Meditation: Breath As An Opening To Mindfulness

At any moment, with one breath, we can establish mindfulness and open a door to our true nature. In an instant, we can experience the immediacy and vitality of life, simply by following the breath. Give it a try!

Transcript

Good to be with you. In this meditation, We'll use the breath as our guide. You can begin by opening to what's right here. Aware of the body, How you're sitting, Bringing your body to an upright position where you can feel the alignment of your spine, The balance there, Closing the eyes if you're comfortable doing so, Or if not, Just casting your gaze gently to a neutral place. Taking a few full deep breaths on the in-breath, Inhaling, Deeply filling the lungs, And on the out-breath, Gently releasing. Focusing on the breath, Focusing on it how it is easy, Natural, Pleasant, On the gentleness of the breath, How it gently attends to you, Or how it gently caresses you. Gently enjoying the in-breath as it fills the lungs and expands the chest, And then relaxing, Releasing on the out-breath. Feel the calming effect of the in-breath and the peace that enters with each out-breath. Calm. Peace. Open and expand on the in-breath, Then let everything go on the out-breath. Open up the mind and then release. Now you can slow down the breath and gently rest the attention on the sensation of each in-breath, How the air is drawn through your nose, The air inside your nose, The air passing gently through your nostrils, Or how the chest naturally rises and falls, The gentle movement of the body with each breath, Or how each breath rises from down in your abdomen, Rises up through the body. You can pick where you can most easily feel the breath and then just rest the attention there, With each in-breath and out-breath. Become curious about the sensations, Become intimate with them. Just naturally allow the attention to be absorbed there for a moment. There's nothing to do right now. Just allow the mind to rest and be awake in the sensations. There's nothing to know right now, Only the direct experience of breathing in and breathing out. You may notice that the mind has wandered to a thought or a memory and if so you can with great kindness welcome yourself back. Rest again in the gentle rhythm of the breath. Feel happy to be back. You will return many times during any meditation. Every time you return you can feel the freshness of beginning again, Feeling each new breath as if it's the first breath you've ever taken. The miracle of each life-giving breath, The miracle of being alive, The happiness in each in-breath and each out-breath, The joy of breathing in and breathing out. Resting now from this meditation and gently coming back. Wishing opening the eyes, Welcoming all of the sights, Sensations, All the sounds around you, Taking this joy, This peace into the rest of your day and remembering that it's always possible to return in the space of just one breath. Thank you all and until next time.