Hello and welcome to this mental noting or open awareness practice.
As you get comfortable in a seated and alert position,
A quick reminder why this practice is important.
Mental noting gives the thinking mind something to do rather than leading it to its own devices.
By cultivating our ability to label or note various mind and sense experiences as they arise,
We can begin to observe those experiences objectively versus subjectively,
Separate from our personal feelings or biases.
When this practice is done regularly,
Noting our thoughts will help us recognize patterns in our experiences and that can help maintain a form of attention that is more responsive and less reactive.
By being here right now,
You are actively growing your ability to be a more mindful performer.
Great work.
So now,
Sitting with wakeful and energized awareness,
Go ahead and close your eyes and begin with the direct experience of breathing.
Take a long deep breath in and out.
Notice the breath right at the tip of the nostrils in and a slow release out.
In and out.
Settling into your normal breathing pattern,
Simply label each in breath as in and the out breath as out.
In and out.
Allowing the breath to be an anchor and a reminder to return to it over and over again.
In and out.
Good work.
Now,
Turning your attention to the direct experience of sensing into how the body feels right now.
Scanning from head to toe,
Just notice.
Notice the body's outline in space.
Notice the pressure between the hips and the object you're sitting on.
Notice the contact between skin and clothing.
Notice the feet,
The hands,
And everything in between.
And as you notice various sensations,
Simply label each one as sensing.
Maybe it's an itch or a tickle.
Maybe you can sense the temperature in the room or even the beating of your heart.
With each breath from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet,
Feel into any sensations of the body and just note them as sensing and return to the breath.
Okay.
Good work.
Now we'll turn our spotlight of attention from the experience of sensing to the direct experience of hearing,
Noticing the various sounds in your environment,
Both obvious and subtle.
Begin noting what you hear.
Maybe you hear the hum of a machine,
The voices in a discussion,
Or the chirp of a bird.
As sounds come and as they go,
Just note what you hear and label it as hearing.
And then return to the breath.
Next,
We will attend to the wandering mind.
Don't worry,
It's very common.
In fact,
Research suggests that our minds are wandering almost 50% of the time.
Without judging them,
Simply label any thoughts that come up as thinking and then return to the breath.
Now that we've practiced each one individually,
For the next minute,
We will sit in open awareness and explore our entire experience by mentally noting the thoughts,
Sounds,
And sensations that arise and label them as hearing,
Sensing,
And thinking,
And then return to the breath.
Labeling and returning to the breath.
Ready,
Set,
Go.
One,
Two,
Three.
One,
Two,
Three.
As we finish this practice,
You can be confident that you are building muscles of open awareness and increasing your capacity to live more mindfully.
Great work,
And I hope you'll join me again tomorrow for another practice.
This practice will end with the sound of a bell.
