G'day,
My name is Rachel Grace.
Thanks for joining me for this practice entitled,
Right Now I'm Alright.
In this short practice,
You'll be invited to notice and really connect with how in this moment,
Right here,
Right now,
Things are alright.
Often,
When we're suffering,
It's not because of something that is actually happening in this moment,
Whether it's because of fear about the future or worry about what has happened in the past.
This meditation is for those times when worry,
Fear,
Or rehashing stuff in the mind is making it hard for you to notice that in this exact moment,
Right here,
Right now,
You're actually alright.
Of course,
If in this moment you're not alright and you do need support and care right now,
Then I encourage you to set aside this practice and take the actions you need to take in order to take good care of yourself.
To prepare for this practice,
I invite you to find a sitting posture that allows you to feel both relaxed but also alert.
Then,
As you settle into this posture,
I invite you to take a moment to notice the environment around you,
Looking around,
Taking in the space around you,
And noticing the sounds around you,
Too,
Just gently allowing yourself to arrive in the space and place you're in.
Then,
I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath in,
Filling the lungs right up.
Then,
As you exhale gently and slowly,
Releasing all the air from your lungs,
Allowing your body and mind to relax and your eyes to gently close,
Or if you prefer,
Just allowing your eyes to be gently downcast with a soft gaze towards the floor.
We'll begin the practice with the ring of the gong.
Breathing in a natural and gentle rhythm and noticing the physical sensations that accompany your breathing,
Just noticing how it feels in the body as you breathe in and out.
Now,
Bringing awareness to the body and noticing how the body feels in this moment,
Just noticing what it feels like,
All the different sensations throughout the body that you can notice right now.
Then,
Noticing what is the state of your heart and mind right now,
Holding whatever is there with a gentle and kind attention.
Then,
I invite you to let your attention rest with the breath or the feet,
Whichever feels most comfortable for you.
Right now,
I invite you to take your attention and focus it on feeling the physical sensations of the breath,
Wherever you feel the breath most easily,
Whether that be at the upper lip,
The belly,
Or the chest.
If the breath is uncomfortable for you to focus on,
Then you might like to focus on your feet,
Taking your attention there and becoming aware of both the strong and the subtle physical sensations that are there to be felt in the feet right now.
Choose a location,
Whatever feels accessible for you and supportive for you.
Take your attention to that location you've chosen and rest your attention there,
Seeing if you can get really curious about all the physical sensations that are there from moment to moment and how they change from moment to moment.
Then,
Just noticing where your attention is now.
If the attention has drifted away from this location you're focusing on,
Then that's normal.
It's totally okay.
Simply respond by gently and kindly bringing your attention back once again to feeling the sensations of either your breath or your feet,
Wherever you've chosen,
Noticing the unfolding experience and sensations there from moment to moment.
Concentrating the mind can help to calm the mind and responding to the wandering mind with kindness helps to stabilize concentration.
So each time you notice your mind wanders,
Bring it back with a sense of kindness.
Just gently noticing where your attention is,
Focusing on the breath or the feet,
Feeling the sensations there.
And any time you notice your mind wanders away from being focused on feeling the sensations at that location,
Just gently and kindly bringing your attention back and starting again.
And now I invite you to let your awareness of your breath or feet to ebb into the background.
As into the foreground,
I invite you to focus on following the instructions ahead of us now that are designed to help you connect with the recognition that right now in this precise moment,
You are alright.
So to begin this practice,
I invite you to notice if it's true and usually it is true,
That you're actually basically alright right now.
Really bringing your point of reference,
Your full attention and focus into the now.
Gently letting go of the past,
Gently letting go of thoughts about the future,
Even gently letting go of each moment as it arises and then fades away and focusing fully on receiving now-ness.
Noticing in this moment right now things are basically alright.
From moment to moment,
Noticing each moment where you are alright in this moment.
Keep noticing how you're physically okay right here,
Right now,
Just as you are.
Right now breathing is happening.
This moment the heart is beating.
Right now you're practicing.
The ground or floor beneath you is supporting you.
From this recognition of what's present and true,
Now I invite you to continuously help yourself to feel the relief and the reassurance that basically you're alright right now in this very moment,
Just as it is.
It can be natural for this sense to crumble or to become abstract or for your mind to wander and if it does,
Just come back.
Just come back to recognizing that in this moment it's okay.
It's a practice of continually regenerating the feeling of remarkably being basically alright right now.
With all the associated feelings of reassurance and relief at recognizing that in this moment right now you're okay,
You're alright,
Right here,
Right now,
Just as it is.
Sometimes we can kind of be surprised with delight that,
Wow,
Actually right now I'm okay.
This experience,
This recognition might be helping you to recognize that there might have been times in the past that weren't alright or there may be times in the future that it might not be alright.
Yet right now in this moment,
In this exact moment,
You are alright.
In this moment I am alright.
Noticing that,
Feeling that and letting that sink in right now,
I'm alright.
Just learning to be at home with these qualities of calm presence,
Acknowledging,
Noticing,
Accepting that right now things are okay.
Dwelling in this aspect of resilience,
Savoring this sense of being alright in this moment,
Letting it sink in,
Feeling it fully.
As we start to move towards the end of the practice now,
I invite you to consciously and intentionally sustain whatever beneficial states of body and mind that you're experiencing.
Focus on those,
Feel them,
Sustain them,
Those positive states of body and mind that are present.
As we prepare for the end of the practice I invite you to once again bring your attention to the breath or to the feet,
Whichever you prefer.
Feel and notice the physical sensations there,
With curiosity and kindness,
Noticing the sensations of the breath or the feet.
Now I invite you to join me in taking a deep breath in,
Filling the lungs right up and then exhaling gently and slowly,
Releasing all the air from your lungs,
Relaxing the body and the mind as you breathe out,
Letting it all go.
And we'll finish the practice with the ring of the gong.
Allowing your eyes to open,
Bringing your attention back up into the environment around you.
I'm just taking a moment to notice and savour the impact of this practice on the state of your body and mind.
May mindfulness and moments of recognising that you're all right in this moment positively impact you,
What you do and all of those around you.
Thank you for practicing with me.
I hope you'll join me again.
