There is a place from which you notice the world, and know where you are. Back behind your eyes, between your ears, is an attentional pivot. Your point of reference, from which you orient. [Seat and Support] Begin with the chair beneath you. Notice where the seat meets your body, where your back makes contact, and where your weight is supported. Your feet relate to the floor, just as your body relates to the chair. Register the firmness and points of contact. Here is the chair, and here is where you sit. [Earth and Gravity] Beneath the chair is the floor, and beneath the floor is the Earth. The Earth has a center, and gravity draws everything toward it. Notice which way is down, toward the Earth, and which way is up, above your head. Sense the weight of your head, balanced above your spine, and the support beneath your body. Your head, feet, and the Earth form a vertical relationship. Here you are, at a particular place. [Sounds and Direction] Register a sound in the room, or from beyond it. Where is it coming from? Is it to your left or your right? Somewhere in front of you, or behind? The sound may be close, or farther away. Register its direction while your head stays comfortably balanced. The sound has a location, and you have a location from which you hear it. [Distance and Space] Notice the room. A wall, doorway, window, or ceiling. Choose something you can see and register how far away it is. Then notice something closer. There is space in front of you, space behind you, and space to either side. The room has width, height, and depth. Every object has its place, and so do you. You are here, with the room extending around you. [Cardinal Directions] Beyond these walls stretch north, south, east, and west. You may recognize one of those directions, or make a simple guess. Consider the sun's path, rising in the east and setting in the west. Follow that arc with your attention, from east toward west, above your head. Now shift your attention a quarter turn toward the north-south line. Follow that direction from south toward north. Your attention can shift while your head stays balanced. Two lines of orientation crossing. You are located along them. [Air and Temperature] Register the temperature of the air against your face, across your hands, and along your forearms. One area may feel cooler, another warmer. Sense moving air, or the stillness of the room. Notice what is present right here. The air occupies space. Your body does too. Both are here. [Texture and Clothing] Bring your attention to the fabric resting against your skin. Across your shoulders, along your back, or around your legs. Register its texture, its temperature, and the places where clothing meets your body. Notice the surface of the chair, and the contact of your feet with whatever supports them. Each surface and contact offers information about your position. [The Body Map] Consider the arrangement of your body. Where are your shoulders? Your elbows? Your hands? Register the position of your hips, your knees, and your feet. Notice the width of your ribcage, the weight of your head, and the relationship between your head and your spine. Your arms have positions in relation to your trunk, and your legs have positions beneath your pelvis. Your shoulders, hips, hands, and feet all have their own locations. Together, a living map: height, width, and depth, in a particular place. [Axes and Where-Self] Consider three axes running through the space of your body. One from your head toward your feet. Another from front to back. And a third from side to side. Above and below. Forward and behind. Left and right. Three dimensions, six directions, your place in the world. Gravity continues downward, and the room continues around you. And somewhere back behind your eyes, between your ears, is that attentional pivot. The place from which you register direction, distance, and position. Notice where your attention is directed. Then consider the place from which your attention is moving. Your Where-Self. Your point of reference in a world of relationships. There is a chair beneath you, the Earth beneath the chair, and air surrounding your body. Sounds arrive from different directions. Objects occupy their places within the room. And you occupy yours. You can register what lies ahead of you, what lies behind, what is above, and what is beneath. You can notice the direction of your attention, and the place from which you are attending. Here is the room. Here is your body. Here is this moment. And here is the place from which you know where you are. Your Where-Self.
