Hello,
This meditation is called Awareness and Overthinking,
A Somatic Relief.
Before we begin,
Just taking a moment to be comfortable and also to be fully present here just as you are.
We can begin by quietly noticing where you are sitting and the space around you.
Perhaps there are some familiar objects,
Some mementos.
You might be quietly noticing the light as it enters the room.
You may be sitting outside in the garden,
In the cool,
With the sounds of nature around you,
Resting quietly.
How does this make you feel?
What is your body responding to where you are sitting?
What senses are being awakened?
Now quietly bring your hands up and place them over your heart,
Gently touching the region known as the heart chakra.
And as you do so,
As the hands gently touch this region,
What are you feeling?
What are you sensing?
What are you noticing?
What energies,
If any,
Are you sensing within the body,
With the hands being placed over the heart?
Is there a connection there,
A healing,
A softening?
Now quietly bring your attention to your breathing,
Noticing the body's subtle movements as you quietly breathe,
Noticing how the chest region expands as you breathe in,
And then how the chest gradually releases as you breathe out.
And then again,
As you breathe in,
The expansion of the chest towards the top of the breath,
And then a gradual releasing and a contraction of your chest as you breathe out,
As your breath leaves the body.
Notice quietly the senses that are being aroused in this movement,
The subtle sensations felt in the body,
The expansions,
The contractions,
The movement of air in and out of your lungs.
And with this,
You might be experiencing a lightness or a softness,
Perhaps a deepening in your relaxation.
Whatever is present,
Whatever you are experiencing is perfect,
Whole.
It's felt,
It's real.
Now shifting your awareness slightly this time to any appearances of thoughts,
Of thinking.
As thoughts arise,
Then leave.
All movements quietly and calmly noticed.
There is no desire to stop these thoughts appearing.
They are simply there,
Coming and going,
As if there is a flowing movement.
All is,
As it is.
For there is a quiet stillness in which these thoughts appear.
A softer awareness,
Undisturbed by the movements of the mind or the body.
Now to the body itself.
What experiences are there within the body now?
Any shifts,
Any change in awareness?
Is there a deepening in your relaxation?
Or are you beginning to notice areas of slight tightness,
Pain or stiffness?
These might be noticed,
If any might be noticed around the shoulders,
The lower back or the neck region.
If there is a sense of tightness in the shoulders,
Back or neck,
Just slowly rearrange your seating position,
Just quietly moving the body,
Adjusting where necessary.
A light rotation of the shoulders will also bring benefit and will be experienced within the body as you move this region.
And all is sensed without judgement.
All is known,
All is felt.
And the breath behind all is quietly arriving and leaving.
Nothing needs to be changed here in this moment.
You are simply noticing what is present in the body.
Knowing that all these senses,
Feelings and experiences are known to the body at a deeper level of quiet awareness.
And through the rhythmical passage of your breath as you breathe in and out,
As the body becomes used to this quiet,
Relaxed rhythm,
There may be a noticing of a general softening,
Of a letting go within the body.
Not because you are trying to relax,
Or force anything here.
It's simply because you are simply present in the moment,
Allowing,
Openly sensing.
No resistance.
It's quietly here in the ease and flow of the body's awareness.
For behind all of these movements also,
There is a deeper calm,
A deeper awareness,
In which all these appear.
And within all of this,
Thoughts arise,
Sensations are moving.
Behind all,
There is something unchanging,
A quiet,
Peaceful awareness,
That is simply knowing and noticing all of this.
The body is felt,
The mind is heard,
And yet this awareness remains untouched,
Unmoved.
And so gently resting here,
Not in your thoughts,
Not even in the sensations of the body,
But just as a quiet,
Open awareness.
In which all appears,
Quietly allowing,
Where all is at ease.
And should the mind become busy,
Or the body begin to contract or tighten,
This too is simply noticed.
Each moment of noticing is already enough.
No judgments,
Just a quiet recognition,
Open and aware to what is being felt,
Experienced,
In the body.
And as this meditation comes to a close,
Come back into the feeling of the body once more,
The contact with where you are sitting,
The area where you are,
Aware of the natural rhythm of your breathing,
With the hands still resting on your heart.
And knowing this deeper calm awareness,
This quiet presence,
Is not something you created or discovered.
It was always here,
Silent,
Unmoving,
Presence,
In the silence behind each breath,
Within each movement,
Each thought.
Now simply return to your relaxed position.
Bring your awareness back into how the body is feeling.
To recognize that behind all activity,
Felt in the body or in the mind,
There is a still,
Quiet presence,
Silently aware,
And here.
