Table 1.

Sample guided meditation practice with instructions for sitting and active style

Hi, welcome back. Thanks for joining me for some more practice. Today we’re going to train the skill of attention. Now, the importance of attention is hard to overstate. It is relevant to pretty much everything we do in life - from staying focused when we’re getting some work done, to being a good listener. In this practice, we will train ourselves to avoid the endless pull of distraction so we can stay in the driver’s seat of our own mind. Let’s give it a try.
Sitting Go ahead and get comfortable. Your posture should be upright, but also loose and relaxed. Close your eyes if you like, and take a few calming breaths. And as you breathe, pay attention to the feeling of the breath moving in and out of your body.	Active For these active meditations, it’s important to be doing something simple, like tidying up or some light exercise. You can carry on with your activity as you normally would, and take a few calming breaths. As you do this, pay attention to the feeling of your breath as it moves in and out of your body.
Next, take a few moments to find an inspiring motivation for doing this practice, something that brings out the best in you. [10]
Great. Now, to work on the skill of paying attention, the key here is setting a clear in-tention. Start by consciously choosing to place your attention on whatever sensations you notice in your body.
Sitting How do you feel right now? Slowly move your attention through your body and see what you notice. And keep in mind that whatever you feel is fine, it is the noticing that matters.	Active How does what you’re doing right now feel in your body? Do you feel movement? Perhaps the sensation of pressure? Whatever you feel is fine. Here, it’s the noticing that matters.
Now shift your attention from your body sensations to the experience of hearing. What sounds can you hear right now?
As you do this, see if you can notice when your attention wanders away and when it does, explore what it’s like to consciously choose to bring your attention back to the sounds that you are hearing.
Sitting Now gently open your eyes. Notice what you see. Pick something in your field of vision and rest your attention on it. And again, don’t focus too intensely here. Let your mind be relaxed, yet still alert and attentive.	Active Now you can direct your attention to what you see. Pick something in your field of vision and rest your attention on this object, or shift from one thing to another if you’re moving. And again, don’t focus too intensely here. Let your mind be relaxed, yet still alert and attentive.
Sitting For these last few moments, let go and simply be. Drop the effort completely, and rest in the flow of experience, as though you’re in a gentle river and you’re resting in the current.	Active For the last few moments, let go and simply be. Don’t worry about focusing on anything in particular. Just let whatever you’re doing carry you, as though you’re in a gentle river and you’re resting in the current.
In this practice, we used the senses to train attention. Before you move on, set a clear intention to bring this into your next activity. So take care…and good luck with your practice.