Sit,Walk,Work (SW^2)

• Listen Deeply: The Meditation of Paying Attention

  When I first sat down to meditate years ago, I thought the goal was silence — that if I could quiet my thoughts, I’d finally find peace. But over time, I realized peace doesn’t come from pushing things away. It comes from listening — deeply, compassionately — to what’s already here.In this week’s Sit, Walk, Work practice, we explored listening as an act of meditation. The teaching came from Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Art of Communicating, where he reminds us that listening is first a practice with ourselves. Before we can truly hear another person, we have to learn how to hear what’s happening within us.When we sit down, the first sounds we often notice are internal — the rhythm of the breath, the hum of the mind, the small aches and pulses of the body. We begin by anchoring in the breath, not to escape what’s happening, but to create space around it. The breath becomes a way to listen — to ask, “What’s really here right now?”From there, the practice widens: breath, body, feeling tone, thought. Like widening circles of sound, each one adds texture to our experience. The tension in the jaw after a stressful meeting. The quickened breath when we remember an argument. The subtle lift in the chest when something softens. We start to realize that everything we feel is communicating something — if we can learn to listen without judgment.In everyday life, this practice shows up everywhere. When someone cuts us off in traffic and we feel the surge of anger, can we pause long enough to listen to that heat before reacting? When a loved one speaks to us sharply, can we feel our body tighten and breathe through it, instead of closing off? Even in moments of joy — a child laughing, a friend’s kindness — can we slow down and listen deeply enough to let that goodness land?Listening in this way isn’t passive. It’s an act of compassion. Each time we return to the breath, to the body, to the realness of the present moment, we’re strengthening the muscles of awareness and patience. We’re building the space where peace can actually grow.And over time, that space becomes a refuge. It’s where stillness meets understanding — the quiet center from which we can meet ourselves and others with genuine care.So next time you sit, or even when you’re standing in line at the store, take a moment to ask:“What part of me is speaking right now? And am I listening?”🕊️With metta,Dominic⏱️ Timestamp Breakdown + Real-Life Applications(00:01:06) – The Art of Listening notice what your body is saying before you speak or act.(00:05:01) – Preparing the Body before a difficult conversation, pause and adjust your body — relaxed hands, open chest, steady breath.(00:07:12) – Taking Inventory at the end of the day, do a quick internal scan — “What’s loud inside me right now?”(00:08:12) – Listening with Compassion when stressed, try saying silently, “This too belongs.”(00:09:09) – The Breath as Anchor use the breath to reset between tasks or after an emotional moment.(00:14:10) – Returning with Kindness when you lose focus at work, return with a smile instead of frustration.(00:20:41) – Listening to Thoughts before sending that reactive text, breathe and listen — what’s really driving the urge?(00:25:34) – Building Space and Stillness in conflict, pause. Feel your breath. Let response arise from space, not reflex.(00:30:28) – Closing with Gratitude after meditation — or even a hard day — whisper to yourself, “Thank you for being here.”💬 Let’s Reflect Together* When was the last time you truly listened — to yourself or someone else — without trying to fix anything?* What part of your inner world tends to get ignored until it “speaks louder”?* How does your breath change when you’re under stress or feeling defensive?* What helps you return to the present moment after being pulled away?* In what areas of your life could you practice listening more — work, relationships, or your own inner voice?* What does compassionate listening look like for you today?Share your reflections in the comments—I’d love to hear how impermance is alive in your practice.Follow me on all the socials* Substack* Website* Instagram* Facebook* YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sitwalkwork.substack.com

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• Find the Space Between Thought and Reaction

