Welcome to the sitting meditation for the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program.
This is a time for you to set aside all doing and settle into being.
Nowhere to go,
Nothing to do except be right here.
You are engaging in a powerful and compassionate act of self-care.
A break from your normal day-to-day busyness and the constant cycle of doing.
Taking time to get to know yourself better.
Becoming more connected and in tune with your body and becoming more familiar with how your mind works.
There is no right,
Wrong or perfect way of doing this.
You are simply practicing building and exercising your ability to intentionally direct and focus your attention.
Settling now into a comfortable posture,
Either sitting in a chair or on the floor,
Using cushions or pillows,
Anything you need to be comfortable.
Or perhaps lying down is what feels called for for you.
Eyes are closed or held in a soft gaze a few feet in front of you,
Allowing the surface beneath to hold and fully support the weight of the body.
If you are sitting,
The spine is straight,
The head is balanced but not rigid,
Energy is flowing upward.
Being mindful to release any tension in the muscles of the neck and face.
Now,
Narrowing your attention on the breath,
Breathing in and breathing out,
Simply noticing the involuntary action of the breath being breathed.
No need to try and manipulate the breath in any way,
Just breathing and noticing that you are breathing.
Perhaps noticing where you feel the breath most prominently,
The nostrils,
Maybe noticing the temperature of the air on the inhale and perhaps the way the air has been warmed by the body on the exhale.
You might notice feelings of a flow of air on the upper lip,
The expansion and then collapse of the chest,
The rise and fall of the belly.
Choosing where you feel the breath most predominantly,
The spot that is easiest for you to rest your attention on and just settling here.
Each breath is a new breath,
A brand new fresh experience.
For a few breath cycles,
Perhaps noticing the pause at the top of the inhalation,
Just before the exhalation.
And then beginning to notice the pause at the end of the exhalation,
Just before the next in-breath.
If you find yourself getting pulled into a thought or memory,
Maybe reviewing something that has happened or planning something for the future,
Gently and with the intention of,
With kindness,
Bringing yourself back to the breath.
The goal isn't to try and make anything happen or clear the mind.
The mind will wander.
This is what minds do.
The invitation is to be in the present moment and simply notice what is occurring and redirect your attention back to the breath.
Now letting the breath slip into the background and sensing the body as a whole for a few moments.
Breathing into the fullness of the body.
Focusing now on places the body is making contact with the surface.
Perhaps noticing a sense of pressure where contact is made.
This could be the feet on the floor,
The backs of the legs on the chair,
Maybe your arms and hands resting on the lap or on a part of the chair.
The spine against the chair or the floor if lying down.
Just taking a moment to notice all of the points of contact.
Now choosing one point of contact and resting there.
It is expected that the attention will wander.
Remember this is just the mind being the mind.
This isn't a problem.
The work is to notice and redirect the attention back to the area of focus.
Back to the present moment.
Again and again and again.
This is how your skills of focus and attention will grow.
Once again,
Resting your awareness on your chosen point of contact.
Zooming out again,
Widening your perspective to focus on the body as a whole and beginning to notice arising sensations throughout the body.
Perhaps itching or tingling.
Warmth or coolness.
Moisture or dryness.
Twitching.
Maybe just a general sense of ease or perhaps you're noticing areas of discomfort or pain.
Noticing that sensations come and they go.
Ebbing and flowing.
You are in the observer's seat watching for changes.
Should you find an area of discomfort or pain,
You have choices in how you respond.
You could choose to shift the body with awareness,
Noticing the effects of the shift on the area of discomfort.
Or you might choose to remain still and move your attention closer.
As close as feels right for you.
Not trying to push through the intensity of any discomfort or pain,
But also not trying to escape the sensations.
Becoming a detective.
Gently exploring.
Perhaps visualizing breathing in and out of this area.
Using the breath to guide your attention around the place of discomfort.
Perhaps softening this area as you breathe out.
What are the precise sensations of this area?
Do the sensations change from moment to moment?
Without judgment and with compassion and care,
Just noticing how things are for you right now.
If the sensations become too intense and you feel yourself getting overwhelmed,
You may always return to focusing on the breath or a point of contact.
And allowing the area of discomfort to slip into the background.
Remembering that you have choices and you know how to best care for yourself in each moment.
Continuing to sit with an awareness of the body as a whole.
And just noticing sensations coming and going.
Or perhaps a sense of ease or restlessness.
Just noticing what is here right now.
Moving awareness now from body sensations to sounds.
Sounds in the body.
Sounds in the room.
Far away sounds.
Just becoming aware of sounds arising and falling away.
Noticing the different pitch of various sounds.
Noticing volume and intensity.
Noticing if there are sounds that remain constant.
As you explore this tapestry of sounds near and far,
Noticing the silence between sounds.
This space from which sounds arise and then disappear.
No need to label or identify the sounds.
When you notice the mind doing this,
Bringing attention back to the experience of sound itself.
Perhaps noticing your tendency to describe sounds as pleasant or unpleasant.
And once again,
Returning back to the experience of receiving and noticing sound.
