Welcome to the Accepting the Present Moment Guided Meditation.
Let's begin this practice by finding a posture that feels steady,
Supported,
And dignified.
You might be sitting in a chair or on the floor on a cushion.
You might even be lying down.
Whatever position you choose,
See if you can feel grounded and rooted in the present moment.
And letting your hands rest wherever they feel comfortable,
Allowing your shoulders to soften just a little.
And if it feels safe to you,
You can gently close your eyes.
Alternatively,
You can lower your gaze to the ground in front of you.
You've carved out this time for yourself.
You don't need to do anything in particular or achieve anything.
This is simply a time to be present with whatever arises.
Beginning by bringing a gentle attention to the body,
Feeling the weight of the body being held by the floor or the chair beneath you.
Noticing the contact points,
Your feet on the ground,
Your sit bones in the chair or cushion,
Your hands resting on your lap or your thighs.
Really sensing into the body being held.
And there's nothing that you need to change.
We're simply noticing,
Letting your awareness land in the body.
Beginning to scan through the body,
Starting with your feet,
Noticing the sensations in your feet.
Is there warmth,
Coolness,
A tingling,
Pressure,
Or perhaps very little at all.
And that's okay,
Too.
There's no right way to feel.
Simply noticing and allowing what's here to be here.
Now moving up to the ankles,
Noticing what's there,
The calves,
The knees,
Feeling whatever is present in each area of the body.
If you notice tension,
Try not to resist it.
You don't need to fix or relax anything.
Simply acknowledging it and noticing it.
You might even gently say silently,
This too.
And continuing to scan upward to the thighs,
Your hips,
The pelvis area.
Just noticing what's present there.
Is there heaviness,
Lightness,
Numbness,
Whatever's there,
Meeting it with awareness.
Now bringing your attention to your belly,
Noticing how it feels as you breathe,
Rising on the inhale and falling on the exhale.
Perhaps you feel movement,
Tightness,
Softness.
Maybe you're feeling vulnerable or unsettled.
Whatever's here,
Seeing if you can allow it,
To accept it.
Not trying to change the sensation,
Only to notice it and accept it as it is.
And now the chest,
Noticing if it's open or closed,
Perhaps feeling the heart beating,
Noticing any warmth,
Any tension,
Any ease.
Again,
Nothing needs to be different than it is.
This is a practice of gentle,
Compassionate noting.
Moving attention to the shoulders,
The arms,
Down to the hands and the fingers.
As you explore in this way,
You might find areas that feel comfortable.
And open and others that feel tight or agitated.
Allowing all of it,
Just as it is.
Seeing if you can say inwardly,
I can be with this,
Whatever is there.
Bringing awareness now to the back,
The lower back and the middle back,
The upper back.
What sensations are here?
Letting yourself simply feel into the back as it is.
Perhaps it's tense and perhaps it's relaxed.
Whatever you find,
Accepting it as it is.
Now,
Your neck,
Your face,
The jaw,
Your lips and cheeks,
The eyes and the area around the eyes.
Noticing if there's any clenching in the jaw.
Just noticing it.
There's no need to unclench it.
The invitation here is acceptance,
Meeting yourself as you are.
Expanding attention to include the whole body,
The entire body,
Sitting or lying down,
Breathing.
Simply noticing the entire body,
Present and alive.
Just allowing your awareness to gently rest in this full body experience.
If there's comfort,
Enjoy it.
If there's discomfort,
Allow it.
Whatever's here,
Letting it be.
Gently shifting your attention to the breath.
Simply noticing the breath as it is.
There's no need to change how you're breathing.
Simply noticing the breath moving in and the breath moving out.
Letting your breath be natural,
Unforced.
Feeling the breath where it's most vivid,
Where it's most natural.
Perhaps at the nostrils or the chest or the belly.
Just choosing one of those areas.
It doesn't matter which one and resting attention there.
Feeling the breath at the nostrils,
The chest or the belly.
And when the mind wanders away from the focus of attention on the breath,
Once you notice that the mind is elsewhere,
Gently but firmly directing your attention back to the breath.
Realizing that this is a moment of mindfulness.
This is what the training is all about.
It's not a problem or a mistake.
Thoughts will come.
Emotions will come.
And that's okay.
Each time you return,
You're strengthening this attitude,
This practice of mindfulness.
You're practicing acceptance.
Sometimes the breath is calm and easy.
Sometimes it's shallow or tight or irregular.
Whatever the breath is like right now,
Seeing if you can accept it.
Letting go of any need to fix it or improve it.
Allowing it just as it is.
This is what acceptance looks like.
Noticing the breath flowing in and the breath flowing out.
The breath just as it is in this moment.
And now allowing your attention to be open to whatever's arising in your experience.
It's taking a moment to open and step back and notice whatever's there.
Noticing if there's anything you're resisting in this moment.
Noticing any thoughts,
Feelings,
Body sensations.
And perhaps you might try naming it softly.
This too is my experience in this moment.
Let it be here.
Let it be accepted.
This is the heart of mindfulness.
Accepting and allowing whatever's here.
And this doesn't mean you have to like what's here.
You don't have to approve of it.
Acceptance means recognizing it without pushing it away or grasping at it.
If it seems difficult or uncomfortable,
Allowing it to be.
Allowing it to soften on its own.
Giving it space to soften on its own.
And if it's comfortable or pleasant,
Not grasping at it,
Not trying to make it continue.
Simply letting it be.
Letting it release on its own.
Making space for everything.
Letting your breath be your anchor to your acceptance of the present moment,
Acceptance of what's here.
Constantly changing sensations,
Changing thoughts,
Changing emotions.
All held in the field of awareness.
And when your attention wanders away from this open acceptance,
Perhaps the mind starts worrying about the future or the past.
Gently and firmly coming back to the breath.
The breath is always there.
It makes a perfect anchor.
And practicing acceptance breath by breath.
And slowly,
When it feels right,
Opening up again to the wider awareness of what's arising moment by moment.
Accepting what is.
It's quite natural for the body and mind to want to resist that which is difficult or uncomfortable.
It's kind of a basic survival instinct.
And for this 30 minutes experiment,
We're doing something different.
And seeing what happens when we do it.
What happens when we accept in new ways?
It's opening rather than pushing away or resisting.
Accepting rather than judging and denying.
Moment by moment,
Allowing,
Accepting what is.
And being on the lookout for what I call the acceptance fix.
The practice of wanting some discomfort,
Some tightness to go away,
And seeing if acceptance will fix it.
Just being on the lookout for that as well.
And recognizing that that's also just simply an inclination of the mind.
Kind of a trick of the mind.
And just coming back again and again to that wide open acceptance of whatever's arising moment by moment.
And if we get lost in that open acceptance,
Knowing that the breath is always there as our anchor.
Coming back down to the breath and focusing our attention and accepting the breath as it is.
And then when it feels right,
Expanding attention again and accepting our entire field of experience.
Moment by moment,
Accepting what is.
Now slowly beginning to bring attention to the body.
Feeling the points of contact,
The body with the chair or the cushion.
The air on your skin.
