Welcome to this mindful surrender meditation.
As we begin,
Take a moment to get comfortable,
Allowing yourself to simply settle into this moment,
Giving yourself permission to shift from a mode of doing into a mode of non-doing just for a little while,
Bringing your attention to the posture of the body,
Sitting comfortably with the back straight,
Gently lifting the head upwards from the crown and tucking the chin slightly inwards so that the heart,
Mind,
And body feel aligned.
Now gently close the eyes,
Allowing the eyelids to rest easily one on top of the other.
If you prefer to practice with the eyes open,
Keep a soft gaze just ahead of you.
Now inviting in a few deeper breaths into the body,
Breathing in calm on the in-breath and breathing out peace on the out-breath.
Breathing in calm,
Breathing out peace.
Breathing in calm and breathing out peace.
Now releasing the deeper breaths,
Allow the breath to return to its natural state,
Flowing naturally in and out,
Not trying to control or change the breath in any way,
Simply allowing the breath to just be.
Keeping a gentle awareness of the breath as it moves in and out and through the body.
Take the next few moments to notice where you may feel the breath in the body,
Perhaps noticing a sense of coolness on the nostrils with each breath as it enters the nose,
Followed by a gentle warmth as the breath leaves the nose.
Maybe noticing the rise and fall of the chest or abdomen with each breath,
Or possibly feeling the entire body expanding and contracting with the flow of the breath.
Simply be the observer of the breath in this moment as it flows in and out,
And stay with the sensation of the breath for the next few moments.
If the mind begins to stray off into the abyss of thoughts,
Becoming distracted by what was or what will be,
That is okay.
Simply surrender to the moment with a mindful awareness of thought,
Allowing the breath to draw you back into the present experience.
Whenever you find yourself caught in thought,
You may find it helpful to say to yourself,
Aha,
I'm thinking,
And give yourself permission to return to the breath,
Simply breathing in and out.
With intention now,
Allow the breath to invite a deeper softening into the whole body,
One breath at a time,
Relaxing any part of the body that may still be tense or tight,
Bringing attention to the body,
Maybe noticing if you need to move or adjust in any way so that the body feels even more comfortable and supported.
Perhaps noticing any points of contact that the body may be making with the surface beneath you,
The feet gently placed on the floor or cushion,
Inviting a sense of connectedness with the earth as you are held and supported in this moment.
Now allowing the edges of the eyes and the jaw to soften,
And the shoulders to drop away from the ears just a bit more,
And the hands to gently lie in the lap,
One on top of the other.
Allowing the body to just be as you continue to mindfully surrender to this moment.
Stay now with the awareness and sensations of the body for the next few moments.
When we choose to allow ourselves to mindfully surrender to the present moment,
Allowing life to simply unfold just as it is,
Regardless of circumstances,
We can begin to trust in the process of life.
As we learn to trust in our own process and timing,
We begin to grow and expand our capacity for acceptance in all areas of our life,
In relationships,
Work,
Family,
Health,
And so much more.
When we surrender and release our control over people,
Places,
Things,
And outcomes,
We free our heart.
The desire to cling or push away whatever we are experiencing will fade,
Freeing us from attachment and craving.
With mindful surrender,
We can finally begin to follow the way of our heart,
Trusting and knowing that everything is as it should be in this moment.
With the next breath,
Breathe in a warm,
Soothing energy into your heart space,
Allowing this warm energy to move and flow with each breath through the whole body,
Embracing you and holding you.
If it feels right to you,
Maybe placing one or both hands over the heart,
Allowing this warm,
Enveloping energy to continue to hold you for the next few breaths.
Now allowing the hands to return to your lap,
Release the focus of practice,
Allowing the breath and awareness to be open and free,
Maybe inviting in a quality of gratitude and compassion towards self for taking this time to practice a mindful surrender.
Now begin to invite some mindful movements into the body,
Maybe flexing and pointing the toes,
Opening and closing the hands,
Rolling the shoulders back and forth,
And maybe moving the head from side to side,
Bringing your body back to an alert state,
Gently moving and stretching in any way that feels supportive.
Maybe even taking a few deeper breaths to reawaken the body.
With the next breath,
If the eyes have been closed,
Gently floating them open and sitting for a moment,
Allowing the qualities of your practice to continue to flow through you so that you may take them with you for the remainder of your day.