American English | Self Help | Meditation | Memoir
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
meditation for some is an intimidating idea. What we're supposed to sit uncomfortably for long periods of time and do nothing. Maybe you've tried it and it was too hard. So you stopped maybe you tried it and it was triggering and created more anxiety. Maybe you once had an established meditation practice and you're looking to find the thread back to it. What I assume in this course is that we are all beginners all the time. If we can bring a beginner's mind to anything meditation practice, understanding our emotional lives, trying to create structure and predictability in our chaotic schedules or healing ourselves from the mental addictions that cause suffering. We can start over all the time. Go ahead, let's try it. Let's start over with meditation. Seriously, imagine you've never done it before, You've never seen anyone do it perfectly. You don't have an ideal image in your mind of meditation and you don't feel anxiety about having to do it. Meditation is a blank mystery, a completely new idea. Now I'm going to walk us through a novel experience, one that we are bringing a fresh and curious perspective to. There is not a wrong way to do this thing called meditation except to not do anything at all. See if you can notice anxiety or anticipation come up as you feel inclined to perform meditation a certain way or expected to be structured somehow in particular. What we're going to do is rest the thinking mind and moving body for a few moments with the very simple and boring goal of noticing what happens. We're going to do it for just a few minutes after which we will congratulate ourselves on having meditated today. Ready make yourself comfortable. Which means give your body the environment and position that it needs to feel the most safe and relaxed. Maybe that means lying down on the bed. Maybe it means sitting in a chair or in the bath. Maybe it means walking slowly, It doesn't matter what it looks like, it's meditation. If your goal is to meditate, settle the body into your chosen position and give yourself the chance to move around a little bit until you are sure you're comfortable and then see if you can stop moving altogether except to breathe. If you feel discomfort during the next few minutes you can move your body to accommodate that and try to change it. But you can also challenge yourself to add discomfort to the things you notice. If the discomfort is mild. Okay next up, see how you feel about your senses, your sense of hearing, listen to some of the sounds that are moving through right now. Cars, birds, air conditioning my voice, whatever it is. Try to listen to it as though you're hearing it for the first time, just listen to the quality of sound as a physical phenomenon that is happening in your ear in your body. Move on to noticing your site if you want to, you can close your eyes if you want to keep your eyes open unfocused to relax them. Like you're looking at a magic eye poster to see the hidden picture. See if you can smooth the muscles in your face around your eyes, between your eyes across your forehead, notice the play of color, light, space and texture. Whether your eyes are open or closed, notice how seeing feels. Does your mind label and try to understand what you're seeing? Does it tell you a story about what is happening with site right now? That's okay. That's just what the mind does. Now bring your awareness into your body. Move your mind down into your heart. Start with the way your clothing feels, making contact with your skin, notice the way your clothing moves to accommodate your breathing body. What other changes take place when you inhale and when you exhale, bring your focus to the areas of your body where breathing is happening. Does your breathing change when it notices you noticing? That's okay? That's just what the body does allow yourself to let go of the expectation to breathe correctly and allow breathing to do its thing for a little while finally let go of your awareness on your body and lean back into a full awareness of the moment. Hearing is happening, Seeing, feeling there is a vibrant life inside you that is happening to thoughts are happening. Maybe ideas coming or memories notice them and then let them float along the river away like a leaf on the surface. Maybe more leaves float down the river towards you notice them and then watch them carry on their way somewhere else, Sit here and allow everything to happen for just a minute there. You did it, you meditated, nailed it gold star. You don't ever have to do that again if you don't want to, although I recommend meditation as a contemplative practice throughout this course and your life. And I will also recommend that you bring a beginner's mind to it each time so you can grow your practice beyond your own expectations for how it should look feel and what results you anticipate. But if meditation is triggering or difficult for you or if you have a different contemplative practice that you want to use in its place, then you should. You are building a durable home At the base of your heart. No one else's what you bring into it is your choice entirely. Thank you so much for meditating with me today.