Begin by finding a comfortable position to sit where you don't need to move your body for a period of time.
Begin to become aware of your body in space,
Noticing the pressure of your bottom on the chair or the cushion,
The length of your legs as they come out of your hip sockets and reach your feet on the floor,
Noticing the contact between the bottom of the foot,
Feet,
And the floor.
At the same time that you're aware of your legs and feet in space,
Notice the belly and the chest and the back,
The direction of the spine culminating in the head,
The shape of your face,
The length of your arms as they hang out of your shoulder sockets,
And the resting place of your hands.
Become aware of the movement of breath as the body expands and contracts to make room for each inhale and exhale.
Notice where the air enters the nostrils or the mouth and the gentle expansion of the body,
The chest,
Or the belly with the inhale.
Paying attention to that moment where the inhale reaches its maximum length and switches over to an exhale.
Following the air out as the body contracts on the exhale,
Noticing that point where the exhale reaches its maximum length and switches over into an inhale.
Seeing the movement of breath and the expansion of the body back in again.
Allow your attention to be soft and flexible so that you can be present with not only the movement of breath,
But also the awareness of body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes as you breathe.
Noticing that awareness is not like a flashlight that shines on this object or that,
But instead more like a lantern that can illuminate greater and greater spaces so we can be aware of the movement of breath at the same time that we are aware of our body in space,
The air as it touches our face,
The pressure of our bottom,
Our feet on the floor,
The sounds that surround us.
And even the thoughts that arise in our mind pass away,
We can be present to all of these things at once.
Staying present with your breath as the base,
Allow your attention to be open and flexible to be present with all in this moment of your experience,
Body sensation,
Sounds,
Thoughts.
And as you are witnessing,
Noticing all that is part of your experience of this moment,
Become interested in who is noticing,
Who is watching.
If I am aware of my breath,
Then I or the one who watches is not my breath.
If I notice the arising of a thought or concept in my mind,
Then I,
The one who's watching,
Am not those thoughts,
Those concepts.
If I am noticing the body sensations in my shoulders or my legs or my back,
Then I or the one who was watching is not those body sensations.
Who is watching?
This is not a question for our minds,
But something for us to sense,
To be present with the experience of noticing,
Of watching,
Feeling our own presence with our experience.
When we experience somebody listening to us,
Giving us their full attention,
Being present with us,
We sense their being,
Their attention,
Their presence.
Even if we were to close our eyes,
We could feel them with us,
Being with us.
That same palpable presence is part of every moment of our life.
We bring that presence to every moment of our life,
To everything we do,
To everything we see,
We notice,
We watch.
It is ever-present awareness.
Even asleep,
There is still one that watches.
Feel that sense of presence as you pay attention to each moment of your experience.
Feel the presence that notices the breath,
That notices the body,
That notices the sounds.
And as you let that presence fill your awareness,
As you let yourself rest in that presence,
Notice its spaciousness.
Notice that there is no boundary,
There is no place where this presence ends.
There is infinite space that watches.
Consider that our very awareness,
Our very presence is the divine presence.
That this sense of awareness and presence that is with us every moment of our life,
Watching,
Watching,
Is the same divine presence in every other person.
In all of the ways that consciousness makes itself known in this world,
This is the divine presence.
Not something far away,
But something closer than our breath,
The very root,
The makor,
The source of it all.
Let yourself rest in the clarity,
The expansiveness,
The openness of the presence that watches,
That notices,
That allows,
That loves.
If you find that your mind contracts around a certain part of your experience,
A thought or a sensation in the body or a sound,
As soon as you notice,
Ask the question,
Who was noticing?
Let that question awaken that sense of presence that is with you every moment and let your attention sink back into itself,
Into that presence,
That aliveness.
I'm going to be quiet and let you sit with this presence,
With your experience,
Until you are ready to open your eyes.
