So let's bring our focus to the mats.
It's only us that can do it.
Let's use this technique to harness our awareness.
Every time we come back to the mat,
Every time we sit on the cushion,
We should already bring our awareness to it.
This continuous thread of awareness that we're starting to learn how to carry through our day.
But then when we sit,
When we change posture,
Let's make a concerted effort to be able to pull all of our awareness to this larger triangular area.
To the top of the nose,
Down to the corners of the mouth.
See just how much focus we can generate.
And then when our mind is resting here,
Start to feel the breath come in and out of the nostrils.
Naturally,
In and out of the nostrils.
And now we have a new tool.
If anything happens to distract us,
It's no longer a distraction.
It's an opportunity.
One,
An opportunity to flex the muscle of the mind and bring the awareness back to the breath as we've been doing.
And two,
An opportunity to note,
Note what it was that distracted us.
What is this thing pulling us away from our focus,
Pulling our mind away from where we've chosen to leave it?
There may be infinite distractions,
But there are not infinite types of distraction.
And the Buddha gave us this tool of mental notation so that we start to become familiar with the contents of our minds.
We can note what are the types of things that distract me?
What are the types of things that my mind has got using,
Got used to using to throw me off center?
As we note these and become familiar with them,
They lose the power to throw us off center because we simply note,
Oh,
That's another memory.
Oh,
That's another thought about this.
Oh,
That's another emotion about that.
And we simply bring our awareness back to the breath,
Strengthening that connection with our mind.
Feeling the breath come in and out of our nostrils,
Developing this willpower,
This self-discipline that leads towards clarity,
Leads towards us being able to choose where to place our awareness.
Our consciousness may be conditioned to create our circumstances,
But once we gain this clarity,
Once we use this consistency,
Then we can choose how to create our circumstances.
We can remove the conditioning of the past and replace it with conscious choice instead of unconscious programming.
So let's do this now.
Let's focus on the breath.
And whenever our awareness moves away from the breath,
Simply notice where have I invested my awareness?
What is the nature of this unconscious conditioning I've created?
Note it quickly,
Become aware of it,
And then bring your mind back to the breath.
Feeling the natural breath come in and out of the nostrils,
The normal breath,
The uncontrolled breath,
Feeling it and not reacting to any of our distractions,
To anything else.
This is how we master the mind.
This is how we achieve something wonderful with a very simple method.
Let's practice this now in silence and see just how much focus we can get.
And Mm hmm.
As you bring your awareness back to the room,
Remember,
This doesn't mean that we take our awareness away from the breath.
Whatever else we do,
However we move through these postures,
We can carry our awareness of the breath with us.
Now we have a good day of meditation behind us.
We have a good idea of what this skill can actually do for us.
This simple but powerful and beautiful skill.
Let's take this awareness we've been building,
Let's take it back to our rooms or to continue to meditate for the evening session and develop this focus,
Cultivate this ability to be able to feel the breath regardless of what's happening.
And then tomorrow we'll come back and we'll start to train our minds even more,
Start to use our minds to do something different,
To take the next step towards bringing our consciousness to everything we do.
Starting to see what our mind is really capable of.
Whatever we do,
Whether you're staying seated for the evening session or you're moving,
You're transitioning,
Make sure you make an extra effort to maintain this awareness of the breath.
Don't let any change of posture stop your meditation.
Carry it with you.
If you're going to sleep,
Then use the practice that we were developing earlier in the day,
Laying meditation.
As you lay in bed and are about to go to sleep tonight,
Then start practicing meditation.
Continue your meditation practice and see if you can carry this thread of awareness even through your dreams.
Okay.
It's a good day's work today.
Let's start again tomorrow.
