You You Welcome to this 20 minute guided meditation Please make sure you're sitting comfortably either on a chair or on the floor Have your back straight,
But not tense Your neck back and abdomen should be aligned Right now have your eyes open and be aware of the visual perceptions in your field of vision Now take five deep breaths In as fully as possible through the nose Then out as gently as possible through the mouth And then out through the mouth On the fifth breath gently close your eyes Feel the points of contact of your body against other surfaces Your arms against your chest Your hands on your laps Your fingers touching each other Your thighs and your bottom against the floor or the chair Your hands on your legs Your fingers touching each other Your thighs and your bottom against the floor or the chair Your feet touching the floor Notice how all these external perceptions of touch are only present at these points Notice the absence of this perception in other areas of the body Move your awareness from the points of contact of the body to now the external environment Try to recall the last visual perception you had See it clearly in the mind Now become aware of any sounds you may have heard Don't let them distract you,
Just be aware of them Don't fixate on them Let the sounds arise and let them pass Don't get annoyed by them,
Just be aware Notice any smells that might be present Notice how you were not aware of them beforehand Are they familiar or unfamiliar?
Notice how you were not aware of them beforehand Are they familiar or unfamiliar?
Don't fixate on them or be distracted by them,
Just be aware Notice any tastes you might have in your mouth Be aware of the taste but don't let it distract you Don't dwell on whether it is pleasant or unpleasant,
Good or bad Be aware and let it pass Now bring your attention back to the body Back to your position sitting in the room Visualise what your body looks like sitting Now feel the sensations that make up your body Do the sensations feel complete?
Or do they feel light and amorphous,
Even discontinuous?
Move your awareness around different parts of your body and see how this awareness gives your body its solidity If a sensation feels unpleasant,
Don't dwell on it,
Just let it pass Similarly,
If a sensation feels pleasant or satisfying,
Just be aware of it and let it pass What feelings or emotions do you have at the moment?
Be aware of them but don't dwell on them We tend to hold on to the good feelings but reject the not so good But do neither,
Just be aware of the feeling Whether it be happiness,
Sadness,
Anxiety,
Relaxation,
Euphoria or dismay,
Just be aware of it See what a fleeting nature your feelings and emotions have When you were checking your points of contact earlier,
Were you aware of your feelings and emotions then?
Similarly,
When you were checking the sensations that comprise your body,
Were you aware of your emotions and feelings then?
Like thoughts,
Emotions come and go Let them arise and pass,
Holding on to and rejecting none Just being aware Now visualise yourself sitting Imagine a green beam of light over your head As this beam passes over your body,
It will bring awareness to that region of the body Just experience your body sensations as they are Your body is not going to start feeling heavy,
Your body is not going to feel light You may feel some tingling or some warmth but this is normal Now just be aware of the green beam as it passes over the top of your head and your forehead Be now aware of the external perceptions and internal body sensations as the beam passes and moves its way down over your head Now illuminating your eyes,
Your nose,
Your mouth and your chin Be aware of any sensations but don't hold on to them The light moves on down,
Illuminating your neck and your chest You feel the warm illumination around the top of your chest,
Upper back,
Your shoulders and upper arms As the light moves down,
You feel it give solidity to your forearms and your hands and to your abdomen and lower back Lower still,
You feel the solidity in your bottom,
Your thighs and your legs Finally the light illuminates your feet with its gentle warmth before it goes out In this calm,
Take a moment to be grateful for all the things you've experienced either today or yesterday Big or small,
Take the opportunity to feel this gratitude Before you bring your awareness to your breath,
Think about what you want from this meditation Have some clarity but also appreciate how this meditation positively affects all those around you Think about the benefits it will have for your family,
Close friends,
Neighbours,
Work colleagues and others Just remember,
The benefits of meditation are innumerable not only for you but for society and the world Now bring your attention to your breathing,
Without trying to change it in any way,
Watch your normal pattern of breathing See how each breath affects your nose and your throat,
See how the breath makes your chest rise or your chest fall Notice the movements of the abdomen,
These movements can be subtle or they can be gross,
Even more so than the chest Don't try to change your breathing,
Just observe quietly After observing ten or so inhalations and exhalations,
Start watching the breath more closely You can choose to count the breath or not,
If you count then count up to ten and then start again Count one for the inhalation and one for the exhalation and then two and so on When you get to ten,
Go back to one If you get lost in thought,
Then go back to the breath and go back to one The moment you notice your counting has gone over ten,
Go back to the breathing and go back to one Always just go back to the breath It is that easy,
Whenever you realise you are lost in thought,
Just go back to the breath Early on you may spend a long time being lost in thought before you realise that you actually are But as time passes you will become more and more aware You will become aware of how thoughts just arise and as long as you don't cling to them or try to reject them,
They just vanish as spontaneously as they arose You will become aware more quickly that you are lost in thought and when you do,
Just go back to the breath If you are not counting,
Just observe the breath as you normally would See the different depths,
Their different durations Become interested in the breath,
Become fascinated with it If you get lost in thought,
Then just go back to the breath I'll gently remind you to return to your breath as we go along and then towards the end I will gently bring you back to your normal waking state Now just observe your breath See how the characteristics of the breath change with each cycle Feel the breath as it enters your nose,
Enters your throat,
As it makes your chest or your abdomen rise and fall Just remember to go back to the breath Just let your thoughts arise and pass See how thoughts arise and pass as long as you don't hold on to them Feel the breath as it enters your nose,
Enters your throat,
As it makes your chest or your abdomen rise and fall Every time you get lost in thought,
Just go back to the breath During a normal day,
Every time you remember the breath,
Just go back to the breath During a normal day,
Every time you remember the breath,
Just go back to the breath Even if it's just for a minute You can't control your thoughts,
But you can choose not to latch on to them Allow them to arise and subside Now slowly become more aware of your surroundings,
The sounds,
The smells,
The taste in your mouth Feel again the pressure of the floor or the chair against your bottom or your thighs Begin to feel your feet again against the floor Become more aware of the environment around you as you feel the normal sensation return to your body and a sharp alertness return to your mind When you are ready,
Slowly open your eyes Feel the breath as it enters your nose,
Enters your throat,
As it makes your chest or your abdomen rise and fall
