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Speaker 1: Welcome to this bonus longer meditation. Find a position of comfort,

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as I explain our purpose to day, Sitting is great

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for this meditation, but you can also lie down if

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that's what you need. This practice is designed to help

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you declutter the mind, not by forcing thoughts away, but

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by changing your relationship with them, So instead of getting

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pulled into every thought, you'll practice noticing, labeling, and returning.

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This is a simple skill that becomes powerful with repetition,

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so you may want to come back to it a

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few times until the methods shared feel natural for you.

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Let's begin for the next several moments. You don't need

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to solve anything. You don't need to figure anything out.

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You're simply here to practice presence. Let your hands rest easily,

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let your shoulders soften, and if it feels okay, close

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your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a slow breath

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in and a slow breath out again. Inhale through your nose,

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and exhale through your mouth. One more time. Take a

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breath in through your nose and let it out through

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your mouth. Now, allow your breathing to return to its

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natural rhythm. Bring your attention to your breath. You don't

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have to change it. Just notice it. Notice where it's

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easiest to feel, maybe at the nostrils, the chest, or

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the belly. Choose one place as your anchor, and for

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the next few moments, simply follow your breath in and out.

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If your mind wanders, that's normal, that's expected. A wandering

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mind isn't a sign of failure. It's part of the practice.

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Every time you notice you've drifted, you are strengthening awareness.

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So just continue breathing in, breathing out. Now I'll add

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a gentle technique called labeling. This helps your mind feel

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less sticky, less tangled, less convincing. When you notice a thought,

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you'll silently name it with a simple label, for example, thinking, planning, remembering, judging, worrying.

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Then you'll return to your breath. That's it, not analyzing

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the thought, not arguing with it, not pushing it away,

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just naming it and coming back. So now settle your

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attention on your breath again, in and out, and when

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the next thought appears, label it gently, then return. Now

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we begin, take a deep breath in, let it out,

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and if a thought pulls you away, silently label it thinking.

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Return to your breath. If you notice your mind making

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a to do list, label it planning, return to the breath.

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If a memory arises, label it remembering and return. If

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you notice self criticism, label it judging and return. If

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you notice anxious thoughts about the future, label it worrying

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and return. And if you get swept away for a

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while and only realize it a little later, that's okay,

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no frustration needed. Just label what happened wandering and return.

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Breathing in, breathing out. Now let's simplify even more for

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the next few minutes. You can use just one label thinking.

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No matter what the thought is, planning, remembering, judging, worrying,

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all of it can simply become thinking. So we practice breathing, thinking, breathing, thinking, breathing.

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If thoughts come rapidly, label thinking. If there's space, just

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breathe and keep returning, over and over steady. Next, allow

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the labeling to fade and rest your attention on the

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breath one more time, in and out. Notice what it

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feels like to be here without chasing every thought. The

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mind may still produce thoughts, that's what our minds do,

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but you are learning you don't have to follow them.

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You can let thoughts exist without being pulled into them. Now,

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take a deep breath in and a slow breath out,

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and silently repeat. I can return to the present. I

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can choose what I give my attention to. Clarity is

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available to me. Now, let's bring a gentle sense of

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awareness back to our bodies. Begin to notice the room

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around you, the support beneath you. Wiggle your fingers and toes,

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and when you're ready, open your eyes if they were closed.

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Take this moment of calm clarity with you, one breath

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at a time. Thank you for listening, and I'll see

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you in the next meditation. Now, mistake