  Some weeks, my mind moves faster than I can catch it.A judgment flashes about someone—a colleague, a friend—and before I’ve taken a breath, I’ve decided who they are and how I’ll respond. But in a quiet moment of meditation, I realized something simple but radical: that thought wasn’t true. It was just my mind, spinning a story. Gotcha That realization shaped this week’s practice: a meditation to help us find the space between thought and reaction. We begin by feeling the weight of the body—grounded, steady—then shift toward the breath, light and fluid. This contrast reminds us that we can be rooted and open at the same time.From there, the focus moves to thoughts: where they arise, how they sound, and what they pull us toward. We start to notice their qualities—past or future, kind or harsh—and see how easily we attach to them. But when we pair that noticing with the rhythm of the breath, something opens. Space appears.In daily life, that same space can change everything. It’s the pause before replying to a difficult email. The breath you take when your child’s defiance spikes your temper. The gentle awareness that your frustration in traffic isn’t personal—it’s just a wave moving through.When we can hold thought lightly, we remember that thinking is not the same as knowing. That awareness gives us choice. We can return to our breath, to our body, to what’s actually here.And in that moment of choosing presence over reaction, we find clarity, calm, and a touch of freedom.With Metta,Dominic🕰Timestamp Breakdown + Real-Life Applications00:00 – 01:00 | Before reacting to someone, pause and ask, “What story am I telling right now?”02:00 – 07:00 | When stress hits, feel your feet or seat before speaking.07:00 – 12:00 | Take one slow breath before replying to a text or email.12:00 – 17:00 | Label thoughts as “remembering,” “judging,” or “planning” to loosen their hold.17:00 – 23:00 | When tense, ask: “What thought just made my body react this way?”23:00 – 26:00 | Ask, “Is this worth my attention?” before replaying a thought loop.26:00 – 31:00 | Spend a few minutes each day not fixing or focusing—just noticing.💬 Let’s Reflect Together* When was the last time a quick thought led to a quick reaction?* What sensations tell you when a reaction is about to rise?* How does your body shift when you take one breath before responding?* What helps you notice the space between what happens and what you do next?* How does observing a thought differ from believing it?* Where in your life could you use a little more pause and less push?Share your reflections in the comments—I’d love to hear how impermance is alive in your practice.Follow me on all the socials* Substack* Website* Instagram* Facebook* YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sitwalkwork.substack.com

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• How to Use Everyday Sensations as Meditation Anchors

  There are days when my attention feels like it’s been tossed in a dozen directions—emails, conversations, noise in the background, noise in my head. That’s where anchors come in. In meditation, anchors are those steady points we rest our attention on: the breath, the body, and the sounds around us. They remind us that even in chaos, we can choose where to land.When I sit down to practice, I start with the breath. It’s the most familiar rhythm we have—rising, pausing, falling, pausing again. Just watching that cycle can change everything. You might notice how, as the breath softens, your shoulders drop or your mind slows just a little. I’ve even used this in traffic, when I feel my body tense up behind the wheel. Instead of gripping the steering wheel tighter, I grip the breath—just enough to feel it steady me.From there, the practice widens. I shift from breath to body, feeling the texture of sensations that show up: warmth, tightness, tingling, or the quiet places that seem to feel nothing at all. This part of the practice feels a lot like being in conversation with your own aliveness. I’ve noticed it when I’m sitting in a meeting and realize my jaw is tight, or when I’m washing dishes and my feet are grounding me more than my thoughts are. Each sensation says, “You’re here.”And then there’s sound—the final anchor. Listening without judgment, I notice the hum of the fridge, the bark of a dog, the laughter from the next room. Sometimes these sounds pull me out of the moment, but other times they become part of it. The world keeps making noise, and instead of fighting it, I let it be the backdrop to my awareness. It’s amazing how peace can live inside the very same noise that used to irritate me.The beauty of working with these anchors is that they reveal how connected everything is. My thoughts shape my breath, my breath influences my body, my body affects how I listen. It’s a loop—a conversation between inner and outer life. And when I can witness that loop without trying to fix or control it, even discomfort feels a little more spacious.So whether you’re sitting quietly, walking into a hard conversation, or standing in line at the grocery store, you can practice this:Find your anchor.Notice your preferences.Breathe into the space between what’s happening and how you meet it.That’s where freedom begins.Until next time—with metta, may you be well.🕰️Timestamp Breakdown + Real-Life Applications00:01:05 – The Three Anchors→ Principle: The breath, body, and sounds as anchors for attention.→ Practice Tip: Use the breath to steady your focus in chaotic moments, like traffic or heated meetings.00:05:02 – Witnessing Without Reaction→ Principle: Mindfulness isn’t about changing what arises but observing it.→ Practice Tip: When you feel irritation at work or home, pause and name what’s happening instead of trying to fix it.00:07:01 – The Breath Cycle→ Principle: Follow the full arc of the breath—inhale, pause, exhale, pause.→ Practice Tip: Use this in moments of anxiety; it naturally slows the nervous system.00:13:07 – Expanding to the Body→ Principle: Move from focused attention to full-body awareness.→ Practice Tip: Try a mini body scan before bed or when you wake up tense.00:20:47 – Energy in Change→ Principle: Even fixed sensations shift; everything is moving.→ Practice Tip: When you feel stuck, remind yourself, “Even this will change.”00:23:20 – Opening to Sound→ Principle: Let sound be part of awareness rather than a distraction.→ Practice Tip: Practice listening while walking outdoors—each sound a note in your meditation.00:28:30 – The Practice of Witnessing→ Principle: Shifting from being caught in experience to observing it.→ Practice Tip: When emotions rise, imagine stepping back one breath’s distance to witness yourself.00:31:18 – Closing with Intention→ Principle: The way we exit practice matters.→ Practice Tip: End each meditation—or each day—with gratitude for what was revealed.💬 Let’s Reflect Together* Which anchor—breath, body, or sound—feels most natural for you to rest in?* When you feel overwhelmed, where does your attention naturally go?* How do your thoughts affect your breathing in stressful moments?* What parts of your body do you tend to ignore or disconnect from?* Can you think of a recent moment when sound became part of your meditation rather than a distraction?* How might you bring this “anchor awareness” into a conversation or conflict this week?Share your reflections in the comments—I’d love to hear how impermance is alive in your practice.Follow me on all the socials* Substack* Website* Instagram* Facebook* YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sitwalkwork.substack.com

