So be mindful meditations help us to bridge periods of formal mindfulness practice with greater present moment awareness during the everyday moments of our life,
Especially when we are outdoors.
They bring together our innate capacities of doing and being,
Beginning with a deliberate and gentle movement of the body,
Breath,
And mind,
And flowing into a state of observation,
Noticing,
And allowing.
In this So Be Mindful Breath Awareness practice,
We cultivate a deeper knowing of ourselves through a deeper knowing of the elements of nature.
The nature that surrounds us,
The nature that's within us,
And ultimately our true nature.
These elements are the tree,
The wind,
The clouds,
And the sun.
The tree represents the body,
This body.
The wind represents the breath,
This breath.
Clouds symbolize thoughts and feelings coming and going,
And the sun symbolizes warmth and awareness.
For this practice,
We'll draw upon the tree and the wind and the sun,
And occasionally we'll get lost in the clouds as we slip into forgetfulness.
And when we realize this,
As the sun shines through,
We return more fully to the moment as it is.
And so,
With this reminder of that which we already know about our true nature,
Let's begin.
If you are sitting outdoors or can see outside,
You may wish to begin with your eyes open in a soft gaze so that the imagery of nature might be more fully a part of this exercise.
And so,
With eyes opened or closed,
Whichever you prefer,
Begin by adjusting the posture,
Sitting upright and stable,
Noble and dignified like a tree.
Slowly extending the arms out from the body as the fingers gently open and close as if the fluttering of leaves on the branches of a tree,
Feeling the stretching and releasing of the fingers.
And then,
As is comfortable,
Extending the arms upward as if a tree's tall branches were stretched outward,
Reaching to the sky,
Allowing the head to roll back gently so as to not create any undue tension in the neck.
Feeling this open stretch in a posture that is receptive,
Majestic,
Embracing,
Even vulnerable,
As we then slowly draw our arms and hands back to the body,
Coming to rest a few inches in front of the chest or belly,
As we sense the wind flowing around us,
Within us,
As we turn our attention to the breath.
Of course,
We've been breathing this whole time,
But now we deliberately engage three slower,
Deeper breaths,
Moving the hands outward on the in-breath as the belly expands as if coaxing the breath from the body,
And then gently moving the arms and hands back toward the body on the out-breath as the belly softens.
Or,
If you prefer,
Take three slower,
Deeper breaths with the hands resting comfortably wherever you choose as you breathe in and out.
In and out.
In and out.
Allowing the hands to come to rest,
One in the other,
On your lap,
Or by your side.
And now,
The sun rises,
And as the sun rises,
It spreads its warmth across all that it touches,
And so too we spread warmth,
Wishing for somebody,
May you be happy.
This could be somebody dear to you,
Could be somebody that you don't know particularly well,
Or it might even be someone with whom you're having a difficult time.
We spread the warmth of happiness in their direction as we breathe.
And now,
Wishing warmth for ourselves,
May I be happy.
And then,
Wishing warmth for all beings,
May all beings everywhere be happy.
And now that the sun is out,
We sense an expansive awareness as we shift into a deeper knowing of this moment as it is.
If eyes are open,
You may wish to close or lower them as we direct our attention more fully to our interior experience.
For the remainder of this practice,
We rest our attention on the sensations of the breath.
Just as the sun effortlessly shines on and warms the wind,
The breeze,
We are aware of the breath,
Sun and wind.
Not trying to breathe a certain way,
Not trying to feel a certain way,
But resting our attention on the sensations of the breath as it flows into and out of the body.
Breathing.
And from time to time,
Clouds will appear as we lose ourselves in thoughts and get caught in feelings.
In these moments,
Clouds momentarily block the sun.
When we realize this,
We wake up into that space of awareness.
We remember this breath flowing through the body.
We are aware of the breath.
We are aware of the breath.
We are aware of the breath.
The tree,
The body stands tall as a gentle breeze,
A gentle breath flows.
Breathing.
Flowing with the breath,
With the wind.
Feeling the body breathing.
Flowing through the body.
And when you are ready,
In the next moment or two,
With an awareness of doing so,
Lifting the gaze,
Opening the eyes.
Breathing.
