Have you ever noticed how the mind changes?
Can keep going.
Long after the moment has passed.
Replaying conversations.
Analyzing situations trying to work everything out.
Overthinking often comes from a good place,
A part of you trying to understand,
To make sense of things,
To keep you safe.
But sometimes it just keeps the mind busy and the body tense.
And the more we try to figure it out,
The more caught up we can become.
This practice is an opportunity to gently step back.
To allow your thoughts to come and go.
Without needing to follow each one.
You don't need to stop thinking.
Just change your relationship with your thoughts.
So,
As you move through into this practice,
Just listen,
Breathe and allow.
So right now,
Allowing yourself to settle,
We'll move into the relaxation Make yourself comfortable now.
Let your body find a position that feels supported.
You may be sitting,
You may be lying down.
Just allow yourself to arrive here exactly as you are.
There is no need to make your mind quiet before you begin.
The mind is allowed to be busy.
Thoughts are allowed to be present.
This practice is simply about creating a little more space around them.
So begin by noticing the breath,
Not changing it,
Not controlling it,
Just noticing that breathing is happening.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
The breath coming and going in its own natural rhythm.
And as you sit or lie here,
You might begin to notice the difference between being inside a thought and noticing a thought.
Inside a thought the mind can feel busy.
Pulled in.
Carried away.
But noticing a thought creates space.
Even a tiny bit of space,
And that space is enough.
So for now,
Just allow yourself to become the watcher.
The Observer.
The part of you that can gently notice.
There is a thought.
There is the breath.
There is the body.
There is this moment.
And now imagine that you're sitting beside a gentle stream.
The water is moving slowly,
Calmly,
Naturally.
You're not in the stream.
You're sitting beside it.
Safe.
Steady.
Watching.
You can hear the soft movement of the water.
You can see the surface catching the light.
You can feel the steadiness of the ground beneath you.
And every so often a leaf floats by.
One leaf and then another.
Each leaf carried by the water,
Moving in its own time.
And in this practice each leaf can carry a thought,
A memory.
A plan.
A worry.
An idea.
A question.
A little mental loop.
And instead of picking the leaf up,
You simply notice it.
You let it be carried.
You let it float.
There may be a thought about something you need to do.
Place it gently on a leaf.
Let it float.
There may be a thought about something that happened.
Place it gently on a leaf.
Let it flow.
And maybe a thought about whether you're doing this properly.
Place that on a leaf too.
And let it float.
And if you find yourself following a thought,
That's okay.
That is what mimes do.
The moment you notice you have already returned.
Gently come back to the stream.
Back to the sound of the water.
Back to the feeling of sitting beside it.
Back to watching the leaves pass by.
Nothing has gone wrong.
This is the practice.
Noticing.
Returning.
Allowing.
Again and again.
Let your shoulders soften as you sit beside the stream.
Let your hands rest,
Let your jaw loosen,
Let the space around your eyes become softer.
As though the whole body can begin to understand that it does not need to chase every thought.
It does not need to solve everything right now.
It does not need to hold every possibility.
For these few moments you are simply sitting beside the stream.
Watching.
Breathing.
Allowing.
You might quietly say to yourself.
Thinking is happening and I can watch it.
Thinking is happening and I can return to the breath.
Thinking is happening and I can let it pass.
Let those words move gently through the mind.
Thinking is happening and I can let it pass.
Some thoughts may feel light.
Some may feel heavier.
Some may move quickly.
Some may seem to linger.
And still,
The stream continues.
The water keeps moving.
The leaves keep traveling.
And you remain here.
Steady beside the water.
There may be thoughts about the future.
Let them float.
So it's about the past.
Let them float.
Thoughts about other people.
Let them flow.
Thoughts about yourself.
Let them float.
And perhaps you begin to notice that there is more here than thought.
There is the breath.
There is the body.
There is the sound of water.
There is the ground beneath you.
There is the space around you.
Thoughts are part of the experience,
But they are not the whole experience.
You are bigger than the thought passing through.
You are the awareness that notices,
The space that allows,
The steadiness beside the stream.
So now for a few moments,
Let the stream continue.
Let the leaves come and go and simply rest here.
Watching Breathing.
Allowing.
Pause.
And if a thought appears,
Let it have its leaf.
If another appears,
Let that one have a leaf too.
There is enough room.
There is enough water.
There is enough space.
No need to hurry anything along.
No need to push anything away.
Just allowing the mind to move while you remain steady.
And as you rest here,
Perhaps you can feel a little more space opening.
Not because the mind has become perfectly quiet,
But because you're relating to it differently.
Softer.
Kinder.
With a little more distance,
A little more room,
A little more ease.
This is mental space,
Not an empty mind.
A gentler relationship with the mind.
And you can return to this whenever you need to.
A breath,
A pause,
A stream,
A leaf,
A thought allowed to pass.
Now let the image of the stream slowly begin to fade.
Feel the support beneath your body.
Notice the room around you.
Notice the sounds you can hear.
Notice your hands,
Your feet,
Your breath.
And perhaps take one fuller breath in.
And release it gently.
Begin to bring small movements into the body,
Fingers,
Toes,
Shoulders.
And when you're ready,
Gently open your eyes,
Returning with a little more space,
A little more steadiness,
And the reminder that thoughts can come and go while you remain here.
