Are you finding peace inside yourself or being tossed around by the chaos in the outside world?
Where are you focusing your awareness in each moment?
Generally, our direct attention is on what is happening in the outside World. We are engaged in “doing activities” throughout the day - working, driving, texting, talking, watching. Inward focus seems to be experienced by fewer people that have a creative, movement or meditative practice.
A few Practice Benefits:
Reveals the location of our awareness.
Brings us into present moment.
Grounding, centering, aligning.
Inner peace and harmony.
Cultivates awareness & consciousness.
Greater intuition and wisdom.
Discovery of the essence of your nature.
Spiritual growth.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
- Albert Einstein
Here’s the Practice:
Find a comfortable place to sit down or stand (the outdoors is best).
1. With eyes open, experience what’s happening around you.
Noticing your surroundings, the sounds, the colors, textures, the movement, and smells. Keeping the awareness outside of yourself.
2. With eyes closed, continue to experience what’s happening outside of you.
Focus on the sounds, the air temperature, any odors or movement around you.
3. With eyes closed, gently move your awareness inside.
Firstly, focus on the breath coming in from the tip of the nose into the lungs, feel the chest expand and receive the breath and then release. Using your senses, get a felt sense of what is arising within. Perhaps bodily sensations, emotions, and/or thoughts. Allowing the sensations to naturally arise and observe inwardly.
4. Slowly open the eyes, keeping a soft inward gaze.
Continue to observe with curiosity and without judgement what is arising within. Feel the breath moving through you. Notice where most of your weight is being supported. Are you holding onto tension anywhere in the body? Does the body feel warm or cool? Experiencing your inner landscape.
5. Maintaining eyes open keep 50% of your awareness inside and 50% outside.
Observing the surroundings outside and still keeping awareness inside. Feeling the inner environment and outer environment together as one wholeness, one gestalt.
How to use this Practice:
Checking in with yourself throughout the day and experience both the inner and outer landscapes of your being. Overtime this will train and allow you to move in the world in a relaxed yet alert state of Being. A wonderful technique.
May this Mindfulness Practice serve you well!
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Align in nature today with one of our Personal Retreats. Call 303-218-0169 to schedule!