Effortless Presence

Relaxing mindfulness meditation. Allowing your breath and thoughts to flow together - freely, naturally and effortlessly, within your awareness. Followed by a relaxing mindfulness meditation to ease you into a deep experience of effortless presence by turning our attention outwards into the environment around us.

Transcript

Just a few words on preparing the right attitude to begin a meditation.

First thing is to be patient.

Don't expect or make effort to create any particular experience.

We will be exploring the awareness of what is already happening,

Not trying to create anything.

And most importantly of all,

Don't try to stop thinking or even change your thoughts in any way.

And give yourself this time to gently,

Gradually allow yourself to be more present.

We will begin by becoming more aware of our breath.

Notice the rise and fall of your breath.

Be aware of the breath as it enters and aware as it leaves through the nose or mouth.

Allow the breath to breathe itself.

Allow the breath to find its own rhythm in its own time.

Does it matter how fast or slow,

How deep or shallow,

How regular or irregular your breath is?

Become familiar with your breath as it is in this moment.

And explore all the sensations caused in your body by the breath.

So notice if you are thinking about the breath and allow those thoughts to come and see if you can really feel the sensations of the breath in the body.

And noticing which parts of the body are being affected by the breath.

Notice the rise and fall of the stomach or chest.

Feel the fullness as you breathe in.

And the emptying as you breathe out.

Remembering to simply notice when you are back in your thoughts.

Don't fight against that.

Allow yourself to be with your thoughts for as long as you choose.

Allow your thoughts to flow freely.

And when you are ready,

Simply add the awareness of your breath.

And allow your thoughts and your breath to flow freely together.

Not changing your breath in any way.

And not changing your thoughts in any way either.

And we will spend the next few moments paying particular attention to the in-breath.

Catch the beginning of the in-breath the moment you start to breathe in.

And with each breath as you breathe in,

Follow that breath all the way to the point of fullness.

And get ready to catch the beginning of the next in-breath and follow that breath all the way in.

Feeling the stretch and the expansion in the stomach or chest.

Feeling the lungs filled with air.

Feeling the air enter through the nose or mouth.

If you find it useful,

You could add to the thought of allowing with each in-breath.

So as you breathe in,

Allowing the breath in fully and freely.

Allowing the lungs to fill.

And noticing how that feels in the body.

And now for the next few breaths,

Paying more attention to the exhale to the out-breath.

Catching the beginning of the out-breath and that moment of fullness.

And following the breath all the way out to the point of emptiness and completion of the exhale.

And catch the beginning of the next out-breath and follow that one.

Feeling the release and the letting go of the breath.

Feeling the contraction in the muscles,

In the chest and the stomach.

And being aware of the air leaving through the nose or mouth with each out-breath.

And continue for a few more breaths,

Following the breath as you let go and breathe out.

Noticing how it feels in the body.

So now let's put the two parts of the breath together and follow the full cycle of each breath.

Beginning at the very start of the in-breath,

Following the breath all the way in to that point of fullness and the transition to the out-breath.

And following the breath all the way out to the end of the exhale and then catch the beginning of the next breath.

Allowing your awareness to follow the full cycle of the breath.

Following the rise and fall.

Expansion and contraction.

The allowing of the breath in and letting go as you breathe out.

Allow the breath in,

Feel that sensation in the body and let go as you breathe out.

Notice how that feels.

If you find it useful you could count a few breaths.

Or just have the thought of allowing as you breathe in and letting go as you breathe out.

Filling the lungs with breath and with awareness and as you breathe out letting go of the breath and noticing any feeling of relaxation in the body.

Breathing in awareness,

Feeling relaxation as you let go.

Breath like a wave in and out.

Always allowing your thoughts to flow freely.

If you're having a lot of thoughts stay with them,

Accept and allow them to come.

Genuinely welcome each and every thought.

Just as we're allowing the breath in,

Allow your thoughts in.

And just as we let go of the breath,

Just let each thought go so you're ready for the next one.

Allowing your thoughts to flow.

Allowing your breath to flow.

Breath like a wave.

Allowing your thoughts like a stream.

Effortlessly flowing by.

Noticing how it takes no effort to breathe.

Our breath comes and goes all by itself.

Noticing how it takes no effort to think.

Our thoughts just arise all by themselves and we simply allow that to happen.

And noticing that we can only be breathing in this present moment.

So if I'm aware I'm breathing,

I know I'm here and now in the present.

And if I'm thinking and aware that I'm thinking,

Then I can only be having those thoughts right now.

Simply being here now with my thoughts and with my breath.

Both effortless and flowing.

Allowing the breath in,

Allowing the thoughts.

Letting go of the breath,

Letting go of my thoughts.

And now as we breathe in,

Breathe in awareness into the whole body.

Maybe allow the breath to be a little deeper.

If it helps,

You can imagine or feel the body to be hollow,

So as you breathe in,

Filling the body with breath.

Filling the body with awareness.

Expanding the awareness from the breath to the whole body,

Noting how the body is feeling.

Feeling the weight of the body.

Feeling that gentle pull of gravity.

And allowing the weight of your body to be completely supported,

Completely held.

Giving yourself permission to let go.

Allowing the body to relax,

Noticing how that feels.

Become aware of all the points of contact,

That sensation of connection between you and the chair or the floor.

Feeling that pressure,

That warmth,

Sinking into that feeling.

And be aware of all the other points of contact across the body,

Between your skin and your clothing.

So checking your arms and legs.

