Meditation for contentment: 7-minute letting go session, before an exam

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 7 minutes of letting go for contentment, before an exam. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: contentment

Contentment is the absence of the next want, not the presence of everything. It lasts only as long as the wanting pauses.

It tends to show up as:

• Arriving without enjoying the arrival
• Immediately wanting the next thing
• Rest feeling unearned

Not wanting more for a few minutes is a trainable state, and it is available without acquiring anything.

Doing this before an exam

• Do it outside the hall, before you go in
• Do not revise during it — that raises the noise
• Aim to arrive early and steady rather than late and reading

Last-minute revision mostly raises arousal without adding recall. Arriving settled is worth more.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

• Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
• Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
• Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Keep your eyes open if you like, resting on one point of the floor a metre or two ahead.
2. 0:16There's no need to try harder than this.
3. 0:27Let the breath get a little quieter, as if you were trying not to wake someone sleeping nearby.
4. 0:43Let your attention settle on the space between your nose and your upper lip, where the air passes.
5. 0:59Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
6. 1:13Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
7. 1:27Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
8. 1:38Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9. 1:50Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
10. 2:00Imagine softening the edges of the settled feeling after striving. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
11. 2:18You have been carrying the enough-ness of right now for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
12. 2:38Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
13. 2:50Remain here for a few more breaths.
14. 3:00Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
15. 3:14Notice your breathing, without changing it.
16. 3:24If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
17. 3:37Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
18. 3:47Nothing here needs to be efficient.
19. 3:57Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
20. 4:10Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
21. 4:25I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
22. 4:38Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the calm of not wanting more this minute is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
23. 4:58If the settled feeling after striving is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
24. 5:15Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
25. 5:28If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
26. 5:39Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
27. 5:51No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
28. 6:02Let this be easy, if easy is available.
29. 6:13Take one last look at whatever your attention settled on.
30. 6:25Come back slowly. There's no prize for finishing fast.
31. 6:36Stay with it.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.