So for this meditation,
I'm going to offer a guided meditation on Anapanasati,
Or mindfulness of breathing.
It's the simplest meditation object we can pick up,
And we can pick it up in a way that's very relaxed and nurturing,
Healing and awakening.
The Buddha taught this breath meditation and remarked that this itself can take us all the way to enlightenment,
No need for complications,
For complex theories or philosophies.
Simply being,
Observing our own breath,
We can awaken.
So as you sit comfortably,
Bring your attention to your own breathing process.
Find a point within your own body where you can rest the mind with the breath.
Some of these points might be at the tip of the nose,
Or just under the nose,
The point above the upper lip,
The centre of the head,
The throat,
The upper chest,
Or the lower belly,
Abdomen.
Whatever point is most comfortable for you,
Simply make the commitment for this short to give all your attention to the breath,
Noticing if it's fast or slow,
Short or long,
Free-flowing or obstructed,
And be only interested in the breath,
Abandon all interest in anything else,
Any ideas,
Fantasies,
Imaginations,
Abandon them all,
Any desires,
Reactions.
They come,
We can't stop them from coming,
But we don't pick them up.
Our interest is only with the breath,
Absorbed fully with the in-breath and the out-breath.
Breathing in,
I'm aware I'm breathing in.
Breathing out,
Fully aware I'm breathing out.
We don't force the breath,
We don't force or suppress the mind,
Thoughts,
Images,
Emotions,
Maybe they take our attention away for a little while,
But we wake up,
We come back with full enthusiasm and commitment to being with the breath,
Interested only in the breath,
But your awareness is expansive and broad,
It's not confined and narrow,
It's open,
Fully embracing the entire moment,
Each moment,
And in this way the breath becomes expansive,
And as we practice this more and more for longer periods of time,
Breath can take us deeper and deeper into stillness,
Into quietude,
Where the mind can see clearly and understand the workings of this so-called inner and outer world.
