MIDL: Skill Of Calming All Your Senses

MIDL Mindfulness Training to develop the MIDL Viewing Platform. The viewing platform is the whole of your seated mindfulness meditation practice. This is based on grounding awareness within your body, mindfulness of the experience of breathing as it moves within it, and the skill of grounding within awareness itself as a basis to observe and soften the mind's habitual interactions with the six senses.

Transcript

And during this mindfulness training we develop the skill of observing the interaction between our mind and our body from the viewing platform of mindfulness of breathing.

Now closing your eyes over lightly.

Start to be aware of what it feels like and just to be here.

Becoming aware of any sounds around you.

Allowing the change within the sound to hold your attention.

Now slowly bring your awareness into your body.

Becoming aware of what it feels like just to sit here.

Aware of the experience of warmth or coolness within your body.

Holding them gently in mind.

Also start to be aware of the place where your body touches the chair or the floor.

The experience of your whole body just sitting here.

Becoming aware of the experience of warmth or coolness within your body.

Now relax your chest and belly.

And allow your breathing to flow freely and naturally within your body.

Feeling the gentle movement of your breathing.

Mechanism is speech Now start to be more closely aware of your breathing.

See if you can notice the moment each in-breath begins.

When you can experience the beginning of the in-breath,

Also be aware of its middle and its end.

See if you can notice the moment each in-breath begins.

Becoming aware of the full length of the in-breath.

See if you can notice the moment each in-breath begins.

Now see if you can also notice the beginning of each out-breath.

Also experience its middle and its end.

Also experience its middle and its end.

Becoming aware of the full length of each breath.

See if you can notice the moment each in-breath begins.

Now slowly start to widen your awareness throughout the whole of your body.

And start to notice how your body responds to breathing.

See if you can notice the moment each in-breath begins.

See if you can notice the moment each in-breath begins.

Noticing that as your breath comes in,

Your body feels expanding outwards.

And as your breath goes out,

Your body deflates relaxing inwards.

And as your breath goes out,

Your body deflates relaxing inwards.

Becoming aware of the full expansion and deflation of the breath throughout your body.

And as your breath goes out,

Your body deflates relaxing inwards.

Completely aware of the movement of your body as it breathes.

And as your breath goes out,

Your body deflates relaxing inwards.

And as your breath goes out,

Your body deflates relaxing inwards.

As your breath comes in and your body feels expanding outwards,

Allow yourself to open.

Open to whatever you're experiencing now.

With each in-breath,

Open to sounds around you.

And as your breath comes in and your body feels expanding outwards,

Allow yourself to open.

Open to sensations in your body.

Open to thoughts and fantasies.

Open to the state of your mind as you experience it right now.

Open to the state of your mind as you experience it right now.

As your breath goes out and your body deflates,

Allow yourself to soften,

Relax with that out-breath.

As your breath comes in and your body feels expanding outwards,

Allow yourself to open.

Breath comes in,

Expand,

Open.

Open to all your senses.

Breath goes out,

Deflating,

Soften.

Soften into everything with that out-breath.

Open.

Soften.

Open.

Open.

Soften.

Still.

Still.

Bringing your awareness back into your body.

Now start to be more aware of the deflation of the out-breath.

Following that out-breath all the way to the end.

Soften.

Slightly slow down and lengthen that deflation of the out-breath.

Soften.

Each time the breath goes out,

Abandon all effort.

Soften.

Relaxing all effort.

Relax.

Relax.

Calming all effort.

Calm.

Relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Bringing your awareness back into your body.

Now following the out-breath all the way to the end.

Relax.

When you notice the out-breath ending,

Sit in the gap between the breaths.

Sitting in the gap,

Wait for the in-breath to begin.

Allow the in-breath to happen naturally by itself.

Following the out-breath you'll notice it end.

Then a gap.

End.

Gap.

Begin.

Allowing your awareness to sit in this gap between the breaths.

Relax.

Relax.

Every time your awareness sits in the gap,

Just allow yourself to physically and mentally relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Only notice the moment the breath ends.

And the moment the breath arises again.

You no longer see breathing.

Relax.

Relax.

Allow your awareness to sink deeper in the gap.

