Awake and Aware
Sitting on a bench, I became aware of my three points of contact; my feet on the ground, where my body made contact with the cushion on the bench and my hands resting on my thighs. Feeling these three points of contact, I went inward and became awake and aware of my breath. Sensing these sensations of my in breath and out breath, I noticed the simple pause that naturally occurs after each inhale and exhale. Sensing outwardly, I became awake and aware of the sounds I heard in my surroundings. I found an inner calm hearing the sounds of leaves swaying in the gentle wind and the various songs birds were singing.
As this meditation went on, Lisa asks whether I prefer to be awake and aware of my breath or sounds as an anchor to the present moment. On a daily basis, I go back and forth from listening to sounds to feeling sensations in my body to anchor myself to the present moment. This time, I chose to go back to listening to sounds because I love the sense of hearing. After a short time of listening to sounds, I turned my focus inward and regained my awareness back to my breath.
Using both anchors, our breath and our sense of sound, are great ways to get us into the present moment. Being awake and aware in the present moment, we can truly live our lives to the fullest. Namaste ๐๐ปโค๏ธโฎ๏ธ