G'day,
My name is Rachel Grace.
Thanks for joining me for this practice.
I invite you to take a moment now to prepare for this practice by finding a posture that supports you to be both alert and relaxed.
Allowing your eyes to gently close or softening your gaze down to the floor if that feels right for you.
We'll start the practice with the ring of a gong.
Becoming aware of the sensations of breathing.
Breathing in,
Know you're breathing in.
Breathing out,
Know you're breathing out.
Bringing awareness to your body,
Noticing how your body feels in this moment.
Without judging what it feels like,
Just noticing what it feels like.
What is the state of your heart and mind right now?
Holding whatever is there with a kind attention.
Wherever you are,
Whatever the state of your body or mind,
You are welcome to share in this practice from that place.
And so we begin.
I invite you to settle into this practice by bringing a relaxed and focused attention to your preferred anchor.
Whether that be paying attention to the sensations of the flow of breath,
Or awareness of sounds arising and passing away,
Or feeling the different kinds of physical sensations in your feet and hands right now.
Whatever your preferred primary anchor is,
I invite you to focus your attention there now.
Curiosity strengthens attention,
So be curious about the qualities and changing nature of the sensations at your anchor.
Curiosity strengthens attention,
So be curious about the qualities and changing nature of the sensations at your anchor.
If breath at the nostrils is your anchor,
You might feel warmth or coolness,
Tingling or vibration.
If breath at the chest or abdomen is your anchor,
You might feel the ever-changing rising,
Falling,
Pressure,
Stretching or release.
If sound is your anchor,
Notice how your breath is your anchor.
If breath at the nostrils is your anchor,
You might feel the ever-changing rising,
Falling,
Falling,
Pressure,
Stretching or release.
If sound is your anchor,
Notice how your breath is your anchor.
Notice how your breath is your anchor.
Notice how sounds arise and then vanish,
Leaving no trace.
And if hands and feet are your anchor,
Pay close attention to all the different sensations there now.
Strong sensations,
Subtle sensations,
Changing sensations.
Directing all of your attention towards your chosen anchor right now.
Let all the experiences unrelated to concentrating fully on your anchor fall away.
Let them go,
Whatever they might be,
Whether they be thoughts or images,
Sensations,
Distracting noises,
Smells or tastes.
Where is the mind now?
If it has drifted away from being fully present with your anchor,
Then gently return your attention to your anchor and simply begin again,
Being aware of the sensations there.
Everyone's mind has a tendency to get lost in thought,
Drifting off to think about the past or the future,
Wishing for something that isn't here or pushing away an experience that is here.
Whenever you realize that your mind has wandered off,
Gently gather your energy together and bring your attention back to the feelings of your anchor,
Maintaining awareness there moment by moment.
Where is the mind now?
The moment you notice that your mind has wandered away from your anchor,
This is a crucially important moment.
This is the moment you have the chance to be really different.
You don't have to judge yourself or criticize yourself.
Practice letting go and beginning again.
Exercising the letting go muscle is vital for learning to unclutter attention,
To be fully focused in the here and now.
No matter how many times you have to let go and begin again,
It's not a sign of a failure and it's not a problem.
This is the actual training.
Becoming aware,
Letting go as gently as you can and simply returning.
You're practicing beginning again.
Don't worry if you feel you're not doing this perfectly.
None of us actually practice this perfectly.
It's okay.
The moment you're aware of coming out from being lost in destruction,
This is the significant moment in mindfulness meditation.
It's the moment when we go from mindlessness to mindfulness.
Whenever you find your attention wandering,
Truly don't worry about it.
The most important moment in the practice is the next moment after you've been gone,
After you've been distracted.
That's the moment when you have the chance to just choose and let go and return.
Once the mind is stabilized through concentration practice.
Another mindfulness training practice that can be explored involves opening up the field of mindful awareness to paying attention to whatever experiences become predominant in the moment.
Open awareness practices builds the capacity for relating to all experiences with a mindful presence.
Having cultivated some concentration,
I now invite you to explore open awareness practice.
If you notice resistance to this practice,
You can simply return your attention back to the anchor and continue with the concentration practice.
But to explore open awareness now,
I invite you to let your awareness of the sensations at your anchor ebb into the background,
Making space now for your awareness to expand and widen out to include whatever experiences are arising in your field of awareness now.
Opening to any experience that calls your attention,
Whether that be to thoughts or feelings,
Images or any sensory experiences.
Like with concentration practice where you're using an anchor,
In open awareness you're still monitoring what's in the field of your awareness and you're paying attention to what you're experiencing.
But now you're doing it in a more open and less focused way,
Not trying to stay with any one object,
Simply noticing whatever objects arise in your field of awareness.
Bringing both awareness and non-judgmental acceptance to whatever arises.
You'll notice there are many things that will come into your field of awareness,
Waves of sound and thoughts,
Sensations and feelings.
Allow your attention to be with whichever experience is most predominant and pay attention to how you are relating to that object of attention.
You can ask what is happening right now and can I be with this just as it is,
Letting it be.
As we approach the end of our practice now,
I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath in,
Filling the lungs and then relaxing your body and your mind as you breathe out.
Let the corners of the mouth rise ever so slightly into a gentle half smile,
Savouring this moment.
And to conclude I will ring the gong three times.
Allow your eyes to open,
Gently bringing your attention back up into the environment around you.
Take a moment now to stretch or perhaps sit back a little and just notice how you feel.
Do you feel the same right now as you did before the practice or has something changed?
Take a moment to notice and perhaps savour the impact of this practice on the state of your body and your mind.
You can also take a moment to appreciate yourself for the dedication to your own wellbeing that you've just demonstrated.
Each time you practice you are changing your brain for the better and building your capacity to handle life more skillfully so well done.
May mindfulness positively impact you,
What you do and all of those around you.
Thank you for practicing with me.
I hope you will join me again.
