Beginner High Level Focus & Awareness: Deep Meditation

A guided session for beginners and intermediate meditators to find a high level of focus and awareness. This will help you take your practice to another level. Guides you from breath, through the body, and into your surroundings smoothly -- and will have you feeling grounded, flowing, and confident.

Transcript

Hey friends,

Welcome to this beginner level practice for deep level focus and awareness.

This practice is for you if you've never been into a deep level meditation before and you want to try it out.

Or maybe you haven't in a while and you just want to throw the training wheels back on,

Get back in the saddle.

Okay,

I'm mixing my metaphors but you get the idea.

So,

This practice is excellent if you need a high level of focus and to be extremely locked in for something that you're doing today.

For example,

If you're an athlete who has a game or a practice or if you have a presentation that you're giving doing some public speaking.

Or maybe you just want to really squeeze the juice out of the day and be super relaxed,

Focused,

Concentrated,

And in a flow.

This is great for all that.

Bear in mind there is an advanced level of this practice where I talk less and it's less hands-on.

So,

I recommend trying this practice at a beginner level multiple times and then going to the advanced level when you feel like you're comfortable with the skills.

So,

Without further ado,

The most important thing to start off with is a chair with good back support.

There's no need to do any crazy lotus position or strain your back.

We're going to be here for quite some time.

So,

Get comfortable,

Even pause the track if you need to.

Grab a chair and once you have that chair make sure your lower back is scooched in the chair so it doesn't get strained.

Straighten your back and your neck so it's aligned with the spine and put your hands in a comfortable position in your lap and your feet comfortably and soft on the floor.

We're going to do the practice eyes open so you don't get tired,

You don't fall asleep,

Trying to avoid all the common mistakes.

So,

Keeping your eyes open on a spot roughly five to ten feet in front of you,

Straight down the center of your line of vision,

Orienting your body and your chair as needed so it's straight down the center,

Not straining your eyes left or right,

And a specific enough spot that your eyes can rest comfortably on it.

We're not staring at the spot we're just letting our eyes rest on it so they don't drift and keeping them open on that spot so we don't fall asleep.

Once you have that try to settle into a relatively still position and just notice how you feel in this moment.

Notice what your breathing is doing.

And we'll just start off by cooling down the nervous system and leading it into a more relaxed state by doing just a few deep breaths.

