A Free Meditation — The Inclusion Meditation

The free meditation that follows — the Inclusion Meditation — can expand your awareness so that you take ownership of the environment, in the same way you do your body. Its purpose is to undermine the absolute belief in the boundary of your physical body.

Formal Practice

Click play to have Ellen take you through the formal part of this meditation. To download the mp3 file, right click on the link up on the right that says Formal Inclusion Meditation mp3, and choose "Save Target as..."

Spiritual life involves meditation in one form or another, thus most of the spiritual practices in my book, At Your Heart's Pace, are meditations. As a beginner, you usually start by practicing formally, meaning daily, for a specific time, and in a quiet, private space. Once you have gained some skill, you move from this traditional way of meditating, by weaving your practice into daily life. Doing so, you learn to live your practice, at the pace that suits you — at your heart's pace.

The Meditation:

• Set aside at least 20 minutes. Unplug/turn off the phone.
• Sit in a comfortable position; use a chair or traditional full or half lotus position, or fold your legs under you. Lie down only if you are certain that you will not fall asleep.
• The exercise is to be practiced at a slow, leisurely pace. Without force, take a three full breaths. Next, exhale all the air from your lungs and take a final full deep breath.
• Now breathe normally.
• Notice your body. Briefly scan and become aware of it, part by part, as follows. Begin at your feet. Place a few seconds of your attention there and just notice. Next work your way up the body. Scan your ankles, lower legs, knees, upper legs, lower trunk, upper trunk, hands, wrists, lower arms, elbows, upper arms, shoulders, neck (front and back), face: at the jaw and mouth area, at the cheek and eyes area. Scan your forehead, the top of your head, and the back of your head. Finally, bring your attention from the neck down your whole spine to its base. The scan may take approximately one minute.
• Breathe slowly, easily. Just become aware of your body as you gently breathe in and out. As you do, try to keep your awareness on the whole of your body.
• Just breathe. This requires no strain. Do not attend to any questions, such as "Am I doing it right?" Merely take a noticing focus.
• Next, become aware of where your body ends. Place your attention on the whole of your skin; that which outlines your body. Scan through the body and notice where your skin stops and the air starts.
• Again just notice and breath.
• Try not to strain.
• Let any worries be released and watch them rise like helium balloons, floating away in the air.
• No hurry, no pressure, just becoming aware the boundary between your skin and the air.
• What would happen if you expanded beyond this awareness — this sense of being your body?
• Try it.
• Again, there is no right or wrong way to do this; no stressing about whether you are doing well. Instead, attempt to radiate your awareness beyond your skin.
• Let us come back to your usual body awareness. Notice your whole being. Breathe and be aware of how calm and safe you are.
• Then move beyond the body boundary again; radiate the sense of you — the sense of your self — outward.
• Include. Be willing to include the air as you, and include whatever object you notice is around you. Include the floor, or the walls, or any furniture within the room. Take ownership of the area, the way you do the body. Make you bigger — expand the size of you.
• Instead of you as body/mind/spirit, now it is you as body/mind/spirit/air. Perhaps you become aware of being body/mind/spirit/air/floor/lamp.
• You are including all you perceive as you. Being radiant incorporates, includes.
• Notice any contraction in thoughts, in emotions and release them. Contraction, by its definition, excludes.
• This may be the perfect time to use EFT© or releasing or surrendering techniques to let any contraction go.
• Get comfortable being more than the body. Be comfortable and at ease when including, owning, being, more than you normally do.
• Feel the particular feeling of being you, expanded. This awareness you are experiencing is you moving into the state of unconditional.
• Be aware of your breathing and any tension such concentration might bring about and again, just release it — become more and more skilled at inclusion.
• Feel the safety of this state. Try very hard to feel the safety every time you practice. Be aware of how you experience such expansiveness.
• Come back now; return to a normal awareness.

Do this meditation at first, while guided by the recording. Otherwise, practice it only after you have thoroughly read it or have memorized its directions. Practice this meditation until you become confident in your ability and very comfortable with the awareness of inclusiveness.

Moving your meditation into a Constant Practice

Click Constant Inclusion Meditation to listen to Ellen teach the meditation.

Next, drop the formal practice and begin to integrate this awareness into your whole life.

Carry out the second phase of this exercise when involved in simple, everyday activities. Over days or weeks, gradually increase their number to eventually include all your activities. Do so at your own pace, until it becomes a constant practice. Thus you move from applying it to integrating it.You have become the practice.

Constant Practice:

Click play to have Ellen take you through the formal part of this meditation. To download the mp3 file, right click on the link up on the right that says Constant Inclusion Meditation mp3, and choose "Save Target as..."

• Choose one common daily event, such as brushing your teeth or sipping coffee; riding on the subway or being a passenger in a car. Maybe you will use a part of your daily exercise program.
• First take a few full deep breaths, then become aware of and notice your body, next scan it, part by part. Do not rush or push yourself. Be certain that you have scanned your body thoroughly, as described in the previous exercise.
• Then, while carrying out your chosen activity, radiate out into the air — expand, include, and become all that you are aware of, all you can see in the environment.
• This may be as the extent of your practice, a few seconds of extension beyond your body.
• Typically, learning and beginning the Constant Practice phase means you can hold this awareness for just a few seconds. That is perfect. Do not stress or push yourself.
• Try to be playful about applying this active meditation. Be light hearted and apply it frequently using common daily tasks.
• Keep varying the situations you use as practice and do extend your time of practice.
• Write about your experiences in your journal. This will help you to track your expanding awareness and insights.

The advantages of this meditation unfold in your awareness. Try to notice the benefits of taking ownership of your local environment. Doing so would mean there is no separation from you and "out there" — no separate "me" and no separate "you." Everyone and thing is included as part of you.

Ellen takes you through the free meditation with these two audio files. One is the formal version, and one is the constant. Right click on the link and choose "Save Target as..." to save the file to your computer:
Formal Inclusion Meditation mp3
Constant Inclusion Meditation mp3

Related Videos: The following videos on Ellen's video blog at www.beingspiritual.com are related to meditation:

Questions, ideas or suggestions? Feel free to email me at ellen@ellensutherland.com. I look forward to hearing from you.