Body Awareness, Metta Bhavana, Mindfulness of Breathing, Just Sitting, and Walking Meditation
Arriving in the Body: A Gentle Entry into Awareness
Take a moment to settle—not just physically, but inwardly. There’s no rush. No need to do anything just yet. Simply notice that you’re here. Sitting. Breathing. Existing.
Now, gently… bring your attention to the body as a whole. No need to seek anything in particular, just an open awareness of this living presence—the weight, the contact, the quiet hum of being here.
And if you like, you might notice the space around you. The air touching your skin. The sense of openness extending beyond the body. Perhaps there’s already a feeling of being held within that space, effortlessly.
Now, let awareness begin to settle into the body—like a stream flowing gently downhill, moving not by force, but by its own natural ease.
Bringing a soft awareness to the feet. Not forcing attention, but simply offering it—like holding out a hand in quiet friendship. Maybe there’s a sense of warmth. Maybe a gentle tingling. Maybe not much at all. Whatever is here, is welcome.
Let awareness move up through the legs, like a tide slowly rising—sensing the calves, the knees, the thighs… Allowing the body to be just as it is. Not needing to change, just gently receiving.
And now the spine—the central column of your being. Can you feel it supporting you, lifting upward, even as the rest of the body softens?
Perhaps there’s a sense of openness across the chest, the gentle rhythm of the breath, moving in… and out… A quiet ebb and flow, carrying awareness deeper into the present moment.
The arms, hands, and fingers—can you notice the space between them? Not just the hands themselves, but the presence of aliveness even in the space around them?
And then, gently, awareness comes to rest at the crown of the head. From here, sensing the whole body below—as though standing on a hillside, looking down into a vast, quiet valley. The body breathing. The mind resting. A quiet meeting of presence and ease.
Nothing to force. Nothing to fix. Just being here, with this body, with this moment.
And perhaps there’s already a feeling of deepening stillness—as though awareness has settled into its natural home.
Metta Bhavana: Opening the Field of Goodwill
Begin by resting in awareness—settled in the body, breathing naturally. There is nothing to force, nothing to fabricate. Metta—loving-kindness—is already present within the mind. The practice is not about creating it, but about uncovering it.
First, bring to mind someone you naturally feel warmth towards. A friend, a mentor, even an animal companion. Notice the feeling that arises when you wish them well—not as an effort, but as an effortless movement of the heart. That feeling is Metta.
Now, turn that same warmth toward yourself. Not as an act of self-improvement, not as something to achieve—just as an experiment. Can you rest in the same care you offer to another?
Let it expand outward, gently. A ripple spreading across the surface of a still lake. To a neutral person—someone you barely know, but who shares this world with you. Not forcing, just sensing: Can this warmth move outward?
Now, someone difficult. Not pushing, not grasping—just opening the possibility that they, too, exist in this same shared space. That they, too, wish for happiness, for peace.
And now, widening further. A great field of warmth, not generated, not constrained, simply present—holding all beings, without exception.
Metta is not something you do. It is something you rest into. It is the natural radiance of an unburdened heart. It does not cling. It does not grasp. It simply flows.
So here we rest. In warmth. In openness. In the simple wish: may all beings be well.
Mindfulness of Breathing: Attuning to the Rhythm of Awareness
Settle into a posture that allows the body to be both relaxed and awake. Let awareness rest for a moment in the sense of simply being here—no urgency, nothing to correct.
Notice the breath as it is. Not controlling, not shaping—just watching. A rising and falling. A movement that has been here all along, carrying life from moment to moment.
Let the breath come to the foreground of awareness, as though you are stepping onto the edge of a great river. The breath moves, and the mind rests beside it, watching the currents pass. Noticing how each inhale arrives effortlessly, how each exhale releases into space.
Rather than counting the breath, simply attune to its beginning and ending, the subtle way each inhalation arises and each exhalation dissolves. The continuity of the breath is like a thread running through awareness—sometimes vivid, sometimes subtle, always present.
If the mind wanders, that’s simply another current in the river—no need to resist, no need to follow. Just gently returning to the breath, to this quiet rhythm of presence.
Pīti and Sukha: The Brightening of Awareness
As the mind steadies, certain qualities naturally emerge—Pīti (rapture) and Sukha (contentment).
- Pīti is energetic, uplifting, a sense of lightness and dynamic joy. It can feel like waves of tingling, a rush of pleasure, or even an effortless brightness of mind.
- Sukha is settled, steady, and deeply content. It has the quality of warmth, ease, and undisturbed well-being.
Some meditators naturally incline toward Sukha, while others experience Pīti more vividly. If Pīti seems elusive, it may help to bring more brightness into the practice—such as visualizing light, engaging with joy, or working with a sense of playful curiosity rather than effortful control.
Rather than trying to force Pīti or Sukha, one simply allows them to emerge as qualities of a deepening mind. These states help the mind incline toward absorption, where awareness becomes naturally unified.
The Mind Changes: The Dynamic Effects of Meditation
Meditation is not a static process. It changes the mind—sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. Over time, awareness deepens, insights emerge, and new perspectives unfold. This might appear as:
- Peak dynamic experiences—moments of profound clarity, deep stillness, or expansive joy.
- Insights—seeing habitual patterns more clearly, understanding the impermanent and fluid nature of mind.
- A shift toward ethical awareness—as the mind settles, a natural movement toward greater kindness, patience, and ethical clarity emerges.
Even for beginners, there are often flickerings of direct experience—moments where awareness shifts, and suddenly meaning feels different, as if something once seen through a veil is now touched directly. These glimpses, like hearing a line of profound poetry that opens a new world of understanding, are part of the natural unfolding of practice.
For some, these changes come gradually; for others, they arrive suddenly. For a mind unfamiliar with change, transformation can feel unsettling. But meditation is not about forcing change—it is about allowing the mind’s natural intelligence to unfold at its own pace.
The practice is simple: keep sitting, keep walking, keep resting in awareness. Change will happen—gently, inevitably, and in its own time.