Begin by finding yourself in a quiet part of your home.
Settle yourself into a meditation posture,
Either sitting cross-legged on the floor on an elevated cushion or seated in a chair with your legs uncrossed,
Feet flat on the floor.
Straighten your spine and tilt down your head to point it at a spot on the floor three or four feet in front of you.
You can place your hands either on your knees or palms up in your lap with your thumbs touching.
Let go of any tension in your shoulders,
Your face,
Throughout your body by briefly scanning it with your mind.
Half close your eyes and slightly open your mouth.
Think for a moment why you're meditating.
It may be to address some stress or anxiety or sleeplessness or worry.
And you can feel compassion for yourself,
Wanting to take away these problems and return your mind to its natural state of happiness and stability.
You may also think about wanting to meditate in order to bring out your best human qualities of kindness and compassion and generosity and patience and living a life not just to benefit yourself but to benefit everyone you encounter,
Even through actions as simple as your smile.
Now bring your attention to your breath.
You can focus on the breath coming in and out of your nostrils,
Cool as it comes in,
Warm as it goes out.
Especially if you're someone who tends to be more in your head than your body.
You can focus on your abdomen as it rises and falls with your breath.
If thoughts,
Feelings in your body,
Plans or regrets,
If any of these arise as you try to focus on your breath,
That's not a problem.
Just let them pass by.
Don't pull these thoughts close and there's also no need to push them away.
They'll disappear naturally on their own,
Like clouds passing through the sky.
Wise is recall!
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Now steer your mind from your breath to the mind itself.
There's still no need to push away your thoughts.
And you also don't need to draw them in and examine them.
But try and notice that there's a part of your mind that's separate from the perceptions coming from your senses.
Your eyes,
Ears,
Nose,
Taste and touch.
That there's a part of your mind that's aware of sense perceptions,
That's able to watch and embrace or release thoughts.
But that isn't the perceptions or the thoughts themselves.
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As you come closer to experiencing awareness itself,
Focus on the space between thoughts.
There are gaps between thoughts when no thought is present.
And you can experience your mind's conscious nature itself.
See if you can bring your focus to these gaps between thoughts and examine what your mind is without them.
If you can,
Gradually expand the gaps between thoughts so that the thoughts become fewer and fewer and the gaps of pure awareness get bigger.
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Now we can come out of the meditation.
Let your senses arise again,
Feeling sight,
Smell,
Taste,
Touch and sound.
Notice any difference in how you feel,
Closer to the present moment,
Slightly calmer and more at peace.
And feel the connection to that deeper part of yourself,
Beneath thoughts and perceptions to pure awareness.
In the same way that physical exercise gradually makes the body healthier,
You've exercised your mind in a way that makes it stabler,
Calmer and happier.
You can feel good that you've spent 10 minutes the best possible way,
Cultivating your best human qualities,
Gradually moving toward your best self,
Who's kinder,
More compassionate and able to forge deep,
Meaningful connections with others.
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