So,

Just breathing in through the nose nice and slow and letting it out through the mouth a nice long sigh and maintaining a rhythm going in through the nose a little bit deeper this time and letting it go letting the tension flow out and one more like that the deepest one yet really breathing into the belly and focusing on the flow of breath as it goes in through the nose and letting it go slow and easy and we're going to do just one breath hold if you feel able to do so so just breathing in like so through the nose filling it up holding at the top and as you hold concentrate on your body and the energy in your body for a couple moments and slowly release the breath nice and slow and now just gently close your eyes for a couple moments to orient yourself before we start the practice and with your eyes closed just let yourself relax a little bit and connect to the one thing that's most important to you today that you want to show up for allow yourself to feel that connection with that thing to feel that sense of anticipation of feeling that sense of connection with that thing and that sense of feeling that sense of wanting to show up for it of wanting to be fully present feel that in your body and allow that feeling and that desire to be your compass your north star that you come back to so when things get difficult and challenging you stay the course and when things are easy you stay sharp so use that energy when you need to and when you feel ready open your eyes lock onto your spot that you've chosen and now scan your body if you feel good where you're at then just maintain your position but if you feel like you need to make any adjustments to maintain your stillness throughout the session just go ahead and make them now any last minute stretches kinks in the neck just getting that out of the way making sure the phones on do not disturb any potential distractions are gone so that you're fully supporting yourself to enter the deepest level of focus imaginable now that you've made those adjustments just take a moment to give yourself a clear instruction that you're going to maintain that stillness no matter what if there's a serious issue and you really need to move of course move at your discretion but if you're just normal itches pains discomforts little stuff like that maintain your stillness breathe through it it's essential to getting into the deepest state of relaxation and focus possible so really try to hold yourself accountable to that and be as determined as you can and now that you've committed to that stillness of course let your eyes blink whenever they need to let your chest and stomach rise and fall with the breath but otherwise maintain as consistent physical stillness as you can and just notice how it feels to choose to be still feel how you could do jumping jacks or backflips maybe if you're super flexible but otherwise you're choosing not to and instead of having any tension around that choice just relax into that choice allow the tension to melt away as you commit even further to that physical stillness start off by noticing the sounds in the room around you notice how you might have already drifted away in your mind but notice how when you stay with the sounds you stay present they're like an anchor for your attention and now let that go and with your eyes remaining on your spot in front of you start to take in the entire field of vision a nice sweeping panoramic view the whole field of vision with a nice soft open gaze relaxing into your surroundings and remember if at any point you feel discomfort drowsiness itches anything like that try to breathe through it maintain your stillness and challenge yourself to stay alert and focused and now bring your attention to your tongue and allow your tongue to drop to the floor of your mouth feeling it become soft along with the jaw releasing and start to move your attention instinctively like a flashlight moving around the body dropping down into the hands and then you're going to feel the tension drop to the floor of your mouth like a flashlight moving around the body dropping down into the hands feel the energy in your hands when you pay attention to them and now drop down in your mind to the soles of your feet feel the soles of your feet touching the floor notice how if you don't think about it if you just feel it there's almost a magnetic energy between the soles of your feet and the ground see if you can feel that magnetic energy and now bring your attention to your stomach and feel your emotions in this moment don't think about them just feel them feel what you feel with no filter don't judge how you feel just let yourself feel what you feel as it moves in your stomach with the breath naturally and just shift into a mode where you're letting yourself feel how you feel consciously choosing to let yourself feel that without trying to change it or resist it just feeling deeply fearlessly for another moment and now whatever part of that emotion is baggage that you don't need that's in the way of you feeling smooth and light and free just take a deep breath in and let it all go don't be shy breathe it out as sharply as freely as obnoxiously as you want feel like a tsunami of emotional energy leaving the body as you let go as much of it as you can whatever's not serving you in this moment taking another breath in and out deeply if you want to feel it and with that newfound sense of lightness and freedom and relaxation just bring your attention to that two inch spot at the tip of the nostrils i think it's two inches i've never actually measured it but just feel with a nice calm breath and just let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and let it go and just let it go to the top of your head just let it go together and let it go down your neck as far as you want it just feel with a nice concentrated spotlight your attention swiftly,

Smoothly to the breath as it comes to you relaxed but concentrated on that spot at the nostrils.

Tracking the inhale as it goes in and tracking the exhale as it goes out.

If there's a pause between breaths just wait at the tip of the nostrils for the next breath.

Now letting go of yourself,

Letting go of the world around you and telling yourself the only thing that matters is each breath at the tip of the nostrils.

Letting everything else melt into the background,

Keeping that in the front of your attention with a few more moments of unbroken attention.

Remember to not judge what's going on as good or bad,

Just sticking with the practice moment to moment as all that matters and bring that concentration that you've built up on the nostrils and transfer it directly to starting to watch your thoughts.

Assume right out of the gate that you are the observer of your thoughts.

Keep that separation and that distance as best you can and start to watch them as they arise one by one like clouds in the sky and let them go,

Let them drift past,

Don't stick on them.

You'll notice right away that it's really tempting to follow the thoughts,

They'll bait you in cleverly with little emotional flourishes and they'll say,

Oh this is your voice,

This is who you are,

How could you not follow me,

I've been here all this time.

Instead just pull back,

Maintain that distance,

Watch and let go.

Start to notice if there's an emotion that's driving your thoughts,

Whether it's anger,

Anxiety,

Resentment or if it's a positive emotion like love or anticipation or appreciation,

Just notice the driver behind your thoughts emotionally in this moment.

And now stay relaxed but turning up the mental intensity and watching your thoughts for a few more moments without letting a single thought slip past you unwatched.

Make it your goal to watch every single thought and let it go for a few more moments of relaxed concentration.

Sticking with it,

Staying on top of your mind,

Watching,

Letting go for another moment.

And now taking a moment to just throw the warm blanket of acceptance over all your thoughts,

Even if there's something that feels good or bad or you're criticizing or having a hard time dealing with,

Just consciously accept all the thoughts that just ran through your mind.

And notice now how you separated your thoughts and your awareness into two different tracks.

Instead of being one track tied up together,

It's like your awareness is one track and your thoughts are on a separate track and you're watching your thoughts from the track of awareness.

And now move the thought track into the background for the rest of the session.

