Guided meditation
At the Turn
A meditation that rests at the turn of the breath, and measures what that does
Lucas + TwinsMeditation21 min
Sound: A soft, wide pad in D minor, made for this piece, swelling and settling about once every eleven seconds, with a low hum under it. Two soft knocks, the same each time, are part of the test. The pad fades out completely for each silence and returns after it.
0:00 -21:09
What to expect
This is a meditation and a small experiment in one. Between one breath and the next there is a small stop. Here you find it and rest there a little longer. You go in and out of depth with the eyes, rest as the one who notices, and take a short cue with you.
Before the practice and after it, you measure two things yourself. A silence comes, and you guess how long it lasted. A soft sound comes, unannounced, and you rate how much it jolted you, zero to ten. At the end you write down your four numbers, and you hear the true lengths of the two silences. Your numbers answer whether anything changed, not the words.
Under it, a soft, wide pad in D minor, made for this piece, swells and settles about once every eleven seconds, with a low hum under it. Two soft knocks, the same each time, are part of the test. The pad fades out completely for each silence and returns after it.
How to listen:
- Listen before you read the transcript below. It gives the lengths of the silences away, and the guesses only count when you don’t know them.
- Before you start, begin a recording on a second device, such as your phone, and say each number out loud.
- Have a pen and paper near for the end.
- The two silences are complete silence on purpose. Nothing has stopped.
- Play it at normal speed, with any “skip silence” setting off, so the silences keep their length.
- Headphones or a speaker both work. Never while driving.
About
Safety and aftercare. You can stop at any point. Never hold your breath. The rest at the turn of the breath is only as long as it comes on its own. If you feel dizzy or uneasy, open your eyes and breathe normally. This is a way of resting and a way of finding out. It isn’t a treatment for anything.
Credits. Inspired by Itzhak Bentov’s Stalking the Wild Pendulum.
Written by Lee and Lucas + Twins. Voice: Lucas.
Transcript
Opening
Between one breath and the next, there’s a small stop.
It has been there your whole life.
Today you’ll find it, and see what, if anything, it does.
Before you begin, start a recording on a second device.
Let your eyes close.
Notice where you are held.
Feel the ground under your hips.
The weight of the legs.
Both hands, where they rest.
Every other place you touch.
Let all of it hold you.
Let the ground do the work.
Part One: The first measure
Rest here for a while.
Notice that sound just now.
Rate how much it jolted you, zero to ten.
Zero for no jolt at all.
Ten for a full start.
Say your number out loud.
Let a silence come.
Leave it uncounted.
How long was that silence?
Guess it in seconds, out loud.
Part Two: The turn of the breath
Notice the breath, moving by itself.
Follow one breath out.
Find where it ends.
A small rest sits there.
A swing pauses like that.
Stay there a little longer, without holding the breath.
The next breath comes by itself.
Find the top of the in-breath.
Another small turn.
Rest there a little longer, without holding the breath.
Say inwardly: rest at the turn.
Use those words at each turn.
Rest at the turn.
Rest at the turn.
Part Three: In and out of depth
Open your eyes a crack.
Let a little light in.
Close them again.
Rest at the turn.
Let this return go deeper.
Open your eyes a crack.
Close them again.
Rest at the turn.
Go a little deeper.
Open your eyes a crack.
Close them again.
Rest at the turn.
Let it go deeper again.
Part Four: The one who notices
Notice whatever the body is doing now.
Notice what is noticing.
Let it rest at the turn too.
Let it stay there, between breaths.
Rest as the one who notices.
Rest at the turn.
Even a little is enough.
Part Five: The cue alone
Let the breath go freely.
Stop looking for the turn.
Say just the cue inwardly.
Rest at the turn.
Notice what the body does.
Once more, the cue alone.
Rest at the turn.
Notice what comes, or doesn’t.
Part Six: The second measure
Notice that sound just now.
Rate how much it jolted you, zero to ten.
Zero for none, ten for a full start.
Say your number out loud.
Stop saying the cue to yourself now.
Let a silence come.
Leave it uncounted.
How long was that silence?
Guess it in seconds, out loud.
Part Seven: Your four numbers
Your numbers answer, not these words.
Take the cue with you.
Rest at the turn.
Try it alone, later today.
Feel the ground under you again.
Let your body move.
Let your eyes open.
Now write down your four numbers, and these two.
The first silence was .
The second was .
Feedback
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