Noticing and Noting Meditation So if you sit in a comfortable position,
On a chair or mat or on the floor,
Your feet resting firmly on the ground,
Your hands resting in your lap or on your legs,
Your back straight,
Shoulders relaxed,
And with your eyes closed if that feels comfortable.
And beginning by tuning into your surroundings,
Listening to any sounds that may be around.
Not looking to follow the sounds or to judge them,
Just being aware of them,
Letting them bring you into this present moment.
Gradually letting those sounds now fade into the background,
And bringing your attention to the breath,
Aware of the rising of the chest or abdomen on the in-breath,
The falling away on the out-breath,
And for a few minutes now on your own,
Focusing your attention on the in-breath and the out-breath.
Noticing the tendency for the mind to wander,
Gently bringing it back to its focus on the breath for a few more minutes.
And if the mind has wandered again,
As minds do,
Just noting where it has gone,
To thoughts about the past,
To thoughts about the future,
Trying to work things out,
Trying to get things done,
Noticing whether there's an emotion accompanying the thought,
Not analyzing it,
Just noting it,
Letting it go,
And gently bringing the mind back to the breath,
Refocusing on the breath for the next minute.
The mind may again have wandered,
If so,
Just noting again where it has gone.
The same thoughts,
Recurrent thoughts,
Recurrent themes,
Different thoughts,
Pleasant thoughts,
Unpleasant thoughts,
Just noting,
Letting go,
And again returning the focus to the breath for the next minute.
And now relaxing the focus on the breath,
Allowing your mind to go wherever it wishes.
If it wants to think,
Let it think.
Let it have total free rein for the next minute.
And now starting to reconnect with your surroundings,
Becoming aware again of any sounds,
Any sensations in the body,
And when you're ready,
Gradually opening your eyes.
And maybe you'd like to end this meditation by having a little stretch of the body,
Particularly around the arms and neck and shoulders,
And bringing your meditation to a close.
