12-minute meditation to get closer to the world with “Na Jaane Man”

We can find strength and resilience in familiarity – and use those feelings to explore the unfamiliar.

At the beginning of each meditation practice I teach, I give a little instruction on asana, so you can experience the practice as helpful as possible for your body.

Meditation to Approach the World with an “Unconscious Mind”

1. I want to invite you to come to a place that is really comfortable and supportive of your practice. For some of you, this may mean sitting on a chair, on a couch, or even on some cushions on the floor. This may mean standing, if that is more supportive of your back and your posture. And for some of you, that may mean lying on the ground. Please take some time to come to the place where your body feels most compassionate.
2. Some of you may want to close your eyes completely for this meditation practice. And others may want to use what I like to call a “soft gaze,” which is looking down toward the ground about two inches in front of the knees or feet.
3. Once you are comfortable, I would like to invite you to take three deep breaths with me. As you’re taking those three deep breaths, you may notice your body naturally begin to relax. Whatever place comes in contact with the earth, you may begin to feel a little more deeply connected to it. For some of you this may be your legs, and for others it may be your back. Pay attention to whatever spot comes in contact with the earth in this moment.
4. Begin to draw your attention and awareness to the connection between your body and the Earth. At this point you may find it beneficial to take a deep breath in and out again. When you finish, return your breathing to its natural rhythm and rhythm.
5. You can see the sound quality of the room you are in. There may be some ambient sounds that are coming from inside wherever you are, whatever building you are in. Or maybe there are sounds that are coming from outside. Please feel free to make these a part of your practice.
6. Begin to draw your awareness to the soles of your feet, wherever they are landing on the earth. What did you think? Does the right foot or left foot feel slightly heavier than the other? As you notice the difference between the right and left foot, you may also become aware of other subtle adjustments inside your body.
7. You can see that the mind keeps generating thoughts, and that’s okay. The purpose of meditation practice is not to stop thinking the thoughts you are thinking, but simply to become aware of those thoughts as they flow through the body and mind. As you draw your awareness to your thoughts, you can also bring your awareness to the rhythm of your breath as it flows in and out of your body.
8. I would like to invite you to bring your attention to the abdominal muscles And notice if they are pulled a little tightly toward the spine. Is it possible to create a feeling of comfort and even insecurity in the abdominal muscles by softening them? Don’t worry, no one is watching. How does it feel when you invite a feeling of softness and relaxation into your abdomen? How does the rest of the body react?
9. When your attention is here, you can begin to imagine a person, place, animal, or object with which you are deeply familiar. Perhaps this animal, person, place, or thing reminds you of what home feels like. Can you bring them into the room with you now?
10. Notice whether the invitation affects your breathing, as it rises and falls in your chest. You may also feel a little more secure in the area of ​​this practice because you invoke images that remind you of being at home, being held.
11. What is familiar, deeply familiar, about this person, animal, place or thing that makes you feel as if you really know them? What is the feeling of knowing? What is the feeling of belonging and how does it enter the body? The purpose of the invitation is to bring your attention back to the breath any time you find yourself caught up in the story.
12. Now, bring to mind an image of something that reminds you of what it means to be strong and resilient. Maybe there is someone you really admire, or a place you visited that made you feel really strong and resilient when you were there. Can you awaken in your mind the embodied sensations of being strong and resilient? As you remember what it felt like, does your body shift and change slightly?
13. Now we are going to do a little experiment. Hope this is fun. There is a term called “not knowing the mind” that is sometimes used in meditation to create a sense of curiosity.
14. What’s it like to be exposed to the world with an “unknown mind”? You’ll find that this is a bit of a contrast to the feeling of familiarity we began exploring at the beginning of this exercise. A sense of belonging is that feeling of, “Oh yes, I Know. I know this person. I know this place. I know this animal or this thing. They are deeply familiar with me.” Perhaps the way we look at things that seem familiar to us can begin to shift and change a little when we apply the pure curiosity of “not knowing the mind.” How does it enter the body? This exploration of not knowing, of not being absolutely certain?
15. At this point in your practice, you may notice if there are places in the body that begin to shrink when you detect the feeling of “not knowing the mind,” and that is okay. This is the intelligence of the body. Can we connect this discovery of “not knowing the mind” with those same sensations of strength and resilience, so that we know that no matter what happens, when we face moments of uncertainty and not knowing that inside our bodies we have all the strength and resilience to face that moment? What does it feel like to have strength and flexibility without even knowing it? Can we really be curious about what this practice produces in our awareness? Now let’s spend a few moments together in silence and find out what it feels like.
16. When you are ready, please bring your entire body before your mind’s eye. And notice the difference between the way the body feels now and the way it felt when you first entered this space of practice. Take time to notice how the feet feel slightly different in the way they connect to the earth.
17. Let’s all take another deep breath here.
    
18. When you are ready, at your own pace and rhythm, please slowly and gently begin to open your eyes, Without looking at anything in particular. Let colors and textures come back into your mind’s awareness.
19. From here we can begin the process of re-orienting to the room we are in. Begin to gently twist and turn the head and neck, and notice the colors and textures of the space you are in. Notice if there is anything new, different, or vibrant about the place. What has changed since you started this practice?