Six Elements Of Mindfulness (With Birdsong)

An exploration of six dimensions of mindfulness. The first three elements include grounding and connecting to the present moment with mindfulness of the breath and body, the second three elements take us into more expansive and subtle areas of sounds, thoughts and awareness. Simple, effective freeing.

Transcript

Six elements of mindfulness, Six ways to be in the present moment. And the first way is to be aware of your body. Fully arrive into your body. The body is always present, Always in the moment. So connecting to your body connects you to the present. And in particular you can really feel those points of contact and connection between the body and the floor, The chair and your clothes. So just have a scan through the body and feel those points of contact and that sensation of connection through the body literally connecting to this present moment through the body. You can also feel the weight of the body. Notice if your body is feeling heavy or light. And allow the chair, The floor to completely support you and hold the weight of the body. The feeling grounded and connected, Feeling the pull of the earth on the body, Feeling that pull of gravity has weight in the body. So moving on to the second element of the air and becoming mindful of the breath. Feel the breath in the body. See if you can catch the beginning of each in-breath. Noticing that point where you start the inhale. And then see if you can add to that noticing the very beginning of the exhale to that point where the in-breath is complete and the out-breath begins. So noticing the beginning of the in-breath and the beginning of the out-breath each time you breathe. So we're not trying to change the breath in any way, Just noticing the beginning of the breath, And noticing how the breath feels in the body. And then see if you can get a sense of the element of air doing the breathing. So the body is being breathed by the air. I don't need to make any effort to breathe, I don't need to remember or choose to breathe. The breath happens automatically and spontaneously naturally. So allow the body to be breathed by the air. Allow the air in, Let go as you breathe out, Release the air. Release the air that's doing all the work at the back. And then release the air that's doing all the work at the back. And next we can move on to the element of fire. And for this I like to really feel the aliveness of the body, Feeling the energy and the presence of the physical body. As the breath continues, The breath and the oxygen from the air is giving the body life. Really feel the body to be alive. With each breath, The body feeling more awake, More alert, More alive, More conscious. So feeling the fire of aliveness burning brightly throughout the body, Fueled by the element of air. Feeling the energy and the presence, The physical presence, The living presence of your whole body, Right here and now. As we're halfway through the six elements, We can spend a few moments bringing those first three elements together, Feeling those points of contact with the body, The weight of the body, And feeling the breath rising and falling in the body, And feeling the life that the breath gives to the body. Through the body and the breath, And that living energy of the body, Allowing yourself to be fully, 100% present with and in the body. Really enjoying the simplicity of just being present with the body. Okay. So the second half of the meditation, The second three elements are a little more subtle, But at any point, You can always return to the grounded and connected feeling of the body, The breath, And the presence, The aliveness of the body. That's our basis and our foundation. The next element, The fourth element is water, And the thoughts, The mind. See if you can allow your thoughts to flow as freely as water down a stream or river. So just allowing one thought to come after the next, Just as we let one breath come after the next. And don't try and change your thoughts in any way at all. Don't try and think more slowly. Don't try and think less thoughts. Don't try and think positive thoughts or calm thoughts. Give your thoughts complete freedom to do whatever they want to do in any direction they want to go. See if you can genuinely welcome and be open to receiving any thoughts whatsoever. Just allow them to pass through your mind, Flowing one after another, Adopting an attitude of complete disinterest in the content of your thoughts, Just enjoying the experience of thinking and allowing thoughts, Giving them complete freedom, Completely open, Non-judgmental mind, Allowing your thoughts to flow freely, Like a river. Always feeling free to ground yourself back in the body and the breath at any point. Sometimes find it useful to hold the awareness of my thoughts and the breath at the same time. So be aware that I'm breathing and thinking. That helps me remain present regardless of whatever their thoughts are. OK, So we'll move on to the fifth element of sound and listen to all the sounds you can hear in your environment right now. So we're moving beyond the body, Beyond ourselves and our own thoughts and feelings, And we're actively exploring the environment around us. Listen with alertness, With attention, But with an easy, Open awareness. And I need to focus or concentrate on any particular sound. Allow the awareness to be broad and wide, Open and free. Just allow whatever sounds are there for you to come and go within your awareness. Sometimes I find it useful to imagine that I'm listening to sounds for the very first time. And as a blend of each sound in each moment is unique, Then in a way, The sounds, The exact combination of sounds that you're listening to in each moment, Are completely new if you've ever listened to those exact sounds before. And after a while of paying close attention to sounds, Really exploring the landscape, The environment of sounds around you, You may begin to get a sense that you can also listen not just to the sounds, But between and behind every sound there's a silence. For me it feels like there's an unlimited silent space within which all the sounds come and go, Arise and fall back into you. Silence is the backdrop, The background of all sounds. I can begin to feel myself become more absorbed in the space of silence and allow the sounds to just move gently into the background, Bringing the silence closer. The sounds acting to contrast against the silence. Then we can move seamlessly into the final element, The light of awareness. And that silent space becomes a silent space of awareness. And I notice it's not just the sounds happening within that space, But everything. My thoughts, Feelings, Body, Sensations, The breath, All my experiences in this moment, All happening within the space of my awareness. So just as I allow the sounds to come and go within my awareness, I let the thoughts come and go, The breath come and go. It's as if I'm holding the whole present moment in this space of my own awareness. See if you can experience the present moment not in terms of its parts, Like we have been doing so far, But more a sense of the wholeness of this one present moment that includes thoughts, The body, Breath, Sounds. Again a sense of the wholeness, The unity of this present moment and that feeling of gently holding this present moment, This one moment within the space of my awareness. Allowing everything to come and go moment by moment within that still, Silent, Open space of awareness. Feeling of wholeness and completeness, Knowing that there is nothing outside of myself, Everything I experience can only be within my awareness. See if you can experience the present moment within this space of my awareness. So as we begin to conclude the meditation, Personally just going through those final three elements and allowing all the sounds you can hear and allowing all your thoughts to come and go. Just come and go, Rise and fall within the space of your awareness. Then coming back to the first three elements, Feeling the aliveness of the body, Feeling the living presence of your physical body right here and now. And feeling the breath rising and falling within the body. And feeling the weight of the body and all those points of contact as the body physically connects with this present moment. And again for the last few moments of the meditation, Really enjoying the pure simplicity of simply being here in the present moment with your body. Your alive, Aware, Present and connected body. And again allowing all the mindful air right here to connect to the body. OK, So we'll finish your meditation there, Just taking your time to readjust and open your eyes whenever you're ready and Irish.

Reviews

Perfect meditation for grounding in the present moment. Thank you. 🙏🏻

Beautiful meditation in the here and now and the presence of thyself was felt so close. I feel much calmer and in a peaceful state✨👌🏻. The elements that Stephen’s guidance talked about felt sublime and my self-awareness was light and open. Truly fabulous🙏🧘‍♂️✨❤️🤗