We begin this 12 minute mindfulness practice by bringing ourselves into a posture that's upright and stable.
As we lower or close our eyes and bring our attention to the body sitting in the chair.
Aware of where our bottom meets the seat of the chair,
Of where our back meets the back of the chair as we breathe.
Aware of our feet and where they make contact with the ground or our shoes or socks.
Of the sensations of the body,
Of the hands resting one in the other or on our lap.
The sensations of the body,
The fingertips,
The palms,
The points of contact.
As we begin this practice by coming to our senses as we breathe.
And because at times things can become intense,
Can quickly turn,
Much like a hurricane.
This practice will draw upon the metaphor of a hurricane to understand our own true nature and the ways that mindfulness practice can be helpful in observing our nature moment by moment.
And how that observation can create a spaciousness around the tumultuousness that can arise during the course of our day and at times throughout our life.
We begin by taking three slow deep breaths,
A little slower,
A little deeper than you might otherwise inhaling and exhaling.
Inhaling and exhaling.
Inhaling and exhaling.
The hurricane arises when the conditions are sufficient for it to come together and in time it dissipates,
Much like our own inner emotional conditions.
And so let's look to a few of the different aspects of the hurricane and see how they connect to our own thoughts,
Feelings and sensations.
And the spaciousness,
The ease that we can find even with the at times agitated thoughts,
Feelings and sensations.
For there are times when we experience agitation and frustration in the body,
Much like the feeder bands of strong,
Dusty winds and heavy rains.
And you might reflect for a moment on times when you have felt that intensity in the body,
That tension,
That tightness as we breathe.
So too thoughts arise from time to time that can be judgmental,
Pessimistic and reactive,
Like the outflow of high level clouds moving away from the hurricane.
That intensify it.
You might take note of thoughts,
Thoughts arising in your mind now,
Thoughts that have arisen today.
That carry that judgmental,
That harsh,
That reactive quality,
Just noticing as we breathe.
And there are moments we experience of intense emotion like anger and fear that are akin to the eye wall,
The extreme conditions that form around the eye.
And you may notice arising now perhaps because of the circumstances of the day or that arise from time to time on a fairly regular basis,
Strong,
Intense emotions.
And so too,
There are times we experience an inner calm,
Much as is found within the eye of the storm.
And this is a reminder that we don't have to have the intense and agitated thoughts,
Feelings and sensations go away to find that inner calm,
That inner tranquility.
But by shifting to an observing state as opposed to being pulled into the state,
We find a freedom from the intensity of those thoughts,
Feelings and sensations.
It's like finding our way into the eye of the storm.
It's like finding our way into a place of our own safe refuge without needing anything to change.
And so let us settle into the body,
Aware of thoughts,
Aware of feelings that will come and go,
Aware of the sensations in the body,
Observing and allowing the breath to anchor us a little bit more fully,
To steady us a little bit more comfortably into the moments of this practice and in doing so to help develop and cultivate a resilience to steady us in the moments of our life.
As we breathe in and out,
Allowing this moment to be as it is.
And when from time to time your mind wanders as it will,
Gently returning to the sensations of the breath flowing through the body.
And when you're ready in the next moment or two,
With an awareness of doing so,
To lift the gaze,
Open the eyes.
Thank you.