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• The Middle Way: Finding Balance in the Push and Pull of Life

  There’s a quiet moment that arrives just after I close my eyes — that instant when I can feel the shift from doing to being. In that space, I’m reminded that everything in our practice is a dance between opposites.Today’s meditation grew out of that very idea. In my yoga class earlier, we explored how opposites shape equilibrium — how the pendulum of life constantly swings, yet somehow we stay grounded in the middle. It’s one thing to talk about balance on the mat, but quite another to notice it in the everyday: the inhale and exhale while waiting at a red light, the tension and release of a hard conversation, the push and pull between striving and surrendering at work.When we meditate, we become witnesses to this movement. The breath teaches us: inhale, exhale — receive, release. If you hold your breath in or out for too long, discomfort rises. The same happens when we cling to something we love or avoid something we fear. In this way, the body becomes a teacher, showing us what the mind sometimes forgets — balance doesn’t mean stillness; it means being steady amid change.As the practice unfolded, I guided attention from the breath to the sensations in the body, the subtle dance of warmth and coolness, comfort and discomfort. Even our thoughts carry this rhythm — one moment pleasant, the next uneasy. Yet each time we return to awareness, we discover the space between.That’s what this practice really is: engagement without attachment. To be fully in the moment without being swept away by it. It’s a way of living that extends far beyond the cushion. In the middle of traffic, when irritation rises, can you breathe and stay curious? When you’re with someone you love, can you enjoy the sweetness without grasping for more? When you feel pain, can you notice it without making it the whole story?These opposites — holding on and letting go, comfort and discomfort, joy and sorrow — they don’t cancel each other out. They define each other. They make us human.So as we close, let gratitude ride the breath. Gratitude for what’s pleasant and what’s not. Gratitude for the rhythm that carries us — inhale and exhale, rising and falling, coming and going. The practice is never to escape it, but to rest right there, in the balance of opposites.With Metta, may you be well.⏱ Timestamp Breakdown & Real-Life Applications* 00:01:05 Introduction to opposites & equilibrium* Notice how your mood or energy shifts throughout the day — the pendulum of tired and alert, calm and anxious. Both belong.* 00:02:11 Witnessing experience* In conflict, pause before reacting — observe what’s happening to you and within you.* 00:07:03 Watching the breath* Try this in traffic: notice each inhale/exhale as a reminder that movement and stillness coexist.* 00:10:47 The breath as a relationship with the world* Each breath is an exchange — what can you give and what can you receive in your relationships today?* 00:16:32 Turning toward body sensations* When discomfort arises (a sore back, a long meeting), soften around it instead of resisting.* 00:22:14 Exploring thoughts we like and dislike* When craving a pleasant memory or resisting an unpleasant task, see both as part of the same field of awareness.* 00:26:41 Engagement without attachment* At work or home, give full effort without measuring your worth by the outcome.* 00:29:29 Closing with gratitude* Before bed, list one thing that challenged you and one that nourished you. Both can be teachers.💬 Let’s Reflect Together* Where do you notice opposites most clearly in your daily life — at work, at home, or within yourself?* How do you tend to react when things feel uncomfortable — do you lean toward holding on or letting go?* What does “engagement without attachment” mean to you in relationships or work?* Can you recall a time when gratitude softened something painful?* How does your body remind you of balance when your mind forgets?Share your reflections in the comments—I’d love to hear how impermance is alive in your practice.Follow me on all the socials* Substack* Website* Instagram* Facebook* YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sitwalkwork.substack.com

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• 🌿 The Season of Change: A Meditation on Renewal

