Noting meditation for contentment (15 min), on a rest day

About this practice

For the times on a rest day when contentment takes up more room than you would like — 15 minutes, noting. A guided session of about 15 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 on a rest day

• Do it without a reason or a target
• Later in the day, unhurried, in good light
• Let it be longer than usual if you want

Rest that has to be justified is not really rest. This one is allowed to be pointless.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing.
2. 0:12If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
3. 0:25Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
4. 0:37There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
5. 0:50Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
6. 1:01Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
7. 1:12Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
8. 1:24Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
9. 1:35Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
10. 1:48Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
11. 2:00Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
12. 2:11Whatever the settled feeling after striving is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
13. 2:26If the enough-ness of right now has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
14. 2:44Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
15. 2:57You do not have to solve the calm of not wanting more this minute in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
16. 3:18There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
17. 3:36Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
18. 3:50Let this one be unhurried.
19. 3:59Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
20. 4:12Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
21. 4:24Let it be this simple.
22. 4:33Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
23. 4:44Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
24. 4:56Just the breath, still.
25. 5:05Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
26. 5:19Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
27. 5:31Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
28. 5:41Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
29. 5:54Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
30. 6:05Nothing changes for a moment.
31. 6:14Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
32. 6:28Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
33. 6:41No need to open your eyes yet.
34. 6:51Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
35. 7:02A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
36. 7:13Nothing here needs to be efficient.
37. 7:23Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
38. 7:36Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
39. 7:48You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
40. 8:01Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
41. 8:15A short silence. Let it be empty.
42. 8:25There's no need to try harder than this.
43. 8:36If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
44. 8:49I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
45. 9:02Let this be easy, if easy is available.
46. 9:13If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
47. 9:26Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
48. 9:37We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
49. 9:51Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
50. 10:02Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
51. 10:14Small efforts are the whole method.
52. 10:24If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
53. 10:39Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
54. 10:50Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
55. 11:02Let the enough-ness of right now be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
56. 11:22This is not the last time the calm of not wanting more this minute will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
57. 11:42Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
58. 11:53Notice how the settled feeling after striving changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
59. 12:10Imagine softening the edges of the enough-ness of right now. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
60. 12:28Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
61. 12:43Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
62. 12:57Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
63. 13:11If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
64. 13:25I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
65. 13:37We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
66. 13:47A few seconds more.
67. 13:56Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
68. 14:08Notice the quiet you made, and let it close gently.
69. 14:20Let the quiet do its work.

Questions people ask

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