Hello and welcome to this guided contemplation mindfulness exercise,
Guided by Leo Marceau.
I am an art psychotherapist,
The author and teacher of a psychology,
Mindfulness and art integrated program.
I hope you enjoy the experience.
Let's begin by being mindful of our posture,
In whichever position brings you a sense of comfort and relaxation.
You may sit or lie down,
Or even stand up if that's good for you.
When you are ready,
Gently close your eyes and take three long and deep breaths.
Rather than thinking of it,
Pay attention to the movement of the air coming in and out of your body.
The vibration,
The sensations of the breath inside you as you breathe in,
Feeling the lungs,
The chest,
The belly rising and falling as you breathe out slowly,
Feeling the body moving with the breath in and breathe out slowly.
Once more,
Breathe in and slowly feel the lungs,
The chest,
The belly rising and breathe out slowly,
Feeling the body moving with the breath.
Let's imagine your body as a vessel.
You are going for a short trip in the sea of life.
It is a beautiful and bright day,
A calming sea with a gentle breeze.
Imagine the sea breeze gently and peacefully crossing your body,
Your ship,
Your boat,
Your vessel.
As though the bodily movement produced by your breath were gentle,
Calming waves massaging your body.
The breath is in command of the vessel,
Your body.
So let's think of the breath as the captain,
The sailor,
The skipper of the vessel.
Your job here is to keep watching the sailor,
The breath,
The skipper inside the vessel,
Your body that is quietly navigating through the gentle and calming sea.
Your awareness is solely on the feeling of the waves of air coming in and out of the vessel,
Your body.
Keep an eye on the breath,
The captain,
The skipper,
And on the feeling of the air that gently breathes,
Slowly caressing the vessel,
The sensations of the vessel in your body.
As you inhale,
Gently exhale,
Feel the movement of the vessel,
Your body,
By keeping your full attention on the skipper,
Your breath.
Stay in the vessel,
Curious and attentive,
Feeling the movement of the vessel,
The movement of the waves,
The sensations of the breath inside your body.
Keep watching the skipper,
Your breath,
At all times.
Feel the vessel,
Your body,
Freely and gently navigating on the calming sea,
Feel the waves of your breath,
Feel the movements and the sensations these waves are producing inside the vessel,
Inside your body,
As the breeze gently comes in,
Slowly and gently filling the breeze in,
Those gentle waves in and out.
Make sure your vessel is on course by watching the skipper,
Your breath,
Still in the helm,
Your nostrils,
Your belly,
Your chest,
The whole vessel,
The whole body,
Wherever you feel the breath more strongly.
Feel its sensation inside out,
As the waves gently move in and out.
Feel the swing of the body,
Sailing gently in the sea of life.
Keeping your awareness to your vessel,
Your physical being,
Your home,
Is one of the greatest gifts of mindfulness.
Your body knows a thing or two of what goes on in your mind.
Your body is your house,
And to make it a home,
You have to look after it,
To listen to it,
And feel it.
Give your body its well-deserved,
Tearless,
Tender love and care,
And the mind will follow.
Take unnecessary tension away from it,
And the mind will follow.
Relax it,
And the mind will follow.
How often your mind travels back and forth in between past events,
Future,
And negative thoughts,
Your vessel does not veer off course.
It always remains right here in the present moment.
So does your breath.
Your body does not travel away from the present moment together with your thoughts.
You are the present.
You are also a presence who has been given a life to be enjoyed as it is,
With its joys and sorrows.
To see yourself as a presence,
You need first to find this gift in the present,
And this gift is nowhere else but right here in this moment.
To enjoy this present given to you,
You need to be right here,
Right now,
Where the actuality of life is.
Your breath is one of the mindfulness tools that will do that for you.
Your breath is your forever friend.
Thank you very much for letting me guide you again,
My friend.
You take great care of your vessel,
Of your body,
Of yourself.
Thank you.
