Hello,
Thank you for choosing to share your mindfulness practice with me today,
And welcome to this extended mindfulness practice based upon the idea of noting.
So we'll begin this practice in the normal way,
So if you could sit comfortably.
Sitting is better than lying for this,
So if you could sit in a comfortable chair with your feet planted firmly on the ground,
And your spine in an upright position,
Sitting in what I like to call a position of dignity.
And we're going to begin by taking three deep breaths in through the nose,
And gently out through the mouth.
You can imagine perhaps that you're blowing a flickering candle flame,
But not blowing it out.
So again,
In through the nose,
And out gently through the mouth.
Now one more time on your own.
And then you're going to just allow your breathing to return to its natural rhythm,
And we'll spend the first minute or so simply using the breath as an anchor to the present moment.
So being fully aware of the sensation of air being drawn into your body,
Being fully aware of the sensation of what that air feels like as it fills your body.
Where do you physically feel it?
As your chest or your belly expand,
And then staying present with the sensation of the air leaving your body,
And recognizing the softening and relaxing of your muscles as it does so.
And then we're going to find the place in our body where breathing is most notable.
And this will be different for different people,
And maybe even different for you at different times.
It may be the coolness of the air at your nostrils as you breathe in,
The sensation at the back of your throat.
It may be the rising and falling of your chest.
It may be at your belly that you most feel the breath.
Wherever that is for you,
Focus your present mindful attention on that breathing.
And the practice that we're going to use today is a very simple one,
And it's the practice of noting when either a thought or an emotion has taken our attention away from the breath.
It's a common misconception that mindfulness is about not having thoughts.
That's actually probably not possible to do.
What mindfulness teaches us is to be aware of our thoughts,
To be aware when they grasp our attention and take it away from where we would like our attention to be.
So it's never the goal of mindfulness to not think.
It's not mindlessness,
But it's to be constantly aware of where our thoughts come from and where they take us,
And choosing not to follow them.
So during this mindfulness practice,
You will many times become aware that your attention has shifted from the point of breath that you chose to focus on.
Each time this happens,
Without judging yourself,
Without frustration,
You simply note that was a thought.
You simply note that was an emotion.
And you gently guide your awareness back to your breath.
And so when you notice that your attention has wandered,
Simply note that you've had a thought or felt an emotion and gently invite your attention back to your breath.
Once again,
If you become aware of having been distracted by a thought,
Of your attention having been pulled away from your breath,
Simply note that you've had a thought and gently invite your attention back to your breathing.
Remember to treat yourself with compassion once you become aware that your thoughts have drifted.
No judgment,
Simply inviting your awareness back to your breathing.
If you become aware of having been distracted by a thought,
Of your attention having been pulled away from your breath,
Simply note that you've had a thought and gently invite your attention back to your breathing.
Once again,
If you become aware of having been distracted by a thought,
Simply note that you've had a thought and gently invite your attention back to your breathing.
Once again,
If you become aware of having been distracted by a thought,
Of your attention having been pulled away from your breath,
Simply note that you've had a thought and gently invite your attention back to your breathing.
Remember to treat yourself with compassion once you become aware that your thoughts have drifted.
No judgment,
Simply inviting your awareness back to your breathing.
And now release your attention to your breathing.
And now release your attention to your breathing.
And now release your attention from focusing on your breath.
Allow your mind to do what it will as you become once again aware of this space around you,
Aware perhaps of sounds you can hear,
Aware of the feeling of pressure on your legs against the chair,
Your feet against the floor,
Perhaps your hands on your lap.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
