So now just really settling

into your meditation posture.

And when you're ready, allowing

your eyes to gently close.

And as a way of settling in and

arriving here a little more fully,

just inviting you now to take

three deep, slow, full breaths.

So breathing in, feeling the body

expand a little on the inhale.

And breathing out, and feeling all

the muscles of the lungs and chest

gently contracting and relaxing.

And taking two more

breaths in the same way.

And with each exhale, can you get a

sense of really allowing your body to

settle into gravity and your mind to

settle into this moment a little more?

Just letting everything else go now.

And at the end of this next

exhale, letting go of any

control of the breathing.

Just letting the breath settle into

its own natural rhythm and pace.

But continuing to be attentive to the

feeling of the breath moving in your body.

And as we settle into this meditation

a little more, just noticing whether

there's any unpleasant aspect of your

present moment experience that you

might be pushing away, trying to block

out, or kind of hardening against.

And there might be sensations

in the body, for instance, that

might be painful or irritating.

There might be unwanted

sounds or emotions.

And what's here for you.

So when we resist the unpleasant,

it's a little bit like going to

battle with our present moment.

Can you begin to soften or drop

the struggle against what is,

and instead include it all in a

warm, open and kindly awareness?

Just letting it be.

So as you continue to follow the

breath, just having that sense of

befriending, what is, and meeting this

moment with the fullness of who you are.

Really waging peace with the

present moment experience.

And if no, particularly unpleasant thing

calls for your attention, really just

settling into following the breath.

And now can you get a sense of

broadening out your awareness to

take in the totality of your present

moment and seeing if you can meet

it all with warmth, with kindliness

so the pleasant and the unpleasant?

Just resting back in your experience

and allowing the unpleasant parts

of your experience to arise and

pass away without resistance.

Allowing the pleasant aspects of

experience to arise and pass away

without clinging or chasing more.

Just having a sense of putting

the welcome mat out for whatever

arises moment by moment.

And now as we bring this meditation

to a close, just take a moment to

notice how you feel after taking

this time to cultivate kindness

and warmth towards your experience.

When you're ready, just beginning to

move the fingers and toes a little.

And gently blinking open the eyes.

And so perhaps now just making

an intention to take this

attitude of befriending what

is into the rest of your day.