Just finding that comfortable meditation posture in the chair or the cushion,
So even lying down is okay as long as one's not inclined to fall asleep lying down.
Taking this time to get to know your inner being,
Taking the time to retreat into yourself,
Finding that posture that's comfortable and alert at the same time,
Settling into the body,
Feeling your center of gravity shift from the mind and head area down through the body,
Letting attention settle in the bottom of the belly,
Drawing attention down into the lower portion of the abdomen,
Trying to control the breath,
Trying to control the mind,
Just noticing the natural flow of the breath as it enters and leaves the belly,
Just taking a few moments to scan the body and see if there's any unnecessary tension or holding in the present,
Bringing attention to any unnecessary tension in the body,
Simply settling attention in that area,
The body where the tension is being noticed,
The attention itself is the invitation to soften and release any pockets of tension in the body,
Important to remember that we're not trying to get rid of tension,
But practicing being okay with it,
Or simply acknowledging it and accepting it as it is,
Opening to and allowing whatever we find in the body as physical sensations,
Including any tension or even discomfort,
Allowing everything to be as it already is,
Perhaps noticing if behind this allowing there's a subtle desire for the tension or discomfort to go away,
Allowing everything to be as it is without any expectation for anything in particular to happen,
Including any softening or releasing,
Bringing awareness to the fact that you're breathing,
Letting the tension settle down into the bottom of the belly,
Noticing the breath in the bottom of the belly,
And not trying to control the breath,
Simply letting it breathe naturally,
Bringing an easefulness and lightness into the breath in the belly,
Breathing into the belly,
Breathing into the belly is a natural way to breathe,
Somehow when you allow the breath to breathe naturally,
That it descends into the belly,
Perhaps noticing there's a easefulness,
The body-mind that the breath naturally breathes into the belly,
Rather than focusing attention on thoughts which are abstract,
Allowing attention to settle on something concrete,
Allowing the breath to settle in a natural and easy way,
Dropping your attention deeper inside yourself,
Deeper inside the breath in the belly,
Maybe this word deeper to expand into and around the breath,
At the same time letting go of any idea or judgment about what going deeper means,
If a judgment occurs,
Letting that thought appear,
And just as easily recognize that the thought itself is just another signal to drop deeper inside,
Recognizing that there's no right or wrong way to do this,
Simply a way of being with yourself,
Inside yourself,
And allowing everything to be as it already is,
Other things may arise to the field of awareness,
Thoughts,
Sounds,
Perhaps they even take you away from your focus of attention on the breath in the lower belly,
And that's okay,
That's just what's happening,
Simply noticing that that has occurred,
Allowing that to be as it is,
The very basis or foundation of meditation is allowing every part of experience to be exactly the way it is,
Go back to this foundation again and again,
If it's quiet,
You allow it to be quiet,
If your mind is noisy,
You allow it to be noisy,
Allowing whatever presents itself to be okay,
Allowing every part of experience to be as it is,
It might be helpful if your mind is busy to notice the breath deep in the belly,
Coming back to that very concrete sensory experience,
Again and again,
Noticing and feeling the breath just as it is,
And the breath,
Breathe itself,
Sensing the quiet stillness throughout the body,
Feeling into all the senses,
Clearly encountering your direct experience as it is in each moment,
Discovering what it's like to be very present and aware in this effortless way,
A sense of ease and a sense of offering the gift of your attention or awareness to the moment,
There's a big difference between trying to be aware and offering your awareness to the moment as a gift,
Just as it is,
You find that you get lost in the mind during meditation,
Any moment that you notice that you're lost,
Simply offering your attention again to the stillness that's already present inside,
Maybe moments when you notice that stillness is simply happening,
More so than something you create,
You're resting in this always and already present stillness,
To breathe into the belly and breathe out,
