Hi everyone and welcome to our Wednesday live online drop-in meditation with Mindfulness Voyage.
This is Ted Meissner.
Welcome back.
I'm so good to see those of you who are here live with us in the community.
This is something for and of you.
So thank you so much for being here.
Really appreciate seeing you each and every week.
And for those who may be watching this recorded portion of it later on,
You're also part of this and know that if you haven't joined,
You are welcome to do so because it's not just what happens in these recordings.
It's also the live interaction and conversations and exploration we have for up to half an hour after the recording is finished.
So last week we had a very interesting conversation about half an hour on the topic of boredom in mindfulness.
We're going to unpack that a little bit more here today,
But I'm also interested in sharing that we're going to do a series here on the attitudes of mindfulness.
Some of you may be familiar with that or have heard that phrase before.
These attitudes of mindfulness are something that Jon Kabat-Zinn,
Founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction,
Or MBSR,
Developed as that third aspect of mindfulness.
There's intention,
Attention,
And attitude.
And this is what fills in part of that attitude.
So we're going to kick that off today.
And again,
As a review,
We open the doors,
The virtual doors,
To these sessions at the top of the hour,
Have some light conversation,
Just catching up with ourselves as people having active weeks,
Start the recording at five after,
And we go until about 25 after.
Short talk and then lightly guided practice.
So with that,
What I would like to do is talk a little bit about what we're going to be doing today and what we'll be talking about.
Again,
The attitudes of mindfulness.
An important note that I'll make,
I think,
Each week here is to hold these attitudes lightly.
This is not something to get a strong grip on.
They're not any particular order of importance.
They are attitudes that you can invite to this moment.
And it may vary from one moment to the next what a different attitude might be most helpful for you.
So please don't get stuck in,
Ah,
It's only this one thing.
John had used that definition of mindfulness as being present to what's happening right now with non-judgmental awareness.
But it's not just non-judgment.
There are others as well.
We're going to start with that one today.
So let's talk a little bit about what is meant by that non-judgment.
A flip side of how we might describe non-judgment is curiosity.
It's that opening up to and turning towards what is not known and being open to questioning what we think we know.
If you've been through any perception exercises with me,
You know that human perception can be a little bit off.
And so having that curiosity,
That non-judgment about what's here right now can be very helpful.
It can also help support loosening up that grip that habit and pattern has for us and allowing that little more creativity in each moment.
Now that doesn't mean that there isn't discernment here.
Non-judgment is different than not having discernment.
That was one of my own hurdles when I first came to MBSR is this idea of non-judgment because I know I need my judgments.
And this means value judgments and letting that go a bit and allowing yourself to be curious about what's here but not putting your brain on a shelf.
You do still have discernment about what you find.
Now each week I'm also going to be suggesting some things for you to take home with you and for us to engage with in our practice that we're going to be doing is recalling a time when you were absolutely sure about something only to find out it was something else.
That will be some of the reflection we do in today's practice.
And what was that like?
And what would it be like if your attitude around that was one of curiosity instead of certainty?
So that's what we're going to be covering today.
And with that,
Let's begin our practice in our session today.
So let's take our meditation seats.
As we do each week,
That can mean a physical adjusting in a physical seat,
But you may also be standing or lying down.
It doesn't mean that there's any particular magic to the seated position.
But taking a meditation seat is not just physical,
It's also mental,
It's also emotional.
And starting to check into what's here in the body and heart and mind or emotions or thoughts as well as those physical sensations that are showing up.
And allowing yourself in this moment to arrive,
To show up with care.
This light check-in is a light check-in.
It's not an interrogation,
There's a gentleness to it.
Settling into the body and noticing how the body is held.
The position of feet on the floor,
Hands wherever they have landed.
Perhaps checking into posture and inviting a little bit of straightening without too much tension,
Finding a balance there that is appropriate for you in your body.
And allowing agency and choice about the eyes,
Having them open or closed.
If it's comfortable for you to have them closed,
To tune in to the guidance,
You're welcome to do that.
Or if you would prefer to have them open just a little bit,
A gentle peek into the visual spectrum during your practice.
If that is more supportive for you,
Make that choice.
Softly,
Softly noticing,
How are you doing?
Without having to answer,
But just noticing.
What is here for you in this moment?
And whatever that is,
Not having to filter it out,
Not having to filter it out,
Whatever that is,
Not having to filter it or change it,
But just notice it and acknowledge this is this moment,
That is what's here.
And brightening and narrowing our focus just a bit to your home base.
Home base is an experience that's here right now.
If it is supportive,
Comfortable for you,
That you can tune into.
When the mind wanders,
This is something you can get in touch with.
It's what tethers you to this moment,
To the present.
For some,
That may be sensations of breathing wherever you feel that most.
For others,
It may be placing your attention on the tips of your fingers or the bottoms of your feet,
Or just listening to your environment.
Take a few moments,
There's no rush.
Take your time and get reacquainted with home base.
Maybe even choose a different home base than you normally use as your anchor for attention.
And inhabit that spot,
That home base.
Sometimes noticing that attention has wandered.
That's an expected part of practice.
And you notice that's happened,
Just come on back to home base.
There's nothing else that needs to be done about a wandering mind.
And noticing and returning.
And returning again.
That's the exercise,
The training of mindfulness,
Includes this returning to the present.
And from this supportive home base experience,
Recalling a time where you were sure about something and maybe discovered it was not quite as you thought.
And this doesn't have to be a big mistake that's difficult to bring to mind and heart.
It can be a small thing,
A small thing.
I thought the turn to get to that place I want to go is here instead of here.
Can be something small,
It's okay.
Something you can work with comfortably.
And bring that to mind.
What was it like to discover?
This difference from what was expected,
What was known?
Was it a pleasant realization,
An unpleasant one?
You'd be a little more neutral.
Was there a lesson learned or perhaps a lesson not learned?
And perhaps noticing too judgments about yourselves,
About your own self,
About your own life.
Perhaps noticing too judgments about yourselves.
What's it like to invite some curiosity about our mistakes?
Dearly held notions that may be a little off or may no longer serve us.
And curiosity about those thoughts and perspectives that do help us every day.
Allowing those value judgments to ease back and make room for an enthusiastic curiosity.
For an enthusiastic curiosity.
Make a few mental notes to yourself about this gentle reflection.
And come back to inhabiting your home base experience.
Refreshing that arriving in home base.
And when the moment feels like the right moment for you to open the eyes if you've had them closed.
And still mindfully present,
Still listening this time to the body more closely in ways that may want to be moved and stretched after a little bit of stillness.
And what does that feel like to move and still be here now?
Still showing up with care,
Our short definition of mindfulness.
Thank you everyone for being here for our recorded portion of our weekly drop-in.
I hope you can join us again next week and we're going to stop the recording now.
But we'll be sticking around for up to half an hour for those who are here to discuss what showed up during this practice and really unpack more deeply this idea of the attitude of non-judgment.
How that impacts our mindfulness practice and our daily life.
If you'd like to join us,
I hope you can.
And until then,
Thanks so much for being here.
Bye-bye.
