The Root of Judgment, Character, and Will

Let's start by finding a comfortable posture. This could be sitting, lying down or standing. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll take one deep breath together. In through the nose.

And out through the mouth. Inviting the jaw to relax. Let the shoulders drop an inch or two. And invite the belly and hands to be more at ease. Inviting the body to be at ease helps the mind start to be at ease.

So notice anytime that you're accumulating tension or tensing the body subconsciously. You can let your breath settle into its natural rhythm. And in this meditation, we're going to practice the faculty of redirecting our attention over and over again. As William James says, "This is the root of character, judgment and will." So we'll keep it very simple in this meditation. Give yourself one thing to focus on.

It could be the breath. It could be a sensation in the body. It could be a sound. It could be a mantra. And practice coming back to that over and over.

To make it simple, I will guide this meditation as if you were focusing on your breath, but you can replace that with whatever you want to attend to. So you can begin the practice now. Whatever your object of awareness is, just let the attention settle there, organically collect to this one point. Keeping the body relaxed and at ease so that it's not a forceful focus. And try to catch the wandering mind as quickly as possible.

It wanders off and then we gently bring it back. And for the next 30 seconds, see if you can maintain full continuity of awareness. We'll take one more deep breath together. In through the nose. And slowly out through the mouth.

And when you're ready, you can allow your eyes to open again. Great job. As you go about your day today, notice the wandering mind and practice redirecting the attention back to whatever you're doing moment by moment. Thank you for your practice. And until we talk again, take care.