POSTURE

Take a comfortable, disciplined, lotus-like straight posture.

Do not give into changing that posture, adjusting, relieving discomfort . . .

If you begin to feel pain, observe pain’s location, intensity, quality, meanderings . . .

Trust that this is important for any future exercise of the spirit.

BODY SENSATIONS

Become aware of any sensation in your body. They are already there without you being aware of them.

Try to detect any sensation in your body, no matter how hard it is to detect.

Do not think about those sensations but actually feel them.

Stay with any sensations for few seconds and move on to detect sensations in other parts of your body.

Do not indulge in relaxations that this exercise might provide you with.

Keep on becoming aware of sensations in your body.

BREATHING

Notice that this is not an exercise in breathing, but exercise in breathing AWERENESS.

Become aware of every breath-in / breath-out, be resolute not to miss one of them.

Stay with the area of nostrils alone, do not go into lungs, belly,

do not try to control your diaphragm movements.

If your mind carries you away return as soon as possible to your focus: breath-in / breath-out.

Notice the different quality of the air entering and coming out.

Not one breath is the same. Feel the difference in your nostrils.

Breathing is your best friend. It is always present, with you, in you and, as unbelievable as might seem, through this humble exercise, it may bring you peace.

SOUNDS

The goal of this exercise is to reach the zone of silence.

Silence is not directly reachable. Silence is the background to all sounds.

Do not seek quiet places, pleasing sounds, do not try to silence the sounds to create an artificial silence.

Rather listen to all sounds, outside, inside, near, distant, louder, softer.

By listening to them, accepting them, you advance on the way to silence.

Admire the great diversity of sounds: their intensity, pitch, reverberations . . .

Attempt to hear them individually, hear them also together as if an orchestra playing.

The result of your exercise may be a feeling of gratitude, admiration, pleasure, praise.