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Giving Myself My Own Attention
The intimacy of witnessing our experience
Practices of mindfulness develop the capacity to witness or observe our experience. We can do this anywhere. When we are walking. Dancing. Breathing in sunshine. Checking Facebook. Washing our face.
We begin every meditation practice by becoming aware of our body, our breath, and our thoughts. Who is it that becomes aware of this? What part of us is able to observe our body, our breath, and mind? It becomes clear there is more to our mind than thoughts coming and going. We are able to observe thoughts and to observe the silence between thoughts. We are more than just our thoughts.
Bring your attention inside your own body to an energy or a sense perception. It could be a contraction in your gut, a tightness in the back of your neck, clenching in your jaw, or a feeling of warmth and softness in your heart center. A cool breeze on the skin of your face. The rumbling of hunger in your belly. The movement of your stomach as you breathe.
Bring to mind an image of yourself. Are you looking at a picture? What is in the picture? Are you looking out of your own eyes or from the perspective of someone who is looking at you? What can you tell about you from that picture? From the look on your face or your body language?
