- [Narrator] Mindfulnessexercises.com.
Focused attention and open awareness.
(gently chiming bell)
Let's begin by taking a moment to allow the body to settle.
Find a comfortable position
that allows your spine to be long,
but with a natural curve in the lower back.
You can close your eyes
or keep them open with a soft gaze downward
a few feet in front of you.
Let your belly and your shoulders relax.
And today I'll guide you through a meditation
that alternates between focused attention
and open awareness.
In focused attention,
we keep directing our attention back to the breath.
In open awareness,
we expand our awareness to include whatever is arising
with an attitude of curiosity and spaciousness.
So before we start,
take a full breath in through the nose,
and a long breath out through the mouth.
Allow your breath to find its natural rhythm in and out.
Just relaxing with the breath.
And as you breathe,
the breath can be like an anchor or a foothold
as you observe what's happening around you.
And as you allow yourself to notice whatever is arising,
you can decide for yourself
if you wanna dial up or dial down
how aware of the breath you are in any given moment.
In open awareness,
thoughts, sensations, feelings, and sounds will come and go.
Some will float by like clouds in the sky,
and others will be sticky taking us for a ride.
But whatever arises, try to just notice them,
watching them arise and pass away.
If you start to feel distracted,
you can ground yourself by focusing on the breath again,
and then returning to open awareness.
And now bringing your attention back again
to focus on the breath,
letting awareness of other things fade to the background.
Breathing in,
and breathing out,
focused on the breath.
Simply aware of each inhale and exhale.
And taking a moment now
to appreciate your effort in doing this practice,
directing your mind,
resting the sensations without judgment.
Remembering that you can connect
with a sense of open awareness as you go through your day,
and you can come back
with a focused attention on your breath
to find calm in the body and in the mind.
Let's finish this open awareness
and focused attention practice
by taking a full breath in through the nose,
and a long breath out through the mouth.
(gently chiming bell)