Hello again,
Welcome to the practice session for,
Well,
Let's get into it.
We're exploring how we can create better thoughts,
Creative thoughts,
Happier thoughts,
Constructive thoughts,
Those thoughts that we would love to have,
Rather than confined,
We're blocked,
We're frozen,
We're fearful,
We're going to open up to that.
Alright,
Let's get into this.
I hope you're feeling comfortable,
Sitting in a comfortable chair,
With your feet firmly on the ground and your back against the backrest,
And really just feel the connection between your bum and the chair underneath you.
Let's try to anchor ourselves into this moment.
Yes,
Alright,
Let's take in a lovely deep inhalation,
Breathing in through the nostrils,
Once again creating that space within our body and our mind,
Slowly breathing it out the nose with control.
Good,
Breathing in again through the nostrils,
Nice and deep.
Good,
That feels better already,
Holding it there for a moment,
Breathing out the nose with control.
Beautiful,
One more deep breath in through the nose,
Opening the mouth,
Gently sigh that breath out.
Give yourself some space,
Remember the analogy of the ocean mind,
Calm ocean,
Gentle breeze.
The gentle breeze is your calming breath in moments of anxiety and tension and stress.
You can slow it all down by using your breath,
And as you slow your breath down,
Your nervous system slows down and moves into the parasympathetic state of resting,
Digesting and thriving.
It's a switch and we control that switch through our breath.
Nice,
Soft focus.
Now,
Dr.
John Kabat-Zinn,
You could say the father of Western Mindfulness,
Asks us to contemplate the mindful quality of non-striving.
And it may seem counterproductive to what we've been taught and what is encouraged of us,
But if we let go of trying to be perfect,
If we let go of being the best at it,
We actually reveal a better self.
Because as we know,
If we put pressure on other people,
A lot of pressure,
They don't perform as well.
And we know that they perform better if they are nurtured and cared for and loved,
Rather than strict discipline and push.
We know within ourselves,
The more we try and push on through without any breaks,
We lose our imagination.
Because if we're not happy,
How can we expect really great thoughts to arise?
Clarity,
Creativity,
Freedom,
Expression.
How is this possible if you are hard on yourself?
So let's use the breath as our object of focus.
And instead of trying to focus your mind 100% on the breath,
Focus only 50% of your awareness on the breath and see how that feels.
Give up trying.
Give up trying,
Give up striving,
But stay engaged in the process.
Stay engaged in the process.
Imagine your awareness to be like soft cotton wool.
Soft cotton wool that touches the object,
Which is the breath.
It's a gentle contact.
It's a gentle focus.
Give up trying to be the best,
The perfect one.
It's no such thing.
And in that,
So much more can happen.
It's a safe space for your mind.
And when you're feeling safe,
Others will feel safe around you.
Because they know that you're not at war with yourself.
You're at peace.
You are in peace.
And now let's end this practice with another beautiful deep inhalation,
Breathing in through the nose and slowly release out the mouth.
Blinking the eyes open.
Doesn't that feel good?
