Welcome back to the final session of Stillness Speaks.
My name is Colleen and this is session 11,
When the World Stood Still.
When my dad passed away,
The world seemed to stand still.
We had just moved both my parents into a home we built for them on our property and though our time together there was very short,
It was filled with love.
In the hours and days after he passed,
He came to me three times.
The morning he passed,
A beautiful hawk,
A Mississippi kite,
Landed near me and stayed to watch the entire sunrise.
The next morning,
The sunrise shifted into the shape of a hawk with its wings spread wide across the sky.
And then,
A couple days later,
He came to me once more,
In a dream,
Smiling and happy.
Each time,
The message was the same,
I am happy,
I am free.
Even now,
Those visits remind me that love doesn't end when a life does.
It changes form.
It finds new ways to speak.
Today's meditation is an invitation to rest in that truth,
That peace can be found even when the world stands still and feels unbearably quiet.
Let's begin.
Please find a comfortable place to land,
Allowing yourself to arrive wherever you are.
Close your eyes.
Drop your shoulders.
Relax your jaw.
Allow your hands to rest gently,
Releasing any grasp.
Feel the earth beneath you,
Holding you,
Steady,
Certain.
Soften your belly,
Allowing your breath to move more freely,
Breathing in and out through your nose.
Imagine the world around you has fallen silent.
The noise,
The rush,
The constant movement,
All gone.
Only the sounds of your own breath remain.
And this quiet,
Memories can return.
Not to pull you away,
But to remind you,
Love is still here.
It moves through the air.
It glows in the morning light.
It lives in the spaces where words can't reach.
Allow your breath to begin to deepen,
Steady and unhurried,
Breathing in and out through your nose.
Feel your body supported in this moment.
Notice the gentle rise and fall with every breath.
On your next inhale,
Silently repeat to yourself,
I am.
On your exhale,
Silently repeat,
At peace.
Again,
Inhale,
I am.
Exhale at peace.
Once more,
On your own,
Let the words soften your edges and open the door to stillness.
With each breath,
Allow yourself to sink deeper into this peaceful space.
Imagine that here,
In the quiet,
You are surrounded by love.
Love that holds you,
Protects you,
And does not fade.
If thoughts or emotions return,
Let them come gently,
Welcoming them without clinging.
Then,
Return to your breath,
Inhaling I am,
Exhaling at peace.
Feel how love moves through you,
Not as something outside of you,
But as something you are made of.
Notice how it expands with every breath.
Rest here in the knowing that love can change form,
But it does not end.
My voice will be quiet for a little while.
Rest here in the stillness,
In the presence of love.
When you are ready,
Begin to bring your awareness back to your surroundings.
Notice the sounds around you.
Feel the support of the earth beneath you.
Begin to move your fingers and toes.
Roll your shoulders.
Take a deep breath in,
And an even deeper breath out.
Gently blink your eyes open.
It has been an honor to walk through these practices with you,
To share pieces of my story,
To guide you into stillness,
And to know that,
In some way,
Our paths have crossed in this quiet space.
We have journeyed together through 11 moments of stillness,
Pausing to breathe,
To listen,
To remember what's true.
Along the way,
You have touched quiet spaces within yourself,
And perhaps discovered that peace is not something to seek,
But something that has always been here.
If your world ever stands still,
May you remember to pause and listen,
To know that love is not bound by time,
Or distance,
Or even life itself.
It remains.
It transforms.
It finds new ways to reach you.
As this series comes to a close,
May the stillness we've shared become a steady thread,
Woven gently through the days ahead.
May you be well.
May you trust your own inner wisdom.
And may you always feel the peace that walks beside you.
