At any given moment, we experience sensations, thoughts and emotions, some of which are pleasant and some of which are not. This diversity of experience is part of the fullness of being human. Allowing the moment to be as it is may ease the pain of resistance, suppression or avoidance, and can open the way to a sense of contentment.
In this guided meditation with Sean Fargo, we’re invited to explore what it is like to welcome each moment as it arises, with a kind and open curiosity. We practice relating to everything in our awareness as if it was fresh and new, without our prejudice, judgment and expectation.
Please listen in a safe, quiet place where you can be relatively free from distraction. Find a posture that balances comfort with alertness, whether standing, seated, or lying down. May this meditation be of benefit to you in your practice.
Sponsored by our Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification: MindfulnessExercises.com/Certification
In mindfulness practice, we pay attention with a kind and welcoming attitude. In this guided meditation, we begin by placing our awareness on sensation in the body. We practice being present with all of it, regardless of whether it is pleasant or not. We then do the same for sensation in and around the heart, and for our emotions.
By welcoming this moment as it is, fresh and free from our past history, stories or judgments, we practice acceptance. Acceptance in this sense is an active way of meeting life. By accepting this present moment, just as it is, we stay in contact with what is actually happening.
We lose much time and energy fighting our present circumstances. We grasp to the sensations and feelings we don’t want to end, and we fight or resist what we wish wasn’t happening. Though we may think these tendencies serve us, grasping and resisting is a losing battle that often ends in more pain.
We may not like this moment. Welcoming it as it is may build stability, resilience and open-heartedness, and it can open us to the possibility of contentment. As we practice this welcoming, we may notice that how we relate to what is happening affects our pain or pleasure. Welcoming this moment can feel like welcoming ourselves home.
Practice mindfulness of this moment, just as it is, with these additional free mindfulness resources:
- Meditation Script: Fresh and New
- Meditation Script: Power of Acceptance
- Mindfulness Worksheet: Power of Acceptance
- Mindfulness Worksheet: Acceptance of our Circumstance
- Mindfulness Worksheet: Everything Fresh and New
- Blog: Radical Acceptance: What It Is and What It Isn’t
About Sean Fargo:
Sean Fargo is a former Buddhist monk who founded Mindfulness Exercises and leads the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification.
