I used this video this morning for a ten minute meditation period to serve as the start to my 3-day holiday weekend. As I had mentioned in class a few weeks ago, I have always found ambient sound and chimes to be an excellent auditory guide in assisting me toward a deeper place of meditation. I found this gem on YouTube and previewed it for about a minute before agreeing to give it a whirl.
With a puppy curled up between my legs and my wife quietly slumbering beside me, I sat up against the headboard of the bed to begin this time of meditation. I couldn't think of a more peaceful time to begin moving toward a place of awakening. I pulled my laptop up onto my lap, plugged in the headphones, and positioned myself for the next 10 minutes.
As the music began, I initially focused on its cadence to bring myself toward a rhythm to help orient my breathing. After a few moments, my breathing became closely synced with the sounds of the video that it allowed me to focus my attention to the presence of my body. Through this meditation, I brought my attention to the sensual data that my body was registering. At first, I began with a body scan to discover the specific areas of my body that hurt following a week's worth of work, and the stiffness from a night of inactivity. I could feel where my hips, calves, and heels pressed into the molding of our memory foam, and registered the strength and potential use that each part would be asked to perform in the upcoming day. My mind then shifted to the stale taste of morning in my mouth, and then followed to the smell of our dog's feet that (for whatever reason) has the identical scent of Frito's Corn Chips. Interesting, I know.
What brought me most into the moment and what brought me great joy was through the sense of touch. Many others have stated that the companionship of a dog is one of the greatest feelings in life, and I could not agree more. As my meditation continued on, I found great delight in the texture of the dog's hair. As I touched the hair near his back legs and explored the many layers that make-up a dog's coat, I was captivated and brought to examine the detail of this little beast. I could not help but to smile and be filled with a sense of joy and compassion for the little life that my wife and I had chosen to rescue and care for. I began to speak lovingkindness meditation for a few minutes over him, and then moved to speaking them over my wife. As the video began to wind down, I then brought this meditation of lovingkindness to myself, and spoke safety, health, and peace over my life for the upcoming day. Just as I was finishing, the other two beings in the bed begin to stir, and I knew that our day was preparing to begin.
During the course of our class, I don't recall practicing meditation in the morning because of my extreme DISLIKE for anything that has to do with removing oneself from the comfort of their pillow. Maybe it was because I had woken-up on my own. Maybe it was because I felt rested. Whatever the case may be, all I do know is that this was one of the best Saturday's in terms of energy, peace, and positive perspective in a long time.
With a puppy curled up between my legs and my wife quietly slumbering beside me, I sat up against the headboard of the bed to begin this time of meditation. I couldn't think of a more peaceful time to begin moving toward a place of awakening. I pulled my laptop up onto my lap, plugged in the headphones, and positioned myself for the next 10 minutes.
As the music began, I initially focused on its cadence to bring myself toward a rhythm to help orient my breathing. After a few moments, my breathing became closely synced with the sounds of the video that it allowed me to focus my attention to the presence of my body. Through this meditation, I brought my attention to the sensual data that my body was registering. At first, I began with a body scan to discover the specific areas of my body that hurt following a week's worth of work, and the stiffness from a night of inactivity. I could feel where my hips, calves, and heels pressed into the molding of our memory foam, and registered the strength and potential use that each part would be asked to perform in the upcoming day. My mind then shifted to the stale taste of morning in my mouth, and then followed to the smell of our dog's feet that (for whatever reason) has the identical scent of Frito's Corn Chips. Interesting, I know.
What brought me most into the moment and what brought me great joy was through the sense of touch. Many others have stated that the companionship of a dog is one of the greatest feelings in life, and I could not agree more. As my meditation continued on, I found great delight in the texture of the dog's hair. As I touched the hair near his back legs and explored the many layers that make-up a dog's coat, I was captivated and brought to examine the detail of this little beast. I could not help but to smile and be filled with a sense of joy and compassion for the little life that my wife and I had chosen to rescue and care for. I began to speak lovingkindness meditation for a few minutes over him, and then moved to speaking them over my wife. As the video began to wind down, I then brought this meditation of lovingkindness to myself, and spoke safety, health, and peace over my life for the upcoming day. Just as I was finishing, the other two beings in the bed begin to stir, and I knew that our day was preparing to begin.
During the course of our class, I don't recall practicing meditation in the morning because of my extreme DISLIKE for anything that has to do with removing oneself from the comfort of their pillow. Maybe it was because I had woken-up on my own. Maybe it was because I felt rested. Whatever the case may be, all I do know is that this was one of the best Saturday's in terms of energy, peace, and positive perspective in a long time.
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