Welcome to this presence meditation.
I'm Peter Bell and this meditation will help you to tap into the power of the present moment.
To feelings of presence,
Calm and clarity.
You can listen to this while standing,
Sitting or lying down comfortably.
And we'll begin with our eyes open.
Sometimes we can spend our days drifting from distraction to distraction.
Like a bee buzzing from one beautiful flower to another.
When we're caught in a stream of thoughts,
It's easy to forget the present moment.
Our minds so swayed,
So off balance that we forget where our center is.
Our core and our home.
And it just so happens that our present moment home is our most spacious and exquisitely detailed abode.
With time and practice you'll spend more of your time there.
More of your days there.
So what is the present moment and where is it?
It is the sensation that you are just experiencing.
Like the air filling your lungs.
Or the weight of your limbs.
The background noise that surrounds you.
Or the shaft of summer sunlight that breaks through the clouds overhead.
It exists right here.
Wherever you,
Mind and body,
May be.
Where sensation meets conscious awareness.
That is the present moment.
How do you know when you're present?
You'll know.
You'll just feel it.
As clear and as fresh as a new day.
A wonderful,
Peaceful,
Expansive moment where you wake up to the majesty of the world around you.
Follow along with my words for this short presence meditation.
But when my words stop,
Please don't wait for them to return.
Instead,
Use the intentional pauses to expand into the silence.
To consciously inhabit the space you are in.
Think of it like this.
If your mind was like a camera that needs to be put in focus,
You'll adjust the lens a little this way and that,
Until the picture gently pops into focus.
And so,
When practicing presence,
Just use the quiet gaps and focus the lens of your attention to tune into your body,
Your surroundings,
The here and now.
And slowly and surely your world will begin to crystallize.
To come into focus and your awareness will fizz with aliveness.
Now in a moment,
I will ask you to take a nice,
Crisp,
Deep breath.
Now inhale through your nose and feel your chest lift you taller.
Hold for a moment.
Feel the play of air and muscle tension in your lungs.
And now blow the air out,
Taking your attention with it into the room around you.
And just breathe normally now.
Let the body relax with the release of tension.
Find your comfort.
And feel the presence of your body in this space.
Now notice around you,
Everything has a surface.
Maybe there are walls around you.
Notice the flatness of them,
Or perhaps the floor.
Maybe the sheen of the paint or the tiles or the ornaments and the space around you.
The way that the light reflects off things.
There is a certain quality to it.
There is you.
And there are objects around you.
Be aware of the space between you and the other objects.
Feel the space with your awareness.
Feel the room around you.
And maybe at some point you might have a flicker of awareness where everything seems a little more in focus,
A little more real.
Your awareness is tuning in.
Now again,
Bring your awareness perhaps to the surface of a table or a chair or something nearby.
Be in the space.
Be aware of you and the object.
Both being in the space together within your field of awareness.
In this present moment.
Here.
Slowly close your eyes.
Just let the breathing come and go however it wants.
You can let the breath breathe itself.
Now,
As well as the external space around you,
Inside you,
There is an internal space.
Be aware of the opening of the lungs as you breathe in.
All of the airways and pastures.
They're all have surfaces.
And when you breathe in and out,
You may notice that as the temperature of the air comes in,
It makes a change in sensation,
Which is different from the sensation when you blow out.
Perhaps it's cooler on the inhale and warmer on the exhale.
The air rushes into your bodily awareness.
And then out of it again.
In contact.
And fading out of contact.
Now moving slightly,
Just slightly outside of you,
To your skin.
Your skin is a surface that surrounds your body.
A sensory interface between you and the rest of the world.
Can feel difference in pressure,
Temperature,
Vibration.
Sense around you.
Move your awareness now to the top of your chest.
Be aware of the subtle movements of breathing.
Stay with that feeling for a while.
Feel a sense of being.
There is clarity and power in this space.
Really connect with the aliveness and wakefulness that vibrates in your body.
Now open your eyes gently,
Very gently,
Drinking the surroundings.
Join with the space around you.
Tune in to the spaciousness and the feeling of being within you.
The life within you.
And the life outside of you.
The world comes into focus.
We have reached the end of this meditation.
So now gather your energy and awareness.
You're going to take this with you into the next moments of your day and then the next moments after that.
And with practice and returning to this recording,
You'll develop a stronger,
Clearer feel of presence and being in the moment.
Thank you very much for your time with me today.
I look forward to meditating with you again.
Until then,
Let calm and presence surround you on every journey.
