Begin by finding a position that is comfortable,
Perhaps upright,
Alert,
Yet relaxed and at ease.
You can either lower your gaze so that your eyes are not focused on anything in particular,
Or if it's comfortable you can close your eyes.
And just take a moment to scan your body,
Seeing if there's any sensations that are present,
Seeing if there's anything that wants to relax or let go.
Noticing if any emotions are present in the state of your heart.
Just seeing if anything comes up for you and wants to be acknowledged.
Now settling into whatever is here,
The sense of openness and attentiveness.
Just take a few long,
Deep breaths.
Each breath in,
Let your abdomen gently expand and then release the air,
Fully enjoying each breath as it moves through you.
And then relaxing the breath so that it feels natural again.
And spend a few moments bringing attention to the rising and falling sensations of the breath.
Observing the breath with a sense of curiosity,
Noticing its rhythm.
Noticing how it feels.
All the subtle details of breathing,
Serving each breath with curiosity as it flows through you.
As you breathe,
You may notice emotions arise.
Maybe restlessness,
Maybe a sense of calm,
Maybe worry or planning,
Maybe fatigue.
You might be experiencing happiness,
Sadness,
Anxiety,
Peace.
And sometimes as we sit,
Just the experience of being still,
You notice that emotions sweep through us.
And sometimes our instinct is to push them away or to ignore them,
Perhaps even to stop our practice.
For now,
See if you can observe emotion without identifying with it,
Without holding onto it or grasping or pushing away.
You're just noticing whatever comes up,
Remembering that it's just a passing emotion.
All emotion comes and goes.
Remembering that emotions are not you.
It's a temporary experience.
Something arising in this moment.
So just like the breath,
You can get curious about your experience and observe what's happening as a witness.
Same way that we experience the breath coming and going,
Recognizing that everything rises and passes.
Emotions come and go.
Thoughts come and go.
Sensations come and go.
And we can sit here in the middle as a witness,
Curiosity,
Just watching experience,
Become aware as it fades away.
And so one way to live in the present moment is to remember that this too shall pass.
When you experience joy,
Remembering that this will pass.
Maybe this helps you savor experience as it's available to you.
When you experience pain or sorrow,
Fear,
Remembering that this will also pass.
Remembering that grief,
Like all other emotions,
Is only temporary.
And in this way we can experience emotion,
Experience thoughts and sensations,
Allowing that experience to be as it is,
And recognizing that it will change,
It will shift.
And when things are difficult,
Remembering that we can always come back to our breath as a way to nourish our experience.
Just sitting and being,
Breathing in and breathing out.
And as we end this practice,
Take a moment to thank yourself for being open and curious to experience,
Knowing that you can come back to this practice whenever you like.
Some days it will feel a little more easy,
And some days may feel a little more difficult.
And as you practice in this way,
Learn to work with emotion in a way that allows you to both experience and let go.
Thank you.
