Welcome,
It's Doug.
Today we're going to generate some focus.
Now ideally I want you to be seated,
Not laying down for this one.
Make sure your feet are on the floor,
That's important.
Today I wanted to introduce you to a focus technique that melds mindfulness and Samatha,
Also known as peace.
So with that said,
Get comfortable and close those eyes.
Sit up nice and tall,
Alert and ready to focus.
While you get ready in that position and start to dial in to your breath,
I'll explain a bit more about this session together.
This is going to be different to most of the relaxing meditations you do,
As it requires you to be an active participant.
But you may feel relaxed as a result of doing it,
And that's okay.
But to be clear,
You need to be an active participant in this session.
We want to use those areas of the brain that allow you to focus and increase the production of the neurotransmitters that facilitate this.
Specifically the area we're going to use is the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex.
And the two big hitters in terms of brain chemistry are dopamine and acetylcholine.
Now you don't need to know their names,
They're just kind of fun to say,
But you do want to feel their impact.
Like most things in our body,
We have this use it or lose it process.
But we also have what I like to call a train it to gain it process.
And that's what we're going to do with focus in this session.
Now I already explained the elements of focus that occur in our brain,
But I thought it would be a fun little twist to activate those areas by focusing on the elements of our natural world,
Namely air,
Fire,
Water,
And earth.
So let's start with the element of air.
Now there are a few ways to notice air.
So let me help you out to start.
First there is the air that is entering and exiting your body right now in this moment.
Sometimes we like to call this breath.
I want you to start noticing its journey,
Feeling where it enters your body,
Then noticing how it travels down into your body,
Ending up in your lungs,
And then noticing how that journey undoes itself,
Unwinding itself back to the start.
See if you can follow this journey in and out for the next few moments and notice any landmarks where you can really feel the air.
Just tracing this journey of air from the external world into your internal world.
Noticing where it comes in through your nose or your mouth,
Feeling how it interacts with your windpipe,
Feeling how it pushes your chest up,
Noticing how it inflates your lungs out,
And then notice the opposites on the way out.
And then finally reflect on this element of air in your own temperament.
Your capacity to be unburdened by life,
To move with ease.
Again,
On the way in and the way out.
All right,
Good job.
Let's shift our attention now to the element of water.
As you sit there breathing,
Just becoming aware of how you are over 60% water as a body.
This allows the blood in your veins to carry oxygen from the very air you're breathing and let it pump around the body by the heart.
Take your attention to the heartbeat,
This pump of all of the liquid in your body,
And begin to tap into its rhythm.
This starting point,
This nexus for the flow of the liquid life force that is your blood.
And then just as you trace the air coming in and out,
See if you can trace the blood flow through your body.
Feel that initial pulse in your chest,
And maybe notice how you can feel it also in your fingertips,
In your toe tips,
Maybe in the back of your head.
And then can you reflect on the liquid nature of you?
The ability to find your way in whatever situation you find yourself in.
As Bruce Lee says,
To be formless,
Shapeless.
We shift once again now to the element of fire.
The heat that your body generates naturally,
Magically,
Every moment you are alive.
Begin to tap into this by scanning the body for the coolest part that you can find.
This is most likely a part that is exposed to the air,
Maybe a bit of naked skin,
Or if you're like me,
It's perpetually my feet.
Just note where this is.
Now turn your attention to the part of your body that feels the warmest,
Probably the part of your body that is insulated.
Just note where this is,
And then enjoy the comfort that comes with being warm and having this heat surround your skin.
And then lastly,
Relate to the fire element inside of you,
The part of you that has this get up and go quality,
Your burning ambition and desire,
The part of you that drives you forward.
Lastly,
Bring all your attention to your feet and see if you can consolidate all three of the other elements in this place.
Notice if you can breathe directly into your feet.
Notice if you can feel the blood in your feet.
And finally,
Notice if you can feel the warmth or potential the lack of warmth here.
And now notice the connection your feet have with the earth,
Whether it's through the shoes and socks you're wearing,
Or directly into the ground.
Take a moment to notice where your weight is distributed in your feet,
In the heels,
In the toes,
The inside or outside.
And see if you can give more weight to the ground by relaxing your feet even more.
And as you do so,
Can you focus on the grounded nature of yourself,
Your capacity to feel safe,
Secure,
And solid.
Well then,
For your practice,
And thank you for focusing on the elements with me.
See you soon.
