Hello and welcome to this meditation to go deeper into stillness,
Silence,
And spaciousness.
My name is Beth and I'll be guiding you.
So make yourself comfortable with your back straight so that the energy can flow up and down your spine as you meditate.
If you notice any tension in the body,
Any places of holding,
You can for example open and close your jaw wide or roll your shoulders or simply breathe into those tight places to help relax them and let go.
Now just turn your attention towards your breath in this moment.
Just feel the rise and fall of the breath.
Let it be that simple.
Notice if a state of mind is present or note your overall mood.
What's present in the body and mind and give permission to the body and mind to let go of its holdings.
Soften even more around the shoulders,
The jaw,
And the belly.
Let go and feel safe in this moment.
Safe to let go of doing,
Trying,
Performing,
Or meeting external or even internal expectations.
Give yourself the refuge of stillness.
And it's okay if stillness is uncomfortable.
It's okay if you feel a little antsy.
Meditation can be like that sometimes.
Each meditation is rarely the same.
So just continue to breathe and witness what's true for you.
Get curious about this sense of stillness that we've entered.
What does it mean to be still?
We can't say the body is still because it's still breathing.
There's always blood and other fluids circulating.
There are always nerve impulses and synapses in the brain.
And yet you are still with your decision to sit and meditate.
Now turn your attention to any sounds in your environment.
Any hums from electronics,
Noises from the road,
Nature sounds,
My voice.
You might also hear internal mental noise from your own intruding thoughts.
Notice that under all of the noise there is silence.
If there was no silence,
We wouldn't be able to distinguish one sound from the next.
We tend to think that stillness excludes movement and that silence excludes sound when in fact stillness and silence allow movement and sound.
Silence and stillness enfold all sound and movement.
They are the ground or the backdrop.
Like the screen at a movie theater is how we are able to see the movie.
The screen itself is blank and always unaffected by whatever plays out on it.
It is the space on which the film appears.
Spaciousness is what contains the whole universe.
Meditation is an opportunity to connect to that ever-present sense of stillness,
Silence,
And spaciousness.
Some might use the word emptiness to describe it,
But it isn't really empty.
It's just indescribable.
Rest in the indescribable.
I'll ring the bell when it's time to return.
Take your time to stretch if you wish,
To draw your hands to your face,
To drag your fingers through your hair,
And when you're ready you can open your eyes feeling refreshed and renewed and centered.
Thank you for joining me today.
That ends this meditation.