And the moment the breath ends.

Deeper and deeper into this gap.

Deeper and deeper into this gap.

Allow the stillness within the gap to grow within you.

Relax.

Come.

Come.

Still.

Still.

Relax.

Relax.

Start to notice your experience of your six senses.

Are you experiencing any signs?

Maybe you see a vision,

Some lights or some colors.

Take some slow,

Softening breaths and relax your relationship towards what you see.

Do you hear any sounds?

Take some slow,

Softening breaths and relax your relationship towards what you see.

Take some slow,

Softening breaths and just allow those sounds to come into you.

Relax.

Can you smell a smell?

Take some slow,

Softening breaths and allow the smell to be.

Relax.

Can you feel the touch of the air on your skin?

The pressure of your body as it rests on the chair or on the floor.

Maybe you feel aches or pains within your body.

Just take some slow,

Softening breaths and fully relax into the experience of your body.

Relax.

Are you experiencing any thoughts,

Memories?

Relax or dislikes?

Or maybe you feel content?

Just take some slow,

Gentle breaths and soften and relax your relationship to your mind.

Take some slow,

Softening breaths and relax your relationship towards what you see.

Relax.

Allowing or six senses to come into you.

Allowing them to be.

Relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Relax.

Now slowly bringing your awareness back into your body.

Becoming aware of the experience of just sitting here.

Becoming aware of any warmth or coolness within your body.

The heaviness as your body relaxes.

The touch.

Start to become aware of any sounds around you.

Allowing those sounds to come into you.

And when you're ready,

You can gently open your eyes.

Thank you for spending this time meditating with me.

Take care of yourself and have a wonderful day.

And goodbye.

Reviews

Only managed 45 minutes as someone distracted me but felt very relaxed and aware

This is a very helpful guidance for calming and opening the senses, that leads into a deep focus and strong awareness. I could feel every inch of my body - a perfect preparation for my vipassana meditation. Thank you 🙏very much.

So calming, love the soothing voice, that there is no background music, the space between guidance, and the regular gentle instruction

Amazing teacher, such good systematic building of meditation skills.

Another beautiful build on the series. Thank you so much Stephen for this gift. Practicing “with you” is really helping me be more at ease with myself and make space for others.

Amazing. Having followed all the weeks step by step I never thought I would be able to do this. Actually it goes quite well.

Wasn't sure an hour was going to work for me, but boy was that peaceful! I didn't want to stop, actually. Thank you for this course!

Stephen, I'm very grateful for MIDL. Lately I've been being pulled in so many different directions, sometimes I have to do these late at night, tired etc. Today I got to devote this hour to myself and it was powerful. I appreciate your guidance on my journey of self exploration.

Day 1, week 12... first meditation at an hours length. Stephen's MIDL is, lesson after lesson, increasing a stillness in sitting, an awareness of still. Grateful 🧘‍♂️

Calming and grounding practise. I noticed a fair bit of mental noise about half way through but it settled as I continued with the practise. Thank you Stephen.

Culmination of previous 11 lessons teaching body awareness through the sensations. Such quiet pure contentment.

This has been helpful for overcoming feelings of anxiety due to trauma. Of course after meditating with stillness, stillness of breathing, calming the mind, meta and vipassana for quite some months before

Hi Stephen
The 52 week program is excellent so far, I really admire the way you have set it out so that each session grows from the previous. I found myself completely enchanted by ‘the gap’ and amazed at where the mind can go, with a good guide. Thank you for your guidance, it is very much appreciated 😇

Keeps getting better and better!!!!
Thanks!!

Stephen, thank you for another great guidance towards peace and awareness. One question I have is -- I find it tough to focus just on the ending-gap-beginning and eventually just the gap without being aware of the rest of the breath, especially after developing that of the full breath for several months. Could you provide an advice for this, or am I misunderstanding the instruction for this part?

You are such a skilled guide, Stephen. Thank you 🙏🏼

Very gentle practice, well paced, deeply relaxing. Grateful for his skillful, kind guidance.

Stephen, I love tour attitude, voice and how accesiable you make meditation

Thoroughly enjoyed how full the breath becomes through his guidance