Welcome to first this, a short mindfulness practice and message for any time.

I'm Catherine Nikolai. Let's sit together.

You know, this part of the practice, where you settle your physical body in and get comfortable, whether you're sitting or lying, it might seem like it's preamble, like it isn't part of the meditation, but it actually is.

Mindfulness is all about noticing. So notice if your body is in a good position for comfort and some degree of stillness for the next 10 minutes or so.

And if it isn't, listen to those messages and make any adjustments you need to.

Now take a deep breath in through your nostrils and out through your mouth.

Again, breathe in and sigh.

Good.

And just let your breath become natural when your eyes close.

We'll use the next minute or so just to become a little more sensitive to what's happening inside. Sometimes what's happening around us is so busy and noisy.

We lose touch with especially the subtler sensations inside our own bodies.

So notice what you feel as you breathe.

The touch of your clothes on your skin.

Many sounds in the room. I'm . The Good. Stay with that moment-to-moment awareness.

Something I've been thinking about lately is building my sense of self.

That's important for so many reasons to know what I want, how I want to live and be with others,

and to be steady in myself, no matter how others regard me.

And all that sounds good, right? But how do we do this? What is the mechanism for building a strong sense of yourself?

Well, what you're doing right now, it's a good start.

Spending quiet, deliberate time with yourself, noticing the patterns of your thoughts,

the reactions that come up when memories or ideas arise.

This is how you meet you. So stay with this awareness of self, body breath, and just be a choiceless observer. Thank you. I'm I'm I'm

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