Space To Think, Space To Breathe - An Outside-In Meditation

Using the simple and effective techniques of mindfulness of breath and thoughts, we will create an awareness of mental space within which we can relax into the present moment and let our breath and thoughts flow freely.

Transcript

Okay,

So we'll begin.

Space to breathe,

Space to think.

Bringing my attention to the present moment.

Connecting to the body.

Connecting to the environment around me.

Connecting to how I'm feeling.

Allowing myself to slowly,

Gently settle into the present moment.

Fully arrive here with the body.

And with an attitude of accepting everything that I become aware of in this present moment.

A sense of joining the present moment,

Becoming part of the present moment.

And allowing everything that's happening,

Internally and externally,

To be just as it is as I find it.

Allowing it to flow.

Allowing myself to be part of this moment and part of the flow.

The sensations in the body,

The breath,

Thoughts and feelings,

And the sounds and space around me,

All part of this one experience of the present moment.

And holding everything gently and lightly in the centre of my open awareness.

So to begin with,

Let's invite our breath to take centre stage,

Under the spotlight of our awareness.

Bringing the breath into the foreground.

So taking a particular interest in everything that we can become aware of with respect to the breath.

And allowing everything else,

Sounds,

Thoughts,

The body,

Emotions,

To still be there,

Still part of this moment,

Just slightly in the background happening around the breath.

Okay,

So just spend a few moments really exploring all the physical sensations of the breath.

So we're not just thinking about the breath,

But really feeling the breath in the body.

We can apply this idea of accepting the present moment and allowing everything in the present to be as it is.

With regards to the breath,

By firstly just accepting your breath as you find it.

So not trying to change the breath in any way.

Allowing the breath to find its own natural rhythm,

Not trying to breathe any more deeply or slowly.

Just aware of the breath and accepting it as you find it.

And then the step of allowing,

We can apply that to the in-breath.

And each time you breathe in,

Having that feeling of really allowing the breath into the body as fully and as freely as the breath wants to enter the body.

How does that feel to really allow the breath into the body?

And for the out-breath,

We can just have that thought of release,

Of letting go.

Noting how that feels in the body each time we release and fully let go of the breath.

Allowing the breath in,

Letting go as you breathe out.

Getting a sense of the breath flowing freely through the body.

And see if you can get a sense of the body being breathed by the breath.

So the breath,

The air is doing all the work.

You're just allowing the breath in and out of the body,

Feeling the body respond to the breath.

So as the breath continues naturally,

Spontaneously,

Get a sense of the space around your body.

Allowing your awareness to really be nice and open,

Getting a sense of the space just in front of you and behind you.

To either side,

Just below and above you.

And being aware of the air in the space around you.

And it's that air in that space that is breathing your body.

Being aware of the body in the centre of this space.

And feeling the body respond as it's breathed by the air in the space that you're in right now.

The idea is to see if you can have a subtle shift of how you're perceiving and experiencing the breath.

So rather than feeling like you're in the body making effort to draw breath into the body and making effort to push the breath out of the body.

But instead,

This nice open and light awareness and holding everything of the present moment within your open awareness.

Being aware of the space around the body.

The body resting and still in the centre of that space and experiencing the breath from this point of awareness,

From this point of the space around the body.

And observing the body respond to the breath,

To the air as the air enters and leaves the body.

The air in the space around the body is driving the breath.

Experiencing the breath from the breath's point of view,

From the point of view of the space of your awareness around the body.

So rather than being on the inside looking out,

Experiencing the breath from the outside looking in.

So allowing the breath to continue just as it is,

Effortless,

Continuous,

Rising and falling in the body.

The body receiving,

Responding to the breath.

The body relaxed in the centre of the space around it,

The centre of the air all around it.

And let's apply the same ideas to our own thoughts.

So now inviting the thoughts into the foreground,

The centre,

Under the spotlight of our awareness.

Allowing the breath to join the body,

Sounds,

Feelings,

Just slightly in the background.

And taking particular interest now in what it feels like to be thinking in this present moment.

And experiencing the thoughts whilst you are aware that you are thinking.

So thinking with consciousness,

With awareness.

Holding the thoughts lightly and gently in the centre of your open awareness.

And again accepting what you become aware of.

So not trying to change your thoughts in any way at all.

Accepting every thought no matter what it is.

Don't try and change or redirect or slow or calm your thoughts.

Just give your thoughts complete freedom.

Simply be aware and accept.

And allow your thoughts to flow freely through your mind.

Just as the breath continues to flow freely through your body.

Perhaps you can get a similar sense that the thoughts also just occur to the mind.

Just as the breath happens to the body.

So we don't need to make any effort at all to think our next thought.

We don't have to remember to think the next thought.

The thought will just arrive naturally automatically into the mind,

Into your awareness.

And as each thought arrives,

Letting it go.

Being completely disinterested in the content of the thought.

And being interested only in being open and aware and attentive to catch the arrival of the next thought.

And allowing the thoughts to exist.

And allowing the thoughts to continue.

Let's return to that sense of space around the body.

That sense of the space in the room.

The body still and relaxed in the center of that space.

And noticing how easy it is for your awareness to be aware of the much larger space around you.

So all the way to the horizon in all directions around you.

And all the way up to the sky and beyond above you.

That simple awareness of the unlimited physical space that surrounds each and every one of us at every moment.

Just holding that sense of space within your light and open awareness.

There are no physical limits or boundaries to the awareness and to the mind.

So this sense of mental space can be as wide and as high and as deep as you want it to be.

Whether it's the space of the room,

If that feels comfortable.

Or the space of the sky or of the stars beyond.

Just gently holding an awareness of the space that's around you,

Around the body right now.

Allowing the body,

The breath and the thoughts to relax into the center of that open space.

And as we did with the breath in the body,

Instead of thinking of myself being inside the body,

Inside the head,

Inside the brain.

Thinking thoughts,

Positioning myself in this mental space.

And experiencing the thoughts from this experience of spaciousness and openness.

And just noticing that the thoughts come and go within the space where I am,

The space that I am.

Noting how little of that space the thoughts take up.

The stream of thoughts,

No matter their content or speed,

Insignificant in comparison to the openness of the sky,

Of the stars.

Relaxing into the experience of the space,

The openness,

The awareness.

And the thoughts just carry on as they are within that space,

Just as the body and the breath continue within the space.

So experiencing the thoughts as well as the breath from the outside,

Looking in.

I'll leave a few minutes now without commentary,

So we can really relax into this experience of simply being present with the body,

The breath and the thoughts.

And just allowing the thoughts to flow freely through the body from the space around the body.

And allowing the thoughts to flow freely through the mind from this space of open awareness.

Free flowing breath,

Free flowing thoughts,

All in this one physical and mental space of awareness.

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We're beginning to bring the meditation to an end by taking a few deeper breaths into the body,

Becoming aware of the weight of the body and all the points of contact with the body.

Bring a bit of movement into the hands and the feet.

When you're ready you can open your eyes without taking your time,

No rush.

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