Hold That Thought by Fred Lynch

Welcome to the sacred studio guided meditation series and experience designed to guide you as you connect to the divine through mindful practice. This session is a sustained focus exercise, where we will focus on fixing our attention on a certain target without wandering off. I call this meditation Hold that thought, is a powerful technique that has exponential physiological benefits as you grow in this attainable skill of sustained focus. We all know how the mind wanders and seems to never stay still. neurological science has reported and confirmed what mindfulness practitioners have known experience in passed down for millennia, that the awareness that emerges by paying attention on purpose without judgment is about the highest quality of mind state that can be attained. As you grow in this skill, you will see how the ability to hold that thought can permeate so many other aspects of your life and help transform your entire life in lasting waves. So let's start with one idea that we will allow to illuminate our entire being as we scan our bodies with this thought in mind. And this thought that you are a perfect thought in the heart and mind of the infinite Creator. Now that you are focusing on that thought your assignment is to hold that thought and see it as a restorative beam of light that shines and transforms whatever you direct your attention towards. Now, take a deep breath. And as you exhale, draw your attention to the top of your skull. View your skull, relax. Feel this feeling of relaxation. Gently descend to your forehead, to your eyes
and your ears,
to your nose, your cheeks, your jaw, your neck.
And noticing when the mind is wandering, observing the distractions, how they derail and without punishment or condemnation, gently invite your attention back to the moment. Holding that thought. Zooming in your attention on your shoulders, your upper arm, your elbow, your forearms, your wrists and your hands.
And again noticing if the mind is wandering. If it's agitated, or distracted, or bored or sleeping, without giving yourself a hard time, remember where you were holding the thought right at your hands. Bringing the attention to the chest rib cage noticing the expansion and contraction with the in breath and the out breath. The lungs, the heart, the heartbeat, bringing that focused attention to the abdomen, the belly, the pelvic region, the growing the buttocks.
Noticing where the mind is and if it's lost and thought
caught up in the story or distracted without giving yourself a hard time lovingly accept this discovery and gently return your attention back to the thought that you are learning to raise your attention to your legs, your cow sheep down to the bottom of your feet.
The sensation in and around your feet. And as this meditation comes to an end, bringing your attention to your entire body. Hold the thought of your body being fully scanned, fully held in attention. Taking a moment, honor and congratulate yourself for coming to this practice of mindfulness, a practice of compassion and ancient wisdom.
May you allow this love and wisdom to flow through the rest of your day, to be a force for good in the world.