118 : Meditation : You Can Always Start Again

I invite you to begin by finding a position that allows you to be both. And relax at the same time. Sitting with a tall, straight back, but not rigid. And resting your hands, wherever's comfortable. And if you'd like closing your eyes or gazing down with a soft, unfocused gaze. And let's begin this practice with three deep breaths in and out, just allowing yourself to drop into this moment. As you let go of everything that has come before and anything that is yet to. And as we begin this practice, just checking in with yourself, noticing how you're arriving here in this moment, meeting whatever you find with openness, kindness, and curiosity. Noticing what it's like in your. And noticing what it's like in your mind right here, right now, however you find your mind or your. Whether it be pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, just meeting it in awareness as it is right now in my body and my mind. It's like this. And whenever you're ready, in your own time and in your own way, find your way to the breath sensations. Wherever you notice the most in your body right now, this will be our home base and just setting the intention to rest in the awareness of this spot. And right now, all there is to do is to observe this in breath and awareness. And this out breath in awareness, resting in the simplicity of the breath, moment by moment, by moment, and breath by breath. And each time you notice that your mind is drifted off. into distraction or some thought world or story world, no problem. Just meeting whatever you find with that same kind, curious, and open attitude. Recognizing that awareness is fast enough to include all aspects of experience, even think. And just choosing to come back to the breath and to start again. Each in breath is a new beginning. Each out breath is a chance to let go. And so over and over again, we're turning to the breath and starting fresh. Starting fresh with just this in breath and just this out breath. And. If you notice that your mind is drifted off as mine has no problem, just choosing to come back to the breath and to start again. And again, just checking. noticing where your attention is in this moment, and recognizing that if it has wandered away, it's not a problem. It's simply an opportunity to choose to come back to the breath and to begin again. Each time we do this, we train our attention and our ability to recognize when we've been carried off course, whether it be away from the breath or in our lives more broadly, away from some path that supports. Perhaps the practice of meditation in general, as I've been finding. But the beautiful thing is that whenever we notice, we're already back and we can simply choose to start again. Doesn't matter how long we've been off. We always have the ability to start. And in the remaining moments of our practice today, I invite you to bring to mine some aspect of your life. That you're extremely grateful for. It may be a person or a circumstance or something that happened recently. Just notice what comes to mind and rest in awareness of the feeling of gratitude in your body, imagining it infusing every cell of your body. And let us finish this practice with three deep breaths together, breathing in and out. Again, and once more. And when you're ready, opening your eyes and taking one, one final mindful breath with your eyes open. As a reminder that this ability to start again is available anywhere, anytime, and it just takes one breath. thank you for practicing with me. Thanks for joining me for today's guided meditation. If you enjoyed today's episode, I invite you to hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this. This just lets the platforms know you're getting value from the episodes and you want to be here when I release additional content. If you're ready to start your Mindful Fire journey, go to mindful fire.org/start and download my free envisioning guide in just 10 minutes. This guide will help you craft a clear and inspiring vision for your life. Again, you can download it for free@mindfulfire.org slash start. Thanks again, and I'll catch you next time on the. Fire podcast.