  Every season asks something of us.Autumn, in particular, invites a sense of release. It reminds us that letting go isn’t loss—it’s preparation. In this week’s guided meditation, I explore how the transitions of nature mirror our own inner cycles. Through the body, the breath, and awareness, we practice softening into change and remembering that renewal begins with paying attention.Lately, I’ve been feeling the subtle shift in the air—the way mornings are quieter, how the light hits differently through the window. Nature is changing clothes again. And like it or not, we’re asked to do the same.As I guided this week’s practice, I kept returning to the theme of renewal through awareness.Before we can begin again, we need to acknowledge what we’re still holding on to.We opened with the idea of setting a wise intention—a clear understanding of why we’re here. In a world full of notifications and noise, wise intention is a kind of compass. It’s what helps us decide how we want to meet the day, the season, the moment.In my own life, I see how intention changes everything. When I walk into a conversation already defending my point, I close the door on curiosity. But when I enter with the intention to understand, something softens. The same thing happens in traffic when someone cuts me off—if I can shift from reaction to awareness, even that small moment becomes a practice of renewal.From intention, we moved into the body scan—a journey through sensation. The right side, the left, front, and back. What I love about this is that it teaches us to befriend change in the smallest way possible. One second, your shoulder feels tight; the next, it releases. The body is a classroom for impermanence. It shows us, over and over again, that no experience—pleasant or unpleasant—lasts forever.I thought of how this translates beyond the mat or cushion.When we’re parenting, the house feels chaotic.When a project at work keeps shifting direction.When we’re lying awake replaying the same thought on loop.Each is an invitation to pause, breathe, and scan what’s really happening—not to fix it, but to feel it fully.Then, we touched the breath—that constant reminder of rhythm and reciprocity. Every inhale gathers, every exhale releases. Like the trees, we’re always taking in and giving back. Breath becomes a rehearsal for trust: that what leaves will return in another form.As the meditation deepened, we explored thoughts and opposites—how worry and ease, tension and rest, co-exist. When I notice anxiety, I also look for where I still feel grounded. When I feel unappreciated, I can also find small evidence of care. These contrasts are not contradictions; they’re coordinates that keep us oriented in the middle of real life.And then we arrived at the witness—the space of awareness itself.The quiet place in us that watches everything rise and fall without needing to control it.This, to me, is where renewal truly begins—not by changing what’s happening, but by remembering there’s a space in us big enough to hold it all.In daily life, this looks like remembering that there’s room for both fatigue and gratitude, both uncertainty and hope. You’re not too much. You’re simply in motion, like the seasons themselves.When the meditation ended, I sat for a moment longer, breathing in the fullness of it all. The falling away. The newness is already beginning underneath.That’s renewal—not a return to what was, but a reintroduction to what’s still here.🕰️ Timestamp Breakdown + Real-Life Reflections00:01:06 — Setting the Theme: The Season of Change🪶 Reflection: Notice what’s changing around you—light, temperature, mood—and let it mirror what’s shifting within you.00:06:18 — Wise Intention💡 Application: Before starting your day, pause and ask: What’s my intention for this next moment? Meetings, conversations, even commutes feel different when guided by awareness rather than autopilot.00:08:20 — Grounding & Inner Resource🌳 Application: Recall a time or place you felt completely safe. Let that memory become an anchor during stressful situations—a body-based reminder that steadiness lives within you.00:12:10 — Body Scan🫀 Application: When caught in tension (physical or emotional), scan the body. See if you can meet each sensation with curiosity rather than control.00:23:01 — Breath as Release🌬️ Application: Use exhaling as a daily ritual of letting go. Stuck in traffic? Exhale. Waiting for news? Exhale. The body knows what the mind resists.00:29:13 — Working with Thoughts & Opposites⚖️ Application: When a thought feels heavy, name its opposite. Anxiety ↔ Calm. Frustration ↔ Patience. Both can exist—and both can teach you.00:36:09 — Gratitude & Joy💛 Application: Notice one simple joy that arises uninvited—the sound of leaves, a sip of coffee, your body doing its quiet work. Gratitude often hides in plain sight.00:43:13 — The Witness & Spacious Awareness🌌 Application: Practice noticing the space between experiences. Between thoughts, between breaths, between tasks. That’s where renewal lives.00:54:36 — Gentle Closing & Integration🤲 Application: Transition slowly. Don’t rush to the next thing. Carry the residue of awareness into your day, like embers that keep warmth alive.💬 Let’s Reflect Together* What are you being invited to release this season?* How does your body tell you when it’s time to rest or renew?* Can you recall a moment recently where your breath helped shift your mood?* What small joy reminds you that you’re still growing?* Where in your life do you need more spaciousness—more room to simply be?* How might your “wise intention” guide you through this next chapter?Share your reflections in the comments—I’d love to hear how impermance is alive in your practice.Follow me on all the socials* Substack* Website* Instagram* Facebook* YouTube This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sitwalkwork.substack.com

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