Back,

The front of the body.

Taking time to explore all those sensations of contact.

And perhaps being aware of the air on your hands or face.

As you scan through the body,

Looking out for any areas of tension in any of the muscles.

Maybe in the calves or the thighs.

Maybe in the stomach or chest.

Checking the shoulders and the neck.

Being aware of the jaw.

Is there any tension being held in the jaw?

Maybe around the eyes and the forehead.

If you do find any tension,

Spend a few moments really feeling that sensation in a neutral way,

Accepting it exactly as it is.

If the muscles feel ready,

Allow them to soften,

To ease and let the tension drift away.

And as you breathe out,

Letting go of the breath and letting go of any tension anywhere in the body.

And give yourself permission to become that bit more present.

As you allow the body to relax,

You're allowing yourself a greater connection and presence.

So feel the sensations in the body.

Feel the energy of the body.

Feel the aliveness of the body.

Really feeling the energy that makes this body alive.

And feel the presence of the body.

The body is always here,

Always in the present,

Always in connection.

Allow your awareness to be here with your body.

Sitting with your body.

Your awareness and your body together in this moment.

Allowing your thoughts to flow freely.

Allowing your breath to flow freely.

Allowing the sensations in your body to flow freely.

All three joined by being in the same moment right now.

All three joined by being in the same moment right now.

For the next part,

We'll begin to turn our attention outwards into the environment around us.

So whilst we continue to allow our internal environment of thoughts,

Feelings,

Breath and sensations to continue,

We'll open our awareness and connect with what's happening around us.

Connecting to the space where we are.

Beginning by getting a sense of the location of your body.

Getting a sense of the presence of your body.

And become aware of the space immediately around the body.

Aware of the space just in front of you.

Aware of the space just behind you.

Aware of the space to your left and to your right.

Aware of the space just above your head.

Then allowing your awareness to move out and become aware of the space in the room where you are.

Aware of the space between the walls,

Floor and ceiling.

Getting a sense of the location of the body and the space around the body in the room.

You can use your mind's eye or just get a sense,

A feeling of that space,

An awareness of where you are.

Then let your awareness move out further beyond the room into the building.

Then let your awareness extend beyond the building outside in the space around you.

Getting a sense of how the space stretches out towards the horizon all around you.

Getting a sense of the earth below you.

And a sense of the sky above you.

Letting your awareness fill that space.

And allow your thoughts to flow freely away from you into that space.

Giving your thoughts that freedom.

And breathe into that space.

Breathing in and breathing out into the space around you.

And allow your body to be part of that space,

Connected to it,

Not separate from it.

Breathing in and breathing out into the space around you.

Breathing in and breathing out into the space around you.

And now we can begin to explore all the sounds we can hear,

Listening to all the sounds in our environment.

Actively listening with attention.

Noticing the occasional sounds as they come and go.

Noticing any continuous background sounds.

Noticing the louder sounds.

And also listening out for the quietest sounds.

And listen out for the nearest sounds.

And try to see what the most distant sound is that you can hear.

Then try imagining or feeling as if you're listening to sounds for the very first time.

Appreciating the unique combination of sounds in each moment.

And now we can begin to explore all the sounds we can hear.

So allowing everything that's happening around you in your environment to be there just as it is.

Holding everything within your awareness.

Allowing sounds to come and go within that space around you.

And maybe getting a sense of a stillness,

A quietness,

A silence.

That's there in the background,

Out of which sounds come and go.

The quietness,

The stillness is always there,

Just like the space around you is always there.

And allow yourself to become part of that space,

To become part of the present moment.

Your thoughts,

Your emotions,

Your breath,

Sensations in your body,

The sounds around you,

All part of the same present moment.

Allowing yourself to become part of the whole.

Embracing everything that's happening internally and externally.

Knowing that it's all happening right now in this space of the present moment.

Allowing everything to happen,

Allowing everything to flow.

Not needing to add anything,

Not taking anything away,

Just being with everything just as it is.

Let go of any sense of effort.

Let go of any tempt at concentration or focus.

Allow your attention to move freely.

Notice where it goes moment to moment,

But don't direct it.

Let it move freely from thoughts to sounds,

From sensations in the body to the breath,

From the space around you to your feelings and emotions.

Maintaining a gentle awareness,

A relaxed alertness.

Letting go of any tension without any tension.

Letting go being at ease.

At ease with yourself and with where you are right now and with what's happening.

Being aware of your own awareness.

Aware that you're conscious.

And aware of your own presence.

And for the last few minutes effortlessly allowing time to pass by moment by moment.

Noticing change,

Letting it come and go.

Simply noticing where your attention is in this moment.

And wait to see where it goes in the next moment.

Free and open and effortless.

You may want to even try to not be in the present moment.

Noting how that's almost impossible not to be present right now.

Letting go.

Reviews

What a fantastic meditation🏆My conscious awareness improved big time💯Wow TYVM✅

Wow. I was looking for a longish meditation and thought “I’ll bet Stephen Davies has one” and what a great one. Thank you Stephen!

The best meditation I ever had
Thank you

Fantastic. Felt very JKZ inspired. Please make one that emphasizes the thoughts and breath work. Loved the analogy of riding the waves of breathing and attending to the stream of thoughts. Please keep it up!

Thanks so much

Outstanding!! One of the best practices on IT. Wonderfully and gently led. Some quiet and just basic and calm. Many thanks..really deep meditation. ☮💖🙏

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