It's all okay.
Gently bring your awareness to your breath.
One last cycle.
I am breathing in.
I am breathing out.
I am breathing out.
I am the witness,
The observer of emotions.
Om Namah Shivaya.