Make it less important.

Move the awareness track into the front,

That presence that you feel,

And we're gonna give it a workout for the rest of the session.

Now remember you can go to the thoughts after the session from a clear and productive place so when the thoughts come up and try to distract you and say,

This is really important,

Pay attention to me,

Instead just say,

It's okay,

We're going past that and locking in to awareness and focus and rhythm.

So from this point onward,

When thoughts come up,

Just go straight past them to your point of focus,

Whether it's a body part or whether it's something in our surroundings.

Whatever it is in the given moment,

Go straight past it without indulging it or without resisting the thought.

Just take a moment now to mentally commit to going past your thoughts whenever they come up.

You're making a mental gear shift in this moment.

And now in the spirit of rising above the mind,

Starting to bring the attention to the front of the neck.

Letting your attention be dedicated but also light and breezy as we move around the body,

Shifting to the shoulders,

The upper arms,

The lower arms,

The palms of your hands,

Your fingers.

Notice how your thoughts just get in the way,

Your attention can move freely instinctively on its own,

Just going past the thoughts as you expand to feel your arms and hands at the same time,

Like two lightsabers of crackling energy,

The vibrations moving up and down.

Going past thoughts as they arise smoothly to go deeper into the arms and hands for another moment.

Taking a breath and allowing the arms and hands to release and relax,

Giving them permission to do nothing and just chill out.

Maintaining your rhythm,

Moving to the chest,

Feeling the energy in the chest with the breath as it comes to you.

And expanding down into the stomach,

Feeling the chest and stomach and breath as one.

And allowing the breath to drop into the chest and stomach and allowing all the self-protection and defensiveness in the front of the body to melt away with the breath as that area opens to your surroundings.

Becoming more relaxed and sensitive and alert to the moment as you drop the attention down into the pelvic floor,

Feeling the energy in the pelvic floor with the breath.

Notice how you don't have to stick on thoughts,

You can just go straight past them and directly with your attention again for a moment to the pelvic floor.

And allowing that area to just relax and drop into the chair with the breath.

Now picking up the rhythm slightly but staying relaxed and smooth,

Bringing the attention to the hamstrings touching the chair,

Up into the quads,

Forward into the knees,

Down into the shins,

The calves,

The ankles,

The heels touching the floor,

The arches of your feet,

The balls of your feet,

All of your toes,

And now feeling both feet at the same time.

Expanding up just like you did with your arms and hands but this time into the legs and feet at the same time in their entirety.

And now start to feel the legs and feet with a hundred percent dedicated attention,

Not 50% thoughts,

50% legs.

See what happens when you deliberately place a hundred percent of your undivided attention on your legs and feet.

Almost as if you can feel yourself becoming the legs and feet,

Merging with all the little micro sensations and tiny muscles.

And now allow the breath to flow smoothly into the legs and feet and just allow them to release and let go of any unconscious tension,

Unclenching completely.

And smoothly in a rhythm bringing the attention up into the lower back,

Feeling the middle back against the chair,

The upper back,

Feeling the whole back in detail.

And keeping the posture straight and upright but allowing the muscles of the back to release and relax.

Bringing the attention to the top of your head and as we move into the face keep fine attention to detail and a smooth rhythm as we move around the face going to the forehead,

The eyebrows,

The eyelids and eyelashes,

The eyes,

The bridge of the nose,

The right nostril,

The left nostril,

Both nostrils,

The sensation in your lips,

The tongue.

Allowing the face to relax easily and staying alert and awake as you allow the breath to flow down through the whole body releasing any latent tension or anything that's accumulated.

Staying awake,

Alert,

Sharp with your focus as your body stays relaxed and noticing the balance between that relaxation and that alertness.

And now we're gonna sweep down the whole body and light it up like a Christmas tree and we're gonna start up at the head paying attention to the whole head and expanding down into the neck and shoulders like a wave moving down into the arms and hands,

Down into the chest and upper back,

The stomach and lower back,

Locked into the whole upper body at the same time for a moment and expanding down into the pelvic floor,

Into the upper legs,

Into the knees,

The lower legs,

The feet and toes and the whole body head to toe at the same time now feeling it as one giant organism of buzzing vibrating energy.

Try to pay attention to every part of the body at the same time a relaxed but delicate balancing act of attention.

