Welcome to sitting awareness meditation.
Let's take a few moments to recognize that we are doing this practice as a gift to ourselves.
Let this time of being with ourselves be a refuge from constant doing.
As we sit and focus on various moment-to-moment experiences,
We will have the opportunity to restore a sense of balance and perspective,
Remembering who we really are.
Take a grounded and uplifted posture in your seat so you feel alert yet relaxed.
Your posture can outwardly support an inner attitude of dignity,
Patience,
And self-acceptance.
Now gently bringing awareness to your breath.
Take a moment to feel your body weight settling down into your seat as you elongate the spine upward.
Allow your face to relax and allow any tension you may be holding to soften as best you can as you sit upright.
Now let's bring our awareness to the gentle breath.
Without changing your breath in any way,
Just observe the rise and fall of each breath.
You may feel your breath more prominently passing through your nostrils,
Or it may be easier for you to focus on your breath at the abdomen as it expands on the inhalation and contracts on the exhalation.
Simply following your natural wave of breath,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Fully experiencing each part of the breath as it occurs.
Each time you find that your mind has wandered from the breath,
Then matter-of-factly come back to the breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
We're not trying to stop the thoughts,
Simply observing them for a moment and then using our breath as an anchor to come back to the present moment.
Remember there is nothing wrong with thinking during meditation.
What matters is that you are aware of your thoughts as soon as you can be.
Then remember to come back to the breath.
If you feel that your mind is wandering away from the breath a hundred times,
Then just calmly bringing it back a hundred times,
As soon as you're aware of not being with the breath.
Your breath rhythm is unlike anyone else's.
Allow yourself to be with it.
Now,
Drawing your awareness from the breath to any sensations that are occurring in the body.
Notice any sensations of tingling,
Pulsing,
Warmth or coolness,
Pressure,
Wetness,
Dryness,
Itching,
Aches or pains.
Just observing whatever sensations are present.
You may notice that one sensation in particular will linger,
Or you may notice the changing nature of sensations as they call your attention to them from moment to moment.
There's no right or wrong way to feel whatever there is to feel.
Just observe what is here.
When your attention wanders from the body sensations,
It may be helpful to label it wandering,
Or to notice where the mind has gone.
Then coming back to the body,
Feeling the most prominent sensation in this moment.
If you find that sensations of pain or discomfort arise,
These sensations are worthy of observation.
They give us an opportunity to look directly at our impulses to react to what is occurring.
It's a good idea to see if you can soften around or relax into the discomfort,
Observing the effects of being with it in an accepting way.
After this initial observation,
If you find that it's best to choose to shift positions,
Then do so mindfully and slowly.
Then coming back to the most prominent sensation,
Wherever it may be,
However it feels.
If the mind has wandered,
Gently but firmly bringing your attention back to the sensations in the body.
When the mind wanders,
Remember it's not a problem,
It's just what the mind does.
Simply notice it,
Notice where it's gone,
Then come back to the current point of focus,
The body sensations that are the most prominent.
Now let's shift the awareness from body sensations to sounds.
Whether what you're hearing is pleasing or displeasing,
Whether there is sound or silence,
Open yourself to receive whatever sounds are occurring.
Allow them to come to you so that you're listening in a soft way rather than reaching out or looking for a sound.
Let it come to you.
You may hear external sounds,
Sounds in the room,
Even sounds from within your own body.
Also hearing the silences between the sounds.
Notice how some sounds rise and fall and pass and others may linger.
When the mind wanders,
Bring it back to whatever sounds are occurring.
Notice how some sounds rise and fall and others may linger.
Notice how some sounds rise and fall and others may linger.
Notice where your attention is and if it has strayed from sounds,
Gently bring it back and come back to listening,
Listening to whatever sounds are occurring.
You may also check on your posture because when the mind wanders the posture tends to slump.
So coming back to an alert posture and alert and open listening.
Now shifting the awareness from sounds to the thought process itself.
We'll be watching the mind,
Any thoughts and emotions that arise.
You might like to use the image of watching a wide open sky and that each thought that passes is like a cloud just passing through.
Once again coming back to the open spaciousness of your own awareness.
See if you can perceive any thoughts and feelings as events of the mind.
Some thoughts will be about the past or the future or even the present.
See them as mind waves passing and let them pass.
As you observe your thoughts,
Notice the degree of power the thoughts may seem to have.
How much power they have to dominate the mind.
Sometimes a thought will take your attention fully and other thoughts easily passing.
As soon as you notice that you've been lost in thought,
Drifted off and just allow this awareness to bring you back to remembering to watch the thoughts,
To observe them rather than follow them.
If it feels like too much then at any time you can come back to the breath as your anchor to the present moment.
And if and when you feel ready,
Observing the thoughts once again.
Now releasing your focus on thoughts and turning to something called choiceless awareness.
This is a practice of simply being receptive to whatever arises into your awareness in each moment.
This may be sound,
Sensations,
Thoughts,
Emotions,
Whatever arises.
Rather than looking for anything,
Simply being open to whatever comes into the field of your awareness and let it all come and go.
Like a collage of experience.
If you find it feels like too much,
You can always come back to the rise and fall of the breath.
Being present with that and know that that is enough.
You may begin to notice the impermanence of everything that you're experiencing.
How thoughts come and go,
Sounds come and go,
Sensations,
Emotions.
How some linger longer than others.
Soften around all of it and let it be as it is,
As it occurs.
And now let's gently bring the focus back to the breath.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Staying with the breath where you feel it most prominently,
At the nostrils,
At the belly,
Wherever.
And feel it rise and fall.
Let it be as simple as it is.
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Bringing the mind back each time it's wandered.
As you follow the breath,
Expand your awareness to include the whole body.
Feeling the whole body breathing,
Connected and whole.
Simply feeling yourself sitting here,
Breathing gently.
Just being.
Notice now how you're feeling physically,
Mentally,
And emotionally.
Soften around all of it and let it be as it is.
As we come to the end of our sitting meditation,
Take a moment to acknowledge yourself for taking this time to be with yourself in this intimate way.
Knowing that with each time you sit and be with yourself,
You are filling your well of well-being.
May this practice bring a sense of inner stillness and balance to the rest of your day.
