Mindful Mondays|Week 5: Everything & Nothing

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Check out the YouTube video and/or the Podcast audio.

Let’s begin by settling into your space.  Let’s ground together.  Take one slow, deep, grounding breath.  Before you close your eyes, scan the room in some detail.  Count a few things, find something new you haven’t seen before, or set your gaze on something that you really love.

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If your comfortable to do so, close your eyes.  See how the room looks on the other side of your eyelids.  Can you remember most of the things you scanned?  What was that one detail you noticed?  Do you remember the feeling you had as you gazed on that one object?

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Now let’s come to our faithful breath.  The breath that keeps on going, whether we are aware or not.  The breath that moves at the right pace for sitting to watch tv to climbing stairs to mowing the lawn.  The breath that always regulates itself just as we need it.  Just watch it in your mind.  Follow it like a puppy follows its human around.  With no desire to change it or force it, just to be with it because you want to be.

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If you wandered off like a stray puppy, come back to the breath and just enjoy following it with every inhale and exhale.  Use all your effort to stay with each breath, yet don’t do anything special at all.

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If your mind has slid off the path again, that’s okay.  With all your strength, pull it right back on the breath.  However, the more relaxed you approach your wandering, the easier to slide back into the lap of the breath.

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Meditation, if you think about it really, it is everything.  It creates an awareness that, when practiced enough, can follow you through your whole day, bringing you back to the moment, back to reality.  Mindfulness is the almighty buzzword that is helping millions of people be conscious of their energy, emotions, mindset, lifestyle choices, words, and actions every day.  And … it’s nothing.  It’s just sitting here.  Effortlessly watching something that we do every moment of everyday.  We are choosing to sit here to observe ourselves doing the most obvious, unchallenging thing we do in a day – just breathing.  You aren’t focusing on the breath right this second, and yet there it still is just keepin’ on keepin’ on.  You don’t have to do anything to your breath; it’s a reflexive thing.  All the while, whenever you want, it’s this anchor that you can sit and watch.  You can even force your breath, hold it, change its pace.  But you don’t have to, and it will be just fine without your interference.  Without judgment, you can easily slide your mind back into the focusing practice, and then without demand, you will inevitably loss track of it again and again.

Mindfulness is training brains all of the globe to be aware of themselves and their surroundings – to be fully present.   What you are doing right now is a huge key to allowing you to be fully present in your day-to-day life. It’s reteaching your mind to be connected to your body to be connected to your spirit.  It’s helping you find purpose and accept your emotions.  It’s regulating your life.  Yet, it’s not really anything.  It’s just sitting, observing ourselves.  Sometimes we make really big deals out of things.  I know I do.  Meditation is a big deal that isn’t a big deal.  The effortlessness to return to your breath over and over is work, without working anything.  It’s being mindful of mindless breathing. 

Keep watching your breath.  Just try to focus on the next 3 breaths, from the inhale to the end of the exhale. 

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Isn’t that amazing?!  You were watching yourself as a human being minus the human doing.  Taking away the doing and just being for just a few moments.  That’s incredible!  Sit here as long as you like after this meditation is over and just keep being.  Meditation is the most important thing you’ll do today, and yet it isn’t anything at all. 

When you are ready, open your eyes.  When you are really ready, feel free to get up, and carry that state of Being into your day as you are Doing all the other important things.  Congratulate yourself on doing the thing that is nothing and everything.  

Mindful Mondays|Week 2: Balance

*Author Note* If you prefer to listen or watch instead of or along with -
Check out the YouTube video and/or the Podcast audio.

Let’s take a moment to settle in.  Today I want to lean into the word Balance. 

Take a seat on the floor, cushion, or chair.  Elongate the spine as if a string was tugging at the top of your head.  Take an extra moment today to shift your weight in your seat so that an even distribution is on each side.  Feel into the balance between your right and left side of your body.  As you relax down into your breath, let’s see if we can bring some extra balance to our breath today.  Just notice for a minute if you exhale is longer, shorter, or even with your inhale … And now for five breaths, let’s balance those with a count of four to inhale and four to exhale so they are even…

In, 2, 3, 4.  Out, 2, 3, 4.   Draw In, 2, 3, 4.  Breathe Out, 2, 3, 4.   Inhale, 2, 3, 4.  Exhale, 2, 3, 4.   Inhala, 2, 3, 4.  Exhala, 2, 3, 4.   One late time: In, 2, 3, 4.  Out, 2, 3, 4.    Now let’s return to normal breathing, not forcing or counting, just observing your breath. 

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This week, see if it’s possible to create a balance within.  Do you always work very hard until you crash in bed at night?  Maybe you can find some room to pause and rest for a while in the middle of a busy day.  Do you find you spend most of your time alone with your own thoughts or watching tv?  Maybe bringing in a small get together with friends this week will create some relationship balance.  Do you tend to get very stressed in traffic on the way to work most mornings?  You can make a reminder in your car to find a moment of zen with some 4-count balanced breaths as you wait out the rush hour. 

How is your breathing right now?  Notice you have been listening to my voice and not concentrating as deeply on your breath.  Let’s shift from listening to observing the breath right at the opening of the nostrils.  Feel the cool air coming in and the warmer air sighing out.  Watch and see if the balance of your breath is still even or has it shifted?  Take a few minutes to examine the breathing pattern without placing any expectations on your rhythm.

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Coming back to the room now – take one last deep inhale and then completely exhale all the air out slowly. 

Soak in this time and celebrate yourself for taking this space to sit and just be today.  This is one step in creating more balance in our busy lives of doing, going, doing, going.  You’ve spent few moments of just staying and being.  Congratulate yourself for making time.  When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes, and enjoy the rest of your day.