Week one,
Remembering the first word.
Begin by allowing yourself to become comfortable.
There is nowhere else you need to be right now.
Nothing you need to achieve.
Nothing you need to get right.
Just allow your body to settle into the space beneath you.
And before we do anything else just notice that you are here You don't need to change your breathing.
You don't need to quiet your mind.
You don't need to make yourself relax.
Just notice.
Notice the feeling of your body being supported.
The places where your body meets the bed,
Couch,
The chair or the floor beneath you.
Notice the weight of your body perhaps the temperature of the air against your skin.
The feeling of your clothing any sounds you can hear around you.
You don't need to decide whether any of these sensations are pleasant or unpleasant.
You don't need to do anything with them.
Simply notice that they are there.
This is awareness,
Not searching.
Not concentrating.
Not trying to find something extraordinary.
Just noticing what is already there.
Now gently bring your awareness to your breath.
Without changing it.
Notice that your body already knows how to breathe.
You don't have to tell it when to breathe in You don't have to remind it when to breathe out.
It has been doing this quietly for you,
Your entire life.
Just notice one breath arriving.
And leaving.
And then another Perhaps you can notice movement somewhere in your body as you breathe.
Your chest.
Your stomach.
Your ribs.
Or perhaps somewhere else entirely.
There is no right place to feel it.
Just notice where you notice it.
Now allow your awareness to move gently through your body.
I'm not looking for anything.
Simply becoming curious about what is already there.
Notice your feet.
Your legs.
Your hands your arms.
Your shoulders in your face.
Perhaps there is warmth somewhere.
Or coolness.
Happiness.
Lightness.
Tingling times.
Movement.
Or perhaps there is very little sensation at all.
That's okay too.
Loneliness doesn't require something interesting to happen.
You are simply noticing.
And now notice your thoughts Not what they're saying.
But simply that they are there.
A thought may arrive.
And another may follow.
You don't need to stop them.
You don't need to follow them.
Just notice.
There is a thought.
And perhaps for a moment you can become aware of something very simple.
If you can notice the thought,
Then there is a part of you that is aware of the thought.
If you can notice a sensation,
There is a part of you that is aware of the sensation and if you can notice a sound there's a part of you that is listening That quiet noticing has always been there.
Before you came into this circle.
Before you ever used the word awareness.
Before anyone taught you to meditate.
You have been doing this your entire life.
Or maybe this isn't something new to learn.
Maybe it's something to remember.
And over the coming weeks,
We're going to become curious about this language.
The language of your body.
Your emotions your intuition.
The quiet spaces between your thoughts.
And eventually,
The ways life itself may be communicating with you.
Today.
We begin with only one word.
Awareness.
And awareness asks very little of you.
Only that you notice.
Without immediately judging.
Without needing to understand.
Without needing to change what you find.
So for these last few moments simply rest here.
Let your breathing happen.
Let your thoughts come and go.
And let your body be exactly as it is.
And notice.
