Welcome.
This meditation is a practice in moving your attention.
Narrowing it down to something very small.
And then broadening it out wider and wider.
Before bringing it back home again.
You will find this useful anytime your mind is stuck in a loop.
Worrying,
Ruminating,
Or fixated on something uncomfortable.
Because attention is a skill.
And like any skill,
It gets stronger the more you practice moving it on purpose.
Find a comfortable seated or lying position.
You can close your eyes now.
Or let your gaze soften downward.
Let's begin with the breath.
Take a slow breath.
Deep breath in through your nose,
Filling your belly first,
Then your chest.
And exhale slowly through your mouth,
Letting your body soften.
Again.
Breathe in through the nose,
Slow and deep.
And out through the mouth.
Letting go of anything you don't need right now.
Let your breath return to its natural rhythm.
You don't need to control it anymore,
Just let it move on its own.
Now we're going to practice narrowing our attention.
Down to one small point at a time.
Bring your awareness to the very tip of your nose.
Notice the sensation of air moving in.
And air moving out.
Just the tip of your nose,
Nothing else.
Now move your attention to the middle of your forehead.
What does that feel like?
Maybe nothing dramatic.
Maybe just a faint sense of skin,
Of stillness.
Just notice it.
Bring your focus down to your left elbow.
Really narrow in on it.
What is the sensation there right now?
Warm,
Cool,
Tingling,
Neutral.
There's no right answer.
Just notice whatever is actually there.
Now find the feeling of your clothing against your skin.
Wherever fabric touches you right now.
Notice the texture,
The weight,
The temperature.
And now,
Your Big Toad.
This one takes a little more effort to find.
Really narrow your focus down into it.
What does your big toe feel like right now in this moment?
Good,
You've just practiced narrowing your attention down to a single small point.
And now,
Let's broaden slightly.
Into a full body scan.
Bring your awareness to the top of your head.
Notice any sensation there.
Then slowly let your attention drift down.
Across your forehead,
Your eyes,
Your jaw.
Down through your neck and shoulders.
Notice if there is tension there.
And if there is,
You don't need to change it.
Just notice it.
Down through your arms,
Your hands,
Your fingertips.
Down through your chest and your back.
Notice the rise and fall of your breath.
Down through your stomach,
Your hips,
Down through your legs,
Your knees,
Your calves.
And all the way down to your feet,
Resting wherever they are.
Now,
Let's begin to broaden our awareness outward.
Into the space around you.
With your eyes still closed,
Notice the temperature of the room.
Is it warm,
Cool,
Still?
Or is there a breeze?
Notice any sounds you can hear in this room.
You don't need to name them or judge them.
Just notice that they're there.
Notice any smells in the room,
If there are any.
Now widen a little further.
Are there any sounds coming from outside this room,
From another part of the building,
Or from outside entirely?
Just notice them without needing to know exactly what they are.
Broaden your awareness now to the building you're in.
Picture it.
Its walls,
Its rooms,
All the space it holds.
And now broaden further to what's just outside.
You are not forming any opinion about it.
You're simply holding it in your awareness.
Now let's broaden further still to the part of town you're in,
The town or city the country you live in.
Picture the sky above all of it right now.
The clouds,
The light,
The weather moving across the land.
And now,
Broaden your awareness even further to the whole world.
Hold in your awareness that right now,
All across the world.
There is life happening.
There are cities waking up and cities going to sleep.
There is weather,
Storms and stillness,
Sunrise and sunset,
All happening simultaneously in different places.
There are people right now all over the world living entire lives,
Full of their own thoughts and feelings,
Most of which you will never know about.
There is a vastness of life and consciousness happening this very moment.
All around this planet.
You don't need to think about anything.
You don't need to think anything about this.
You don't need an opinion.
Or a judgment.
Just hold it.
The sheer size and aliveness of it in your awareness.
If thoughts or feelings arise,
That's okay.
Just let them pass through and return to simply holding this broad awareness.
Now,
Slowly,
Let's bring our focus back in.
From the whole world.
Narrow your awareness back down to your country,
Back down to your town.
Back down to this building.
This room.
Narrow your focus back to your left elbow.
Notice the sensation there again.
Notice your focus.
Narrow your focus to the tip of your nose.
Feel the breath moving in and out.
And narrow your focus all the way down to your big toe.
Now rest for a moment in this awareness.
That there is a part of you that has been watching this entire time.
There is an observer in you who is aware of the sensation in your big toe.
The same observer who was aware of the sounds in this room.
The same observer.
Who held the whole world in its awareness just a moment ago.
That observer is still and quiet and constant.
Whether your focus is as small as the tip of your nose or as vast as the whole earth.
You can return to this observer anytime.
You can narrow your focus or broaden it on purpose whenever you need to.
When you're ready,
Take one more slow breath in… and out.
And gently open your eyes.
