Let's begin by making any necessary adjustments to the body before settling into a posture either on a cushion or in a chair that allows for a sense of wakefulness,
Stability,
And relaxation.
And when you've made any necessary adjustments,
Simply closing your eyes.
As you allow the body to settle a little deeper into stillness,
Begin to notice the experience you're already having.
Settling into what it's like to be alive as you in this moment with this mind and this body.
Witnessing if there are any thoughts or emotions present.
Meeting whatever's arising in the mind with acceptance and curiosity.
Witnessing thoughts and emotions without engaging them or trying to get rid of them.
Simply seeing a thought as a thought and an emotion as an emotion.
Keep watching as they naturally come and go.
This present moment can be directly experienced through the lens of our senses.
So now,
Turning attention toward the senses beginning with a sense of hearing.
Listening sounds around you.
Some sounds close and some far in the distance.
Keep listening to sounds as they come and go.
Now turning the attention toward the body.
Noticing the way it feels in the body to be sitting.
Noticing the feet and the hands.
Settling into any other areas of obvious or subtle sensation.
Now placing your attention on the sensations of the breath in the body.
Sensing each breath fully as it comes in and as it goes out.
Noticing where in the body you feel the breath most easily,
Most vividly.
Maybe at the tip of the nostrils,
At the chest,
Or the belly.
Noticing your attention wherever you have easiest access to the breath and then staying there.
Now begin to experiment with mentally noting the breath by simply saying to yourself,
In on the in-breath and out on the out-breath.
In,
Out.
The noting is just a faint whisper in the mind.
In,
Out.
Continuing to stay connected too with the sensations of the breath in the body as you note.
In,
Out.
From the stability of the breath,
We can continue to open the body.
To open to the whole of this moment and anything that arises in it without looking for anything in particular.
So when attention moves away from the breath towards thoughts,
Simply note thinking.
No need for analysis,
Just label thinking and then move back to the breath.
In,
And out.
You can practice the same way with sounds noting hearing.
Or with sensations noting sensing.
And eventually returning and again resting in the breath until the next sense is engaged.
Continuing a gentle attention on the breath.
In and out.
Open to whatever experience you're having in this moment.
Noting it.
Thinking.
Sensing.
And then moving back to the breath.
In,
Out.
From the stability of the breath.
In,
Out.
From the stability of the breath.
In,
Out.
From the stability of the breath.
There's no need to look for things to note.
And you don't need to note everything.
Just noting anything that feels obvious or that grabs your attention away from the breath.
Noting the content of your experience with a sense of experience.
With a sense of acceptance toward whatever's arising.
And then back to the breath.
In,
Out.
From the stability of the breath.
In,
Out.
From the stability of the breath.
As today's practice comes to an end,
You may acknowledge yourself for having spent this time cultivating greater presence and focus,
And for increasing your capacity to live and perform more mindfully.
