Let yourself sit comfortably on your pillow or in your chair and let your eyes close.
Allow yourself to release down into the earth.
Allow the spine to gently extend skyward like the star of a flower rising towards the sunlight.
Relax your shoulders.
Let the weight of your thighs release down.
A gentle curve in your lower back moving inward and upward.
It is said that when you sit for meditation you are sitting between the universe and the earth in the center of all things to realize the infinite possibilities of the life you've been given.
Respect your own body and organize yourself to remain still for a number of minutes.
Take a couple of slower deeper breaths.
As you inhale your sternum lifts.
Keep your shoulders and your arms relaxed with your hands gently resting in your lap.
Your legs relaxed,
Focused,
Senses inward.
Get a sense of wrapping your energy around you like a blanket.
Let everything settle,
Settle down,
Settle in.
Allow your attention to sink a little deeper to the inner movements of your breath.
The natural fluid incoming breath and outgoing breath.
Notice there is a beginning and an end of each inhale.
Watch carefully.
Notice when the breath just begins and when does it end.
Feel and allow for a slight pause at the end of the out breath.
Keeping the body still and the mind quiet.
Allow the breath to move on its own and wash over you.
The breath bathes as you simply ride the wind with your awareness.
Just like watching the great ocean tide on the shore coming and going.
The quiet flow of the energy inside.
Continue to let the breath move on its own and see if you can notice the first sensations you experience with the incoming wave of breath narrowing down your focus of attention to a small area at the entrance of the nostrils.
See if you can feel the wind of the breath on this area.
Coolness or warmth,
A fluttering or tingling as the air touches or slight pressure.
Take a couple of deeper breaths and carefully fill the spot right below or at the entrance of your nostrils with the wind.
As the breath becomes softer,
Let your attention also become soft and refined.
Keeping the internal gaze and focus at the entrance of the nostrils.
Breath coming in,
Breath going out.
You will notice after watching a few breaths your mind wanders.
Gently bring it back at the end of the next out breath.
Silently count one,
Inhaling non-verbally.
Count two after the next out breath and continue counting silently after each exhale until you reach five.
Then start again at one.
Repeating for several rounds,
Focus on the tactile experience of breath at the nostrils.
If the mind drifts away from the breath and counting,
Gently bring it back as soon as you notice and start again.
To bring the attention back when it drifts off is discipline.
You're training your mind to be here,
To be present.
This is mindful.
Let all the judgments go.
Relax.
Slowly let the counting go and let it fade in the background.
Just remain aware of the wind at the nostrils.
Quietly ride the tide of your breath,
Breath by breath,
Moment by moment,
This moment,
Every now and then.
Even for a brief moment,
You experienced the stillness,
The richness,
The profound sense of wholeness that is always there.
Inside the moment,
As far as your next breath,
As close as this moment,
Always waiting for you to quietly come back and reunite here and now.
Concentration is a stepping stone for meditation.
Maintaining the internal focus is the discipline.
Concentration is the act of holding the attention steady,
Mindfulness,
The experience of witnessing passing thoughts through the mind like clouds in the sky as you sit quietly with your breath,
Keeping the mind quiet like a distant observer,
Witnessing without reacting,
Anchored in the rise and fall of the breath.
Much like the energy of the sun can seep through dense fog,
Illuminating and transforming whatever it touches,
The discipline of meditation cultivates a purifying quality of energy and presence that can slowly penetrate,
Melt,
And undo the tangle that binds and twists our life,
Transforming what was negative,
Warm light of awareness,
Of unbiased present,
Within the heart,
Naturally soften,
And open like a flower opens to the sunlight,
Revealing the deepest essence of our true nature.
That place can bring about tremendous courage and profound inspiration.
May all beings be awakened to the spirit within their heart.
May all beings feel love and peace within themselves.
May all beings be happy.
