Getting yourself into a posture,
A posture of meditation.
But as you do so,
As you get yourself into that posture,
Beginning to bring your attention in this moment to what is moving.
So as you settle yourself,
As you shift your weight,
Maybe as you set your feet flat on the ground,
As you set your pelvis,
Your lower back,
Maybe as you rest your hands in your lap,
As you place your shoulders and hold your neck and your head,
Just bringing awareness to what is moving right now,
To where there is movement,
How you're experiencing that movement,
What it feels like,
What you notice about it.
Perhaps even noticing if you've closed your eyes,
Or indeed if you've left them open,
Just noticing even your eyelids moving.
And though you may be striving for a sense of stillness,
Of poise in this moment,
Just noticing whether there is an absolute stillness or whether it's a quality of stillness.
Now let's turn our attention to the breath.
So noticing the breath wherever you find it,
But perhaps noticing it particularly in terms of movement,
How the breath is moving within the body,
Perhaps the movement of the abdomen,
Or the chest,
The rib cage,
Noticing the rising and the falling away.
And how it takes care of itself,
It doesn't require us to make it be a certain way,
Even though there may be that desire or tendency.
Just seeing if you can notice what movement there is.
And also noticing if there is any sense of stillness with the breath.
Can you pick up on a stillness between each in-breath and each out-breath,
Or between each out-breath and in-breath?
Is there a peak at which the breath starts to fall away again?
A point,
However slight,
Where there is stillness in the breath.
And indeed whether this is an absolute stillness or merely a quality of stillness.
And bringing your attention now to your mind,
To your thoughts,
Noticing that your thoughts are always moving.
So bringing your attention to what's moving now in your thoughts,
What's changing,
What's shifting,
What's coming into being and what's falling away.
Again,
Perhaps having a sense of whether there's any stillness in your mind.
Whether between the first thought and the second,
Just for a moment,
There's a moment of stillness.
Whether this can be an absolute or just a quality of stillness.
Perhaps something that we allow to be there by letting go.
And perhaps now opening our eyes,
Bringing our attention back to the room around us.
Just noticing what's moving.
Can we get a sense of any movement,
Movement of air or light.
Just a sense that the shadows that we see in front of us are moving though far too slowly for us to be able to notice.
If we were to stay and to look at them long enough,
Might we notice them?
Perhaps noticing steam or vapour rising from a hot drink.
Just seeing what is moving.
And indeed seeing what is still.
Having a sense of where there is stillness in the room around you.
Even here,
Whether it's an absolute stillness or just a quality of stillness.
