Begin this meditation by making yourself really comfortable.
Do whatever works for you.
For me,
This is usually sitting upright with my back straight but not rigid.
I drop my shoulders away from my ears,
I rest my hands in my lap,
Plant my feet on the floor.
So I feel supported,
I feel steady on the level of my physical body.
If there is any discomfort that you can mitigate by adjusting your posture,
By all means do so.
And before you close your eyes,
Recognize where you are.
Recognize that you are safe,
Secure and protected.
And you can spend the next couple of minutes in safety.
And only then allow your eyes to close and step into awareness that is beyond the customer physical senses.
So your vision is now limited to brighter and darker spots in front of your closed eyes.
Your taste and smell are likely to be absent.
And your touch is limited to the surface that you connect with through your sit bones,
Your lower and upper back.
Maybe you can feel your feet on the floor,
Your hands in your lap,
But mostly the inner sensation comes forward as you step into awareness beyond your physical senses.
And this preparation period allows you to step into awareness with confidence,
Knowing that all the survival instincts,
All the survival aspects of your being right now are being taken care of.
So you are free to focus on your inner experience that goes beyond the customary worries.
The external movement ceases,
It's mostly stillness on the level of your physical body.
But there are still processes that occur,
Digestion,
Circulation,
Your nervous system is still working.
But recognize that every time you step into awareness that limits the input from your physical senses,
Your body has a chance to rebalance,
To reset,
To come back to a state of what is called in science,
Rest and digest.
And feel for yourself that this usually feels pleasant,
To be able to let your body do on its own the innate intelligence of your physical body that operates even if you don't pay attention.
Take comfort in that and step into awareness that is beyond.
And this may present itself as a form of spaciousness,
Spaciousness and stillness.
Imagine a boundless sky above the clouds of your thoughts,
Customary behaviors,
And you open yourself up to something larger.
The spaciousness is not empty,
It has a substance that your awareness connects with,
But this substance has nothing to do with the function of your physical senses.
It is like floating above the clouds where your physical senses are not necessary.
And in this process you will find that the customary thoughts will come to interrupt the spaciousness with the form.
The thoughts are very concrete,
They refer to the past,
They may refer to some theoretical scenario in the future based on your past experiences.
The spaciousness is here and now.
And your thoughts in a sense are part of the spaciousness.
They are not the spaciousness,
But they are the content on the canvas of the boundless sky.
And right now you are choosing to let go of content or shift your awareness to the spaciousness of the boundless sky and let go of any thoughts that will appear.
This is your freedom to choose the experience.
You cannot control always what happens to you,
But you can choose the experience.
Even in the presence of bodily sensations,
Thoughts,
You can shift your awareness into the open boundless sky that is the substance and thought sensations are just the content.
The substance is steady and always present.
Thoughts and sensations come and go.
And I will give you now a moment to explore on your own,
To enjoy this open awareness of the boundless sky as I stand by your side to bring you back when the time is up.
And now it is time to return,
Express your gratitude for this experience that is outside of your customary connection with your physical senses.
See if there are points of interest,
Which are the experiences that you potentially may want to return to.
Then feel free to make a mental note of a state or states that you wish to return to later in other exploration period.
Take the lessons that you wish to take with you and leave behind everything else.
And on the return journey,
Begin consciously reconnecting with your senses.
The hearing has always been present through the sound of music and the sound of my voice.
Now,
Add to it consciously reconnecting with your vision,
Even through your closed eyelids you can perceive dark and brighter spots,
Briefly touching upon the sense of smell and taste and landing on the sense of touch that defines your physical body in space,
Gives you the perception of how you connected with the space around you,
Your hands in your lap,
Your feet on the floor,
Your sit bones,
Your lower and upper back.
And you may want to include a gentle physical movement,
Wiggle your toes,
Move your fingers.
Slowly and gently,
Tilt your head to the left,
Feel your muscles in your neck.
Tilt your head to the right,
Muscles on the other side of your neck flexing and stretching back to the center.
And finish up with one deep cleansing breath in through your nose.
And when ready,
Open your eyes and welcome back.
