Welcome to the Centering Meditation,
A mindfulness technique designed to quiet the mind,
Calm the nervous system and anchor awareness in the present moment.
It involves focusing on the breath or a center,
Often the lower abdomen,
To bring scattered energy back to oneself,
Fostering inner peace,
Stability and emotional balance.
In this practice you'll be guided to discover a compassionate word or phrase that applies to you and your current situation.
Beginning practitioners of loving-kindness meditation can use Centering Meditation to discover their own personalized loving-kindness phrase or mantra.
Let's begin.
Sitting comfortably or laying down,
Close your eyes and take a few deep relaxing breaths.
Notice your posture in this very moment.
And begin to check in with any sensations in the body.
If you have any physical discomfort,
Gently touch it with your awareness.
If you encounter emotional distress,
Notice it and let it be there,
Just as it is.
You can place one or two hands on your chest as a reminder to give yourself loving attention.
Feel the warmth of your hands,
The gentle pressure and the rhythmic rising and falling of your chest as you breathe.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Keep noticing your breathing.
As you breathe,
Let your awareness move deeply into the experience of breathing.
Breathing as a meditation.
If your mind wonders,
And it will,
Simply come back to your in-breath and your out-breath.
Finding this center.
Continue to breathe and open your awareness to the space between your out-breath and your in-breath.
That space,
That pause between the two.
Let your awareness drop into the space between your out-breath and the next in-breath.
The breath comes seemingly out of nowhere.
It's actually breathing you in this very moment.
Keeping you healthy.
Keeping all the organs and all the tissues alive.
Even out of your awareness.
As you continue here,
Go deeply into the deep,
Empty space from which breathing emerges.
From which the faintest movement originates.
This is a field of great peace and freedom.
Just as your in-breath originates out of seemingly nowhere,
Your thoughts also emerge out of a deep,
Quiet and visible space.
When you're ready,
Listen for any words that may bubble up.
Open yourself to a word or phrase that might be just what you need to hear right now.
If a word or phrase were to appear from the bottom of your heart,
What would it be?
What would a loving,
Kind word or phrase be?
Take a few moments to just listen from deep inside.
Breathe,
Relax and open yourself to the words that might bubble up from deep inside.
If no words arise,
Just stay with your breath.
And if a few words arise,
Roll them over in your mind.
And select one that's perfect for you at this very moment.
Some possibilities might be love.
Let it be.
I love you.
Trust.
Peace.
I am okay.
When you have a word or phrase,
Allow yourself to savour it,
Rolling it over and over in your mind.
Having this word or phrase be the centre of your attention.
You might even see the words and the feeling all from within.
And if you notice your mind wandering,
Bring it ever so gently back to the word or words.
After a while,
Let go of what you're doing and simply be with your inner experience.
Letting yourself be just as you are in this very moment.
I invite you to take the next few moments to simply be here.
Thank you for gifting yourself this practice.
And may you return to it whenever you would like.
Until the next time.