Noticing the ever-changing nature of sounds.
Sounds arise and pass.
When you find yourself following a thought or perhaps being lost in a thought or a story,
Without being hard on yourself or judging yourself,
Just noting this is a normal experience and gently redirecting your focus back to sound.
Thinking of this redirection the same way you might help a toddler who is learning to walk.
The child might start to lose balance and tip one direction or another.
And with gentleness and kindness,
You guide the child back to solid ground,
So they can keep developing the skill of walking.
This same approach can be used as your attention wanders.
With gentleness and kindness,
Bringing your attention back to the anchor.
Back to a place of stability.
Back to receiving sounds.
Shifting now to noticing thoughts.
We're going to spend some time using thoughts as our anchor.
Exploring and learning more about how the mind works.
Observing your thoughts as opposed to getting carried away by them,
Getting caught in them,
Adding to them.
It might be helpful to you to simply label them as they come and as they go.
Ah,
Here is thinking,
Remembering,
Planning,
Worrying,
Wishing,
Fantasizing.
You can choose to note what type of thought you're having and allow it to pass.
Sitting in awareness,
Waiting for the next thought to arise and pass.
When you do notice the mind getting caught up in the content of a thought,
You might begin to note patterns,
Habitual thought loops that you find yourself returning to.
Once again,
We're mapping the mind,
Getting to know the habits of our mind.
And when you do notice following a thought or being stuck in a thought,
Gently coming back to awareness and observing thoughts simply as passing events in the mind,
Like clouds.
Another helpful image might be to visualize yourself sitting on the side of a stream,
Watching the thoughts float by on the stream like leaves.
You see them,
They remain in your field of vision for a moment and then move downstream.
Once again,
You're in the observer's seat,
Just noticing.
What is here now?
What arises next?
Like sounds,
The thoughts come and they go.
They appear,
They stay a while.
And if we can allow it,
They move on.
During this time,
We're working on intentionally choosing to sit on the sidelines as an observer,
Watching these mental events come and go,
No two moments alike,
Remaining in the present moment.
What thoughts are here right now?
And now?
There is a quote by Pema Chodron that goes,
You are the sky,
Everything else,
It's just the weather.
Perhaps there are emotions,
Feelings that accompany certain thoughts.
Some thoughts may be accompanied by an unpleasant feeling,
Something you might notice yourself wanting to push away or ruminate on.
Other thoughts might seem pleasant and you might find yourself wanting to stay with that thought.
That sensation.
Again,
Just noticing,
Becoming aware of the habits and patterns of the mind,
The repeating stories and the feelings that follow.
You are gaining insight and wisdom and awareness into your recurring patterns.
When you notice a feeling or an emotion accompanying a thought,
Perhaps noting where you feel that emotion in your body.
Approaching all that arises with a sense of curiosity and welcome.
Exploring and remembering that if you find thoughts or emotions becoming too intense,
Too overwhelming,
You can always choose to come back to the breath or a point of contact with the body to find a sense of stability and grounding.
You could also choose to focus on just the feet or just the hands.
If you're finding yourself in need of a way to stabilize once again.
Now dropping any particular object of focus and expanding your awareness to be with whatever is arising moment to moment.
Full body awareness.
Noticing body sensations as they come and go.
Noticing sounds as they enter your field of awareness.
Stay for a moment and then leave.
Noticing thoughts or emotions that come and go.
Wide open awareness moment to moment.
Holding all that is arising and falling.
Perhaps returning to one of the visuals.
Visualizing awareness as the sky and whatever comes into your awareness as a cloud appearing,
Staying a moment and passing through.
Wide open awareness.
Holding space for everything as it comes and goes.
Noticing the impermanence of it all.
No two moments alike.
Each moment is a fresh experience.
If you ever feel confused,
Distracted or lost,
You may always return to the breath or focusing on the hands or the feet or a point of contact with the body.
Using one of those as an anchor.
Stabilizing the attention and only when you are ready,
Opening up again to a sense of vast open awareness.
Practicing being fully present to whatever is naturally showing up.
An itch.
A sound.
A thought.
A feeling.
The breath.
Whatever is predominant this moment.
And this moment.
Sitting still with whatever comes and goes.
Without judgment.
With gentleness and kindness.
Sitting with each passing event.
Simply noticing.
Noticing the ever-changing nature.
The impermanence of it all.
In the last few moments of our practice,
Narrowing the attention once again to the breath.
Breathing.
Finding your anchor in the breath.
Nourishing the body with this act of self-care.
With this break from doing to simply sitting in being.
As you continue to dedicate time each day to formal practice,
Learning to anchor,
Grounding and stabilizing in the present moment,
Practicing being with whatever arises,
Noting that whatever arises also passes.
This skill will begin to become more accessible to you throughout your day-to-day activities.
In a moment,
You will hear the bells bringing our practice to a close.
Staying present until you can no longer hear the bell ringing.
As you transition from your formal sitting practice back into the activities of your day,
Maintaining awareness of the body,
The breath,
Sounds,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Moment to moment as best you can.
