Today's meditation has two main benefits.
First,
It helps to diffuse negative states of mind before they can gather unstoppable momentum.
Second,
It's an emergency meditation that you can carry out in times of crisis or pain to soothe your suffering.
And become still wherever you are.
Either lying,
Sitting,
Or standing.
Choose a posture to be as comfortable as possible.
Then lightly close your eyes.
Bring your awareness to whatever is going on for you right now.
Give the weight of your body up to gravity.
Allow your weight to sink into the points of contact between your body and the floor,
Chair,
Or bed.
Whether that's your feet,
Your bum,
Or your back.
What sensations are there right now?
If you notice any tension or resistance to painful or unpleasant sensations,
Gently turn towards them.
Accept them as best as you can.
If you begin to tense around the breath,
Notice the natural ease that comes with each out-breath.
And allow yourself to soften into gravity.
Notice any thoughts as they arise and pass in the mind.
See if you can let them come and go without becoming too identified with their content.
Allow yourself to look at your thoughts.
Observe them as if they were clouds in the sky.
And allow yourself to relate to them as a flow of mental events.
Remember,
Thoughts are not facts.
Notice any feelings and emotions as they arise.
Are you able to allow these to come and go?
Without pushing away those that you don't like or jumping onto those that you do like.
Include everything within your awareness with a kindly perspective.
Allow your awareness to gather around the experience of the breath in the body.
Drop your awareness inside the breath and feel the different sensations in the front,
Back,
And sides of the torso.
Inside the torso and on the surface of the torso.
Feel all the different sensations of the breath as it flows into and out of the body.
Can you rest within the flow of the breath?
Let everything change moment by moment.
Use the breath to anchor your awareness in the present moment and the body.
Each time you notice your mind has wandered,
Remember that you are having a magic moment of awareness.
You've woken up.
Then gently bring the mind back to the breath deep in the body.
Gently broaden and expand your awareness to include the whole body.
Feel the weight and shape of the body as it stands,
Sits,
Or lies.
Feel the breath in the whole body.
Imagine you are breathing in and out in all directions.
360 degree breathing.
If you have any pain or discomfort,
Make sure your awareness stays open to include this with a sense of compassion.
Soften tension and resistance with each breath.
Cultivate acceptance for all of your experience.
Befriend it.
Now broaden your awareness even further to become aware of sounds both inside and outside of the room.
Be aware of other people around you.
Then imagine expanding all of your awareness outward to include all humanity.
Imagine the whole world breathing.
Allow yourself to come back to the sensation of breath in your body.
Notice the parts of your body directly connected to the earth.
And allow yourself a few moments to notice what you notice.
Notice that deeper level of awareness that you cultivated here today.
And when and as you're ready,
Gently open your eyes and begin to find some movement in your body.
And see if you can carry the awareness that you've cultivated with you through the rest of your day.