Notice the body head to toe,

The breath when it flows to you and when thoughts come up start to go past them quickly and retract your attention smoothly to the body and the breath moment to moment.

If there's any discomfort in the body lean into it,

Feel those sensations fearlessly and as you feel them notice how your attention jumps to life even more the moment you lean into those sensations that the mind is avoiding,

Breathing into them as necessary.

Start to feel the vibrations in your body getting stronger and stronger and acting like a magnet for your attention.

The more you pay attention the stronger they get and the more your attention loops back into them,

That loop of attention getting stronger as you go past the thoughts and go deeper into the body and breath head to toe.

As our attention is warming up more and more now our ability to lock in is getting stronger and stronger so for the next few moments gently challenge yourself to stay with body head to toe and breath without drifting into thought for more than a second at a time.

Go past them quickly smoothly in a relaxed way and aim to stay with body head to toe and breath in that rhythm for a few moments of unbroken attention.

And now with that attention on the body expanding it to hear the sounds in the room around you at the same time,

Body and sounds in the room.

Expanding even further now to fuel the body and hear the sounds far away from you out in the street or wherever you can hear them.

And now fuel your body and all the sounds at the same time like they're vibing together as one like they're playing music body and all the sounds.

Sticking with the body and the sounds for another moment.

Now letting that go and moving smoothly to the air on your skin feel the temperature or the movement or stillness of the air.

And now shifting again to feel the clothing on your skin feel the points of contact of the fabric on your skin.

Now let that go and feel your butt on the chair and your feet on the floor the weight of your body and gravity pulling you into that unmovable rock-solid energy.

And now letting that go and feeling the opposite sensation the lightness of your body as you release all your muscles and allow yourself to float like a feather.

Allowing each breath to lift you and make you lighter and lighter as light as the air around you.

And now combining the two sensations feeling the lightness of your body and the groundedness of your energy at the same time without thinking about it.

And now shifting your attention to the visual field in front of you with your eyes on your spot start to notice the shapes and shadows and light of the objects around the spot that your eyes are resting on and if it looks weird or trippy or like a photo negative that's totally normal so don't be alarmed just lean into that sensation and allow yourself to observe the objects in your field of vision.

Now broaden the scope of your vision to see the corners of your vision all the way to the edges without moving your eyes.

Now allow yourself to effortlessly start to see the entire fuel division at once just allowing your eyeballs to drink it all in.

And now incorporate your body into this awareness your body in the whole field of vision at the same time as one seamless flow of energy.

Now start to feel the details of your field of vision and the sensations in your body like a TV coming into high definition in a relaxed way turn up the intensity of those details with your attention.

Feel yourself totally relaxed but totally locked into the details staying with the details and the intensity of it.

And now smoothly noticing the four walls of the room around you again always keeping your eyes on your spot and now noticing the negative space the air in the room.

Noticing the objects in the room all around you feeling and sensing the physical objects.

And now feeling your body's position in the room relative to the rest of the room.

And now without missing a beat start to pay attention to the whole room and your body as a part of it at the same time.

Try not to think about it just get a feel for body room and breath when it comes to you as one single flow of energy.

Now at this point we really have the ability to fly past thoughts super quickly as soon as we start to feel them bubbling up not sticking on them for even a second just noticing them consistently going straight past them and staying locked into body room and breath re-expanding over and over until we get more and more stable with our attention on our surroundings.

Really emphasizing maintaining your physical stillness as you start to feel your body almost melt into the room.

No longer feeling your body in the room as separate but really feeling that melted energy of your body merging into the room and feeling that sensation of becoming the objects around you.

Paying such a close attention that it almost feels like they're an extension of you.

And now once more challenge yourself to go past your expectations and for a few moments see if you can gently push yourself to stay totally locked into body room and breath as one rhythm going past thoughts not sticking on them for several moments of unbroken attention.

Sticking with it seeing if you can push yourself gently just a little bit longer.

And now expanding your attention into the final layer into space past the four walls of the room shooting your attention out like the room was a closed fist and you're opening that fist into an open palm feeling body space with no limits and the breath when it comes to you as one awareness continuing to go past thoughts as you feel your way in to that totally expanded attention.

Keep sending your attention out further and further until you feel everything you can perceive at the same time cradling it with that relaxed but intense awareness.

