Thank you for joining this formal practice and for having saved this time to be with and by yourself.
Sit as best you can in a posture that embodies dignity.
You are sitting in an erect posture,
Either on a straight back chair or on a cushion or lying on the floor,
Whatever is comfortable to you.
Allow your eyes to be either open and focused and gazing in front of you or closed if that feels comfortable.
Allow yourself to switch from the usual mode of doing to a mode of non-doing,
A mode of simply being.
Now establish the firm but gentle intention to be as awake as possible,
To be in touch as much as possible,
With the present moment,
Just as it is and however it is.
Use my words as mere pointers to your inner space.
What is important is your inner space,
Both when I am speaking as during the moment of silence.
As you allow your body to become still,
Bring your intention to the fact that you are breathing.
Become aware of the movement of your breath as it comes into your body and as it leaves your body,
Not manipulating the breath in any way,
Not trying to change it in any way,
Simply being aware of it and of the feelings associated with breathing.
Observe now your breath deep down in your belly.
Feel the abdomen as it expands gently on the in-breath and as it falls back on the out-breath,
Being totally here in each moment with each breath,
Not trying to do anything,
Not trying to get any place,
Simply being with your breath.
You will find that from time to time your mind has wandered off into thoughts when you notice that your attention is no longer here and no longer with your breathing and without judging yourself,
Bring your attention back to your breathing.
Ride the waves of your breathing,
Fully conscious of the duration of each breath from moment to moment.
Every time you find your mind wandering off the breath,
Gently bring it back to the present,
Back to the moment to moment,
Observing off the flow of your breathing.
Use your breath as an anchor to focus your attention,
To bring yourself back to the present whenever you notice that your mind is becoming distracted.
Use your breath to help you tune into a state of relaxed awareness and stillness.
Now as you observe your breathing,
You may find from time to time that you are becoming aware of sensations in your body.
As you maintain awareness of your breathing,
See if it is possible to expand the field of your awareness to include your whole body as you sit here.
Feel your body from head to toe become aware of all the sensations in your body.
You are now observing not only the flow of breathing but the sense of your body as a whole.
You are being here,
Sitting with whatever feeling and sensations in this moment,
Without judging them,
Without reacting to them,
Just being fully here,
Fully aware.
You are here,
Totally present with whatever your feelings are and with your breath as a sense of your body as a whole.
And again,
Whenever you notice that your mind is wandering off,
Just bring it back to your breathing and to your body as you sit here,
Not going anywhere,
Not doing anything,
Just simply being,
Simply sitting,
Moment to moment,
Being fully present,
Fully with yourself.
Bring your awareness back on the body as a whole and on the breath as it moves in and out of your body.
Sense the fullness of each in-breath and the fullness of each out-breath.
If you find yourself at any point,
Drawn into a stream of sinking and you notice that you are no longer observing the breath,
Just use your breathing and the sense of your body to encore and stabilize yourself in the present.
Just being with your breathing from moment to moment,
Just sitting in stillness,
Looking for nothing and being present to all,
Just as it is,
Just as it unfolds,
Just being right here,
Right now,
Complete human whole.
Sense the practice.
