Practicing with the senses.
In this practice we use all of our five senses to really ground ourselves into the present moment.
Start with a few deep breaths.
Taking the air in through the nose all the way down to the belly before slowly releasing through the mouth.
And doing this a couple more times.
Really letting the body know that we're settling into stillness.
And allowing your breath to return to a natural pattern.
We're just going to begin by focusing on the breath.
Simply following the in-breath,
Following the out-breath.
Noticing the rhythm of the breathing.
Knowing that at any time during the practice,
If you become distracted or overwhelmed,
You can always come back to the breath.
The breath is the anchor that's always present.
You can simply sit following the breath.
Feeling the body breathing.
During this practice we're going to settle with each of the five senses.
Simply tuning into the senses that will bring us into the present moment.
Sometimes we'll find ourselves drifting into storylines about what we're hearing or seeing.
And if possible just acknowledge the story but come back to the sense itself.
Trying not to get too drawn up into the thoughts.
But remembering that the mind will work very automatically and that there will be thoughts present.
The act of mindfulness is simply to return the focus again and again.
If you notice you're distracted,
You're practicing mindfulness.
So simply smile to yourself and bring your focus back.
The first sense that we're settling with will be the sensation of sound.
Starting to tune into any sounds that you can hear.
You might find that your attention is caught by the louder more dominant sounds.
Perhaps a clock ticking or loud traffic.
So acknowledging these dominant sounds.
And then starting to tune into the softer,
Quieter,
Perhaps more distant sounds.
Simply being receptive to whatever's present.
So we're not straining to hear.
We're simply being open.
Allowing the noises to come in.
As we tune in closer,
We might hear some very subtle sounds.
Perhaps the sounds of our own breathing.
Or other noises within the body.
The food digesting or the belly grumbling through hunger.
And trying just to hear the sounds in terms of their pitch,
Their tone,
The frequency.
How loud or soft they are.
How near or far they are.
Don't try not to get too caught up in labelling the sound or telling yourself a story about it.
Or there's that boiler that you need to get fixed.
Perhaps just hearing the whistle,
The hiss,
The size of the sound.
Opening your ears to the world as it is.
And when we're really receptive to noises in our environment,
We start to notice how the soundscape is forever changing.
How it's not static.
This moment is different from the next moment.
Perhaps we find that emotions arise when we're really listening.
Some sounds might be a smile to our face.
They sound pleasant and tuneful.
Maybe others seem to be distracting or annoying.
We almost want to turn away from them,
To block them out.
Simply noticing how the sounds are affecting you,
What other physical sensations or emotions might be present.
Now allowing the focus on sound to go.
Bringing your attention to the sensation of sight.
If your eyes are closed,
Noticing the quality of light.
The shapes and patterns that you might see behind your eyelids.
Or if your eyes are open,
Noticing whatever's in your peripheral vision.
Just staying here for a few moments,
Focusing on that sensation of sight.
Tuning into anything that you can smell.
Maybe taking a few deeper breaths in through the nose.
Really allowing any smells that are there to come into the nostrils.
And again,
Try not to tell yourself stories about the smells.
Any scents that are there.
Just allowing them to be present.
Bringing you into the here and now,
Rather than tuning into memories or thoughts of the future.
Turning the attention to any tastes that are present.
You might want to move your tongue around your mouth slowly.
Awakening the taste buds.
Seeing if there are any flavours that are lingering there.
Sometimes this can feel uncomfortable.
And if that's the case,
Simply come back to the breath.
The breath is our friend that's always there.
You might use the tongue just to prod the inside of the cheeks.
Again,
That can awaken any flavours that might be there.
Awaken any tastes that might be present.
Letting go of that focus on taste and bringing the attention to the sensation of touch.
Noticing how the body makes contact with its immediate environment.
Those points of contact where you're sitting on a chair or cushion.
Points of contact perhaps with the floor.
Parts of your body resting against each other.
Tuning into all these points of pressure as the body rests.
Supported.
Stable.
Solid.
You may notice the feeling of material,
Of clothing against the skin.
Or perhaps jewellery.
Perhaps you can feel the air against any skin that's exposed.
The face or the hands.
Perhaps the feet.
Perhaps there are different textures that you feel.
Really tuning in to any of these sensations that might be present.
Noticing how the body feels.
In all of those places it makes contact with whatever's around it.
And then bringing the attention specifically to the soles of the feet.
Noticing if the soles of the feet are making contact with anything.
The floor.
Parts of the body.
Material of socks or shoes.
Maybe noticing how cool or warm the soles of the feet feel.
If there are any sensations like tingling or pulsating or numbness.
Perhaps there's tension or stress being held in the soles of the feet.
So we're not trying to change anything.
We're simply seeing what's there.
How are the soles of my feet in this moment?
And then gently smiling to the soles of the feet.
Recognising all of the hard work that they do for us.
And how they only ever really rest when we're sleeping.
And we're going to return the attention to the breath.
Simply sitting with the in-breath.
Sitting with the out-breath.
Our sleep.
