Hello and a warm welcome to today's five senses meditation.
This is a grounding meditation.
The intention is to tune into your body and your environment and fully immerse yourself in the present moment.
Let's begin with the set and setting for this session.
For the duration of this meditation commit to spending this time with and for yourself.
Suspend any other commitments for the moment.
Don't worry about the things that you need to do and what else might happen later.
Just trust that everything will work out regardless of how the next few minutes will play out for you.
Now settle in into a comfortable position either seated on a chair or on the ground undisturbed for the duration of this meditation.
If you're walking make sure that you're in a safe environment away from traffic or other hazards.
We will do this meditation with our eyes open.
So settling in.
If you're walking just hold still for a moment.
I will let you know when it's time to go.
Let's begin now by taking a few deep breaths.
Breathing in through the nose,
Drawing further breath into the belly and release through the mouth.
And again taking a deep breath in through the nose into the belly and release.
One last time in through the nose into the belly and release.
Now let your breath return to its natural rhythm.
If you'd like to take this meditation walking you may start walking now.
Let your gaze be soft,
Not focusing on anything in particular and bring your attention to your sense of sight.
Notice five things that appear in your visual field.
Not staring at anything in particular but just softly receiving whatever comes up.
It may be an object right in front of you or coming into sight in the periphery of your eyes.
It may be colors either vibrant or soft.
Maybe you notice light,
Shadows and contrast around you.
Maybe you notice movement,
Perhaps of things moving of their own accord or the movement of your entire visual field as you move your head and your body.
Some people may notice their own eyelids blinking or small specks floating in their visual field and that's okay too.
Just gently notice at least five things that you can see now.
Now let's pay attention to any sounds in your environment right now.
See if you can notice four distinct sounds.
Imagine your mind as though you're tuning into a radio.
Let the sounds arrive at your eardrum.
You may notice sounds that are close to you or far away.
Some may be loud,
Quiet,
Fleeting or persistent.
You may notice a rhythm and a pitch.
You may notice sounds that are pleasant like music or unpleasant like noise.
Try to just notice the sounds as they are and not judge them.
See if you can notice without judgment four things that you can hear.
And now let's bring our awareness to our physical sensations.
Can you notice three things that you can physically sense right now?
Maybe there's a breeze on your skin,
Temperature,
Pressure of your body against your seat or your feet on the ground.
Maybe there's tension,
Pain or discomfort in your body.
And again,
Try not to judge it right now.
Just notice what it is and what the quality of it feels like.
See if you can make out three distinct sensations in your body.
Now moving on to our sense of smell.
See if you can notice two distinct smells.
Now smells are often judged as pleasant or unpleasant.
But once again,
Try to just be aware of the quality of that smell and not what it means right now.
Maybe there are smells from nature,
From plants,
Flowers or the ocean.
Or there are human-made smells,
Industrial or chemical.
They may be strong or subtle or maybe they're very close to you,
From perfumes,
Lotions or sweat.
Just notice them like neutral sensations.
See if there are at least two things that you can smell right now.
And lastly,
Let's bring our awareness to our sense of taste.
You're probably not eating or drinking anything right now,
But see if you can notice one taste in your mouth that is present right now.
It could be from the last thing that you were eating or drinking or a taste that's on your lips.
This is probably very subtle,
So pay close attention to the quality of that taste.
Now for the final minute of this meditation,
See if you can expand your awareness to all those things we noticed.
Your visual field,
Objects,
Colors,
Lights and shadows,
The sounds as they appear and pass by,
How your body feels and the temperature on your skin,
The smells that your nose can pick up and the taste on your lips or in your mouth.
See if you can observe all those things as a cloud of sensations without any judgment and just bathe in those sensations.
Okay,
Well I hope that this helped you feel grounded in your body and in your environment and that you enjoyed this meditation.
And as you finish this meditation today,
Try to carry this awareness into whatever you're doing next.
Thank you for making time for yourself and for letting me be your guide today.
I will see you next time.
