[audio:MM-The-Body-As-A-Whole.mp3]

Be open & receptive to your present moment as acceptance not resistance is your path…

In this meditation, we are still going to use our breath as an anchor, but we are going to expand our field of awareness and attention to include the whole body and sensations in the body.

Here and now… you can either sit or lie down for this meditation, just resting in your awareness of your breath allowing it to flow in and out until it includes a sense of your body as a whole. Simply hold this larger focus of attention- “whole body” in awareness- feeling the full universe of bodily sensations as delivered in the rhythm of your breath- as the whole body is touched by the air you breathe each moment- and as you cradle the body’s sensations. Drawing the air in & letting it out… seeing if you can be in touch with your body’s sensations as they come and go like waves in the ocean. Whatever sensations are here- whether it’s a sense of heaviness, lightness, tingling, throbbing, etc.… or whatever is going on in the body. Remembering what we are cultivating here is an awareness that can simply hold the whole of it… in this case the body as a whole… sitting or lying down and breathing moment by moment by moment.

As with our focus on the breath, if the mind wanders off elsewhere- and we forget about the body- simply acknowledge it- and just noticing- where’s the body in this moment?- where’s the breath?- where’s the mind?- and gently escorting your attention back to the body through the rhythm of your breath. Simply holding the whole of the body in your awareness- the entirety of the body just sitting or lying- complete as it is- in its wholeness, however it is- whether the sensations in various parts of the body are pleasant or unpleasant, comfortable or uncomfortable, or so neutral you hardly notice. Seeing if you can hold it all in awareness… moment by moment.

We are not trying to make anything go away- to relax- to get anywhere- or to eliminate any thoughts. We are simply resting in this awareness, with things exactly as they are… and featuring the body as a whole… breathing moment by moment.

Fully awake, allowing your attention to be affectionate, kindly, compassionate and accepting towards one’s self as best you can without forcing, pushing or striving… just being here in the body- feeling the body as a whole as you are breathing moment by moment.

As best you can, noticing that each in breath is a new beginning, and each out breath a complete letting go… so that we may stay fresh and fully awake to the present moment…. to things exactly as they already are… and to clarity, acceptance, and awareness.

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