Welcome to Rooted Growth,
A place where you're invited to slow down,
Soften,
And reconnect.
My name is Lisa,
And I'm so glad you're here.
In this practice,
You'll find space for both stillness and inspiration,
Without pressure and without needing to be anywhere else.
Today's practice is called Living Among the Roses.
So often we hear the phrase,
Slow down and smell the roses,
Which is lovely.
But if I'm honest,
Most of the time,
Slowing down turns into just one more task.
Pause.
Take a breath.
Notice something beautiful.
Check.
Back to work.
We seem to just visit beauty.
We don't really learn how to inhabit it.
Meditation begins to show us that there is a difference.
There's a kind of slowing down that is temporary.
A quick inhale of life before we return to something,
Usually striving.
And then there's a deeper slowing,
Where we allow ourselves to live at that pace.
Have you ever done that?
To stroll through a garden instead of rushing through.
To sit long enough among the flowers,
Among the roses,
So that the fragrance becomes an atmosphere.
Living Among the Roses means that we're no longer stealing those moments of presence.
We're choosing them as our home.
It's the difference between taking a vacation from your life and letting your life feel spacious from the inside out.
When we slow down enough,
Something subtle happens inside.
Have you felt it?
I think we begin to notice that peace wasn't something we had to create.
It was waiting underneath all the time.
And perhaps most tenderly,
We begin to fully realize that we don't have to earn our way into this moment.
The smell of the roses doesn't demand productivity.
It doesn't require worthiness.
It simply exists.
Meditation is not an escape from life.
It's kind of a training in residence.
We are practicing living here.
Not visiting.
Not sampling.
Not performing calm.
I just had air quotes.
Living it.
Breathing at the pace of what is real.
And really letting beauty be ordinary.
Letting presence be something that's sustainable.
Letting ourselves belong fully to this moment.
Belong so fully that we're not rushing towards the next moment.
You don't have to move faster than your soul.
You can live here.
Now let's prepare for our meditation.
Find a comfortable seat.
Rest your hands gently in your lap.
And softly close your eyes.
Go within to that place of inner quiet.
Where we experience our connection to our higher self.
Begin to observe the inflow and the outflow of your breath.
With each inflow and outflow of your breath,
Allow yourself to become more relaxed.
More comfortable.
More at peace.
Take your seat of quiet dignity.
Our centering thought for this meditation.
I slow down enough to belong to this moment.
I slow down enough to belong to this moment.
Hold it softly in your heart.
Hold it.
Now let me introduce today's mantra.
I belong here.
On your inhale,
I belong.
Exhale,
Here.
I belong here.
As your thoughts wander during this meditation,
Gently invite yourself back,
Your attention back,
To our mantra.
I belong here.
Please continue with your meditation.
I'll mind the time.
Starting and ending with a soft bell.
It's time to gently release the mantra.
Sit restfully for a few moments.
And when you feel ready,
Allow your eyes to open softly.
And bring the light of this practice back into your day.
As you move through your day,
Carry our centering thought with you.
I slow down enough to belong to this moment.
Thank you so much for your practice today.
May the calm you've cultivated here continue to support and steady you through whatever comes next.
Namaste.
