Hi,
I'm Kristen Boyle,
And this embodied living guided meditation is on the illusion of urgency.
This meditation can be done sitting or lying down.
Any place that you feel comfortable and supported.
Where you can keep a soft,
Steady gaze or close your eyes.
For some time.
So take a comfortable position settling in.
So your body feels fully supported.
And allow your eyes to close or gently soften to a single point.
As you sit or lie here.
Take a deep,
Slow breath in.
And as you release that breath,
Notice how easily your mind begins to calm.
Notice the rhythm of your breathing now.
And out.
With every breath you take.
You can feel a warm,
Heavy relaxation beginning.
At the top of your head.
Drifting gently past your eyes.
Softening your jaw.
And melting away any tension held tightly in your shoulders.
You might notice thoughts floating into your awareness.
Perhaps a feeling of pressure.
Or a lingering sense of urgency.
About something waiting for you.
After you complete this meditation.
As you notice those thoughts.
Simply watch them.
As if you were standing on the bank of a quiet river.
Watching leaves float steadily downstream.
Notice how the word.
Urgent.
Feels in your body.
Where does it live?
Is it a quickening in the chest?
A tight spiral in the belly.
As you locate that feeling.
Give yourself permission.
To double the distance.
Between you.
And the sensation.
Step back from it in your mind's eye.
As you look at that feeling from a distance,
You can begin to realize a profound truth.
The thing you feel is urgent.
The urgent sensation you feel.
Isn't urgent after all.
The voice insisting that everything must happen now is simply an old habit of protection.
An instinct designed for quick survival.
Trying to keep you safe.
In a fast-paced world.
But right here.
Right in this precise moment.
You are completely safe.
Nothing requires your immediate attention.
Or defense.
The task.
The message.
The decision.
It can all wait.
Imagine taking that thought of urgency and placing it inside a glass sphere.
Observe it there.
Growing with a restless energy.
Observe.
The shape.
The size.
The color.
And yet.
It is separate from you in a glass sphere.
Now,
See yourself.
Gently placing that sphere down.
On a sturdy table a few paces away.
Once you've set it down,
You can step back.
You can observe it more clearly.
But you no longer have to carry it.
As you observe the urgency.
From a distance.
Feel how spacious your body becomes when you put that weight down.
Notice the stillness between your breaths.
In this stillness,
Time expands.
You have all the time you need.
To respond thoughtfully.
Rather than react impulsively.
The middle ground.
The calm.
Stable center within you.
Is always available.
You are the steady ground beneath the storm of tasks.
When you return to your day,
You will move with grounded clarity.
Knowing that.
True priority rises.
From calm.
Not from chaos.
Take another deep,
Nourishing breath in.
Filling your chest completely.
Hold it for just a moment.
And exhale fully.
Letting any remaining tension drop away.
Stay in this space,
Breathing in.
And breathing out.
Connecting to your calm,
Steady center.
As long as you need to.
When you are ready,
Bring your awareness back to the physical room.
Feel the surface beneath you.
Gently.
Move your fingers and your toes.
Make circles of your wrists and your ankles.
Perhaps reach your arms above you and take a big steady breath in.
And then open mouth,
Sigh it out.
As you move forward,
With your day,
With your to-do list.
With the tasks that are.
Directly in front of you.
Carry this steady,
Unhurried ease.
Into whatever comes next.
Thank you again for joining me for this guided meditation.
I'm Kristen Boyle,
And this is Embodied Living.
