Please settle in a comfortable position and do all the beginning steps of meditation on your own. –
(give them time)

How do you know with eyes closed, where you are now? ---
Can you be aware of your breathing, and listen at the same time? ---
Can you include the sound of your own breathing in this marquee concerto? ---
Is that enjoyable for you to do, or rather disturbing? – Just notice. ---

Can you BE AWARE OF UNPLEASANT EMOTIONS, like feeling disturbed or bored or restless, without reacting to them? --- Are you able to just notice and welcome them in silence? ---To bear with them, and watch how they are coming and going? ---
This is not easy to do for SMALL CHILDREN, because they tend to react immediately if things are becoming unpleasant or boring. If they don’t want it, they’ll let you hear that. ---
They don’t have much ability yet to observe themselves, to be patient. ---
So they need help when they are getting restless.

And what about YOU? --- Are you getting restless and impatient during meditation? ---
Even although you may know that it is useful to train oneself in mindfulness, and to be patient with oneself? - Do you find it frustrating when you become aware that you are lost in thinking and fantasy again and again? --- Can you imagine that this is still happening to me? ---

Usually the remedy for this is called: ‘PATIENCE and ENDURANCE’. ---
What is your reaction to these 2 words? --- Just notice …

Patience and endurance in our mindfulness of breathing meditation means that you notice the moments, when the mind wanders off, that you notice the feelings which arise, and that you come back to the breathing, again and again. Like this you train yourself for 10 minutes or so, you stick with the mindfulness of breathing and notice what happens around that. When you see that you can do that, you may want to extend the meditation. Here in the monastery we usually do it for an hour. –

But patience and endurance are not only useful for sitting meditation. Mindfulness of breathing and of movement is just a very good tool to learn how to stay mindful in ALL situations. -
Patience and endurance are actually much more important for dealing with every-day life. – Because you don’t always have a guardian sitting next to you. You have to learn to be your own guardian. – Right? ---
By the way, where is your breath now? ---

Are you willing to learn from your actions? --- Can you see what kamma you have made this week? --- Good or bad? --- Just reflect a bit. ---
Can you be patient with results which were not as good as you were expecting? ---
For example, did somebody snap at you without apologizing afterwards? ---
Did somebody seem to ignore you, with whom you would have liked to connect? ---
Were you disappointed with what you did yourself at some point? ---
Can you be patient with yourself and others? ---

Being mindful and patient instead of reacting is different from a “WHY BOTHER ?”-attitude. – It can lead to wisdom. --- To understanding yourself and others. ---
It’s not easy, but highly recommended. ---
How do you feel now, after listening to all this? --- Just notice. ---

bell –