| Length | 9:57 |
|---|---|
| Subject | Busy Minds & Overthinking |
| Best time | Any time. First thing, or in the middle of a day that has got loud |
| Position | Sitting or lying down |
| Style | Very few words and long quiet gaps, more than half of it silent. Music underneath |
Tired of being told how to breathe? This one barely says a word. Nothing to get right, nothing to get wrong.
About 10 minutes with Steven Webb's calm voice and music underneath. Mostly quiet.
No one tells you where to put your hands. We just sit together and do very little. Your mind will wander off, to the shopping or what's for tea, and that is fine. That is what minds do. We notice we've been away and come back to this moment. That isn't failing at meditation. That is the practice. Near the end, a minute of just listening, doing nothing with what you hear. Meditation doesn't have to be complicated. It can be done just by becoming aware.
Treat me to a coffee, keep the podcast free, and get my Weekly Calm every Sunday. It is all on stevenwebb.uk
Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
Who this is for
You have tried the apps and every one of them tells you how to breathe. In through the nose, out for four, hands here, spine there. By the time you have followed all the instructions you are more wound up than when you sat down. Or you have meditated for years and you just want someone to sit with, not someone to talk you through it.
This one barely says a word. No one tells you how to breathe. No one tells you where to put your hands. We sit together, do very little, and let it be easy.
What happens in this meditation
It opens with two lines. Allow your body to breathe. Allow your body to relax. Your body already knows how to do both, so we just let it.
Then mostly quiet. I say I will keep an eye on the clock, and I do, so you don't have to. Every so often a line comes in. The mind will wander off, to the shopping or what's for tea, and that is fine, that is what minds do. We notice we have been away and come back. That isn't failing at meditation. That is the practice.
The last minute is just listening. Doing nothing with what you hear. Then a gentle count back and one line to keep: meditation doesn't have to be complicated.
How to get the most from it
Just under ten minutes. Sitting or lying down, both fine. The quiet gaps run to a minute or more and the longest is about a minute and a half, so if you are used to being talked through every breath, the first gap can feel long. Stay with it. The gap is the meditation.
Headphones help, because the music sits low and so does the voice. Good first thing in the morning, or in the middle of a day that has got loud. It repeats well. There is nothing to learn, so the tenth time is as good as the first.
Questions people ask
Is this a beginner's meditation?
Yes, and not only. If you have never meditated, this is as simple as it gets. Sit, notice you have wandered, come back. If you have done it for years, it is company for a sit you would otherwise do alone.
What do I do in the silent bits?
Nothing on purpose. Let the body breathe. When you notice you are off in a story, come back to this moment. That noticing is the whole thing, and you will do it a dozen times. Each one counts.
Why is there so little instruction?
Because the instructions were never the point. Awareness is. Meditation is only ever this, coming back to the now, and you can do that without being told where to put your feet.
