Hi there,
My name's Ryan.
Thanks for trusting me to guide you today.
This track is intended as a total beginner's introduction to meditation.
The aim of this very short session is to introduce you to the most basic concept of meditation,
Using the breath as an anchor.
The logic and reason behind using the breath as an anchor will be explored in more detail in my more advanced tracks.
So if you find this one interesting and you want to learn more,
Please do go ahead and have a look.
But for today,
We're just going to focus on using the breath,
Specifically the sensations of breathing,
As a tool that can guide us through mindfulness meditation.
And if you're unfamiliar with the term mindfulness itself,
Well,
To keep it nice and simple for today,
We can consider mindfulness to be undistracted awareness.
That's it.
And it's through this kind of meditation,
Of which there are many different kinds,
That we can practice inhabiting that simple moment of undistracted awareness.
With practice,
We can learn to build a healthy relationship with the contents of our mind,
Establish a healthy positioning of ourselves in relation to the challenging emotions that we will undoubtedly face in our day-to-day lives,
Because that's part of being human.
And I really could go on about the extensive list of wonderful benefits that wait in store for those willing to invest the effort of regular practice.
But the bottom line for today is that it all starts in awareness.
In fact,
Everything you've ever done or felt or experienced happened in awareness.
And everything you can ever do in the future or experience will happen in awareness.
So it seems to make sense to learn how to inhabit this incredible thing called awareness.
And that is basically the essence of mindfulness meditation.
So let's give it a go.
First things first,
Let's make sure we're comfortable.
This could be sitting in a chair,
Or it could be cross-legged,
Or you can be lying down,
Whatever suits you.
The key things here are that you're comfortable and that your back is relatively straight.
So we want a relaxed posture with a straight spine.
And when you're ready,
Just close off the eyes.
And I invite you to take a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in now.
And coming back to your normal breathing pace now.
I'd like you to notice the sensations of breathing itself.
For most people,
That's gonna be the tip of the nose,
Where the air enters and exits the nostrils,
Or in the rising and the falling of the chest or stomach as the air enters and exits your abdomen.
Whichever one you choose is absolutely fine.
We're not trying to evaluate the breath,
And we're not trying to control the breath.
We're simply noticing it as it occurs.
So that means if you find your breathing shallow,
That's fine.
If you find your breathing deep,
That's fine.
The pattern,
The pace is really not important.
We are gently covering the breath as it is with awareness.
In the beginning,
It is inescapable that you will be distracted by the contents of the mind.
And that's absolutely normal.
This is the mind being the mind.
So when you notice that you've been swept away by thought,
Just notice that you've become distracted,
And then without judgment,
Choose to bring your awareness back to the sensations of breathing.
And it's highly likely as I chime in every now and again,
That I might be interrupting you being lost in thought,
Which again,
Is absolutely normal.
So once again,
Just notice being distracted,
And consciously choose to draw attention back to the sensations of breathing.
And if you notice you've become lost in thought,
Just notice that without judgment,
And bring awareness back to the sensations of breathing.
Notice that you've become distracted,
And then without judgment,
Bring your awareness back to the sensations of breathing.
Initially,
It can be frustrating or discouraging to realize just how loud the mind can be,
Just how distracting the contents of the mind really can be sometimes.
If you do feel this way,
If you do feel this way,
I encourage you to see each moment of acknowledging distraction,
Each moment of choosing to draw your awareness back to the breath.
I invite you to see that as a moment of pure mindfulness.
And again,
If you notice you've become lost in thought,
Without judgment,
Choose to bring your awareness back to the sensations of breathing.
So once again,
Just notice being distracted,
And draw attention back to the sensations of breathing.
Okay,
Go ahead and take another few deep breaths at your own pace.
And we're letting our awareness relax now.
We don't need to focus on the sensations of breathing anymore,
Simply being in awareness in this moment.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
If this was your first time ever meditating,
Then I'd like to say,
Well done.
You've just cracked open the door to a whole world that really goes deeper than words can express.
The depth of self-understanding,
The connection to our emotions,
The possibilities of building new and healthier relationships with the contents of our mind and the people around us really cannot be overstated.
So well done.
And if you found this to be interesting or compelling,
Then please do go ahead and check out some of my more advanced tracks.
Thanks for letting me guide you today.
I'll see you next time.