And if your mind is having trouble comprehending this just remember your mind will only get in the way go past the thoughts go past trying to understand it and simply pay attention directly and feel deeper into body space and breath as one moment to moment to moment embracing the challenge.

And maintaining your stillness and feeling yourself completely lose yourself in that field of energy around you feel almost as though your body is disappearing don't worry it isn't but feel your body melt into the space completely feeling it as one continuous flow as you let go of anything you're hanging on to feeling body space and breath as one now totally moment to moment.

And this is your final challenge for a couple final minutes of silence see if you can stay on that wave of attention just like you're surfing a wave you want to maintain that relaxation but total attention to detail to stay on the wave body space and breath going past thoughts smoothly quickly consistently and a totally relaxed way for a couple final minutes of silence aiming to surprise yourself with how concentrated and aware you can be.

You you you you and feeling out for one final moments total relaxed stillness maintaining your stillness as we head into a brief visualization but before we do that just acknowledging that you challenged yourself today and led yourself into this deep state of focus and awareness just give yourself a little mental pat on the back for that and when you feel ready close your eyes and allow yourself to relax even deeper all the muscles releasing going deeper within as you feel the heart rate slowing down and the breath slowing even more and I think about the thing that you want to show up most for today that you want to be most present for whether it's a conversation or an activity and see and feel yourself totally relaxed and in flow while you're doing that thing feel that emotion in your body of effortless flow having fun with what you're doing and succeeding wildly at it and remember as you see and feel these things you're training your body to automatically slip into those states in real life and finally see yourself relaxed and present with all the small actions that you know you're gonna take today whether it's pouring a glass of water drawing a blind and be tying your shoes or doing up your velcro if that's your style just whatever small things that you know you could easily do on automatic and not pay attention to see and feel yourself relaxed and totally locked into the details see how even when you get sped up or distracted or start multitasking see yourself coming back to that baseline rhythm of being relaxed and present with each individual action and if you stay consistent with that today making that your mental priority you'll start to enter a rhythm where everything will become effortless and we need to pick up your pace or be quicker it all comes from that place of being aligned in your mind and body automatically flowing with a sense of ease and when you feel ready open your eyes deliberately don't rush come back slowly and come back into your body at your own pace thanks for practicing with me today and I suggest practicing on a daily basis to make sure your mental fitness is on point but even if it's a shorter practice and you only do the longer ones occasionally the daily consistency is what makes the biggest difference feel free to follow me to make a donation and to ask any questions or interact with me anytime I appreciate it have a great day

Reviews

Just what I needed today.
I don't usually meditate with eyes open, but definitely found it easier to "slip" past thoughts with eyes open, as every time I was captured by a thought, my eyes would start to close and I then "awareness" awoke after a millisecond of dreaming. This process was so obvious because my eyes opened again. On reflection, now, this wasn't at all as painful as it might sound - like struggling to stay awake during an afternoon lecture. 😉
Thank you. 🙏

I love this meditation and the guidance "if x happens, don't worry about it just do y". That's really helpful

Absolutely superb meditation for beginner's. You have a skill my my friend. Thank you for what you've put in to this and share with us. 💕

Thank you for helping me push myself further than could ever imagine!

What a helpful awesome meditation, I need to return as I did do as well as I expected. Which is fine, it's all good stuff.
Thank you

Wow, that was really powerful. I've been doing the 20-minute deep awareness meditation daily for the last couple weeks, and this was the perfect next step to take it to a deeper level. The pacing and guidance is on point. Thank you, Cyrus, for sharing your talent and skill; you are a gifted meditation teacher!!

excellent! Thank you!

Great longer practice to help focus away from running thoughts. Thank you!

This meditation was mind-blowing!! I’ve dealt with some level of dissociation my whole life. I’ve never been this present in the moment or my body ever. What a beautiful thing ❤️❤️❤️ You truly have a gift!

I appreciate your clear instruction and perfectly placed reminders to relax. Your unique similes are always so helpful for me too. Thank you

I felt much more focussed and less authomatic after your live yesterday, I was able to pay more attention to a lot of small things during the day and to being less trapped by my thoughts, so I decided to try this meditation today. Thanks for this! Really appreciate this recording. I look forward to continúe on this challenging and wonderfull training 💚🙏

That was really good and very little wandering mind. Liked the pace and the calm instructions. The time flew. Many thanks. ☮️💖🙏