Hello and welcome.
I'm Hilary Talbot Rowland.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day by joining me in this beautiful meditation we're gonna do together.
Let's find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
If you're able to sit up,
Take a moment to straighten out your spine.
Maybe roll the shoulders back in a few rotations,
Helping to open up your chest.
Maybe let your chin move up a micro adjustment and notice how that frees any tension in your neck and face.
Drop the shoulders away from your ears and let your eyelids flow closed,
Sending the message to your beautiful body that it's time to go inward.
Gently start to notice your breath,
Letting the breath be your anchor for this moment in time.
Notice which parts of your physical body fill up with air as you inhale and expand,
And notice which parts release as you exhale.
Don't change your breath.
Simply notice it exactly as it is.
It has been said that the root of all human suffering is attachment to our expectations.
This does not mean that we can't have expectations in life,
For a life without them would be rather chaotic in some instances.
What it means is that when we allow ourselves to be attached to a certain outcome,
To a timeline,
A treatment,
A procedure,
Or even another person's behavior,
We are giving away our power to someone or something else.
So let's spend some time letting go of our attachments to our expectations and accepting life exactly as it is in this perfect present moment that will never come again.
I want you to continue to notice your breath.
Notice which part of your mind is listening to my voice.
Not the part that is likely conversing with itself,
But just notice the witness,
The observer.
Let that part of your mind observe your breath.
Start to deepen your breath and have the gentle thought that you could gather up anything that no longer serves you,
And you can let a little piece of it go with each exhale.
Take a few long,
Slow,
Deep breaths and let them go along with any expectations you might have.
Just imagine your attachment to a certain outcome could soften and release its hold on you with every exhale you take.
Notice how this starts to naturally release tension in your physical body.
With each sweet exhale and letting go,
I want you to lightly focus on the exhale of each breath.
Don't worry about the inhale.
It's just the exhale that we're after,
That sweet,
Sweet release.
Try making it as long and slow and deliberate as you wish,
But only worry about focusing on the exhale.
This practice literally reminds every cell in our bodies to remember to let go.
Now when you notice the thoughts come in,
And they will,
Because that's what brains do,
I want you to do one very simple thing.
Silently to yourself,
Say the word thoughts,
And then direct your attention back to lightly focusing on the exhale.
This technique helps us to clearly define and label things as they are.
Resist the urge to get caught up in the conversation with yourself or the story around your thoughts.
Resist the urge to be hooked by the emotion that the thought is serving up.
The idea here is not to not have thoughts,
But to learn to not be triggered by them or to build stories around them.
This practice helps us to calmly and clearly accept anything that unfolds in our life for exactly what it is without judging it,
Without labeling it good or bad,
Yum or yuck.
It helps us to just take life as it comes.
Now when you say the word thoughts to yourself,
Notice how you say it in your brain.
Notice the tone you use with yourself.
Is it kind and compassionate?
If not,
Gently soften your tone and notice how your physical body relaxes even more.
So let's practice letting go of our attachments and accepting life exactly as it is,
So we can ease our own suffering in every waking moment.
Lightly focus on the exhale,
And when you get distracted with thoughts,
Say the word thoughts in a kind tone to yourself,
And then return to the exhale.
Do this as many times as necessary without judgment.
I'll ring a soft bell when the time is up.
Gently release yourself from the practice and start to deepen the breath,
Wiggling the fingers and the toes.
When you're ready,
You can open your eyes and give yourself just a little nod of acknowledgement for making life a little bit easier by practicing letting go.
Have a beautiful day.
