Hello.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
I'm Mark Rowland.
For this practice we are going to explore an idea called mindful melting.
It's a simple visualisation built around the feeling of becoming less separate from the space around you.
Most of the time.
We experience ourselves as very clearly contained within the boundaries of the body.
There is me here inside this body and then everything else seems to exist somewhere outside of me.
This mindful melting practice plays gently with that sense of separation.
And as you relax you'll be invited to imagine the edges of your body becoming less definite allowing your awareness to spread into the space around you You're not trying to make yourself disappear and you don't have to force yourself into any unusual state.
We're simply exploring what happens when we stop holding quite so tightly the feeling of being separate from everything around you.
You might begin to notice that your breath is already moving between your body and the world.
Sounds reach you without having to go looking for them.
The air around you is already touching your skin.
So,
Rather than thinking of yourself as sitting apart from your surroundings,
We're going to experiment with feeling yourself as part of them.
If at any point this visualization doesn't feel comfortable,
Simply return your attention to the weight of your body and the surface beneath you.
For now.
Find a comfortable position where you can remain comfortable for the next few minutes.
And when you're ready.
Allow your eyes to close.
Take a slow breath in.
And let it leave without rushing.
Again,
Breathe in,
And breathe out.
Then allow the breath to find it's own natural pace.
Begin by feeling your body,
Exactly as it is,
Noticing the weight of yourself just resting here,
Feel the points where your body meets the surface beneath you,
For a little while you don't have to do anything with those sensations,
Simply feel yourself here.
Breathing.
Aware.
And supported.
Now bring your attention toward the outer edges of the body,
Noticing the feeling of clothing against your skin.
Noticing the temperature of the air.
Feeling where the air meets your face,
And your hands.
And begin to imagine that the boundary of your body is becoming slightly softer.
.
.
You can still feel your body,
You still know exactly where you are but perhaps that line between you and the space immediately around you.
Can become.
A little less important,
A little more.
Blood.
Imagine yourself beginning to melt into the space around you.
Very gradually.
Though the edges of you can spread into the air around your body.
There is nowhere you need to reach.
Allowed a feeling move outward at its own pace.
Perhaps just a few centimetres beyond the skin.
Allowing your awareness to occupy that space too.
Now notice the sounds around you instead of experiencing them as things happening somewhere outside of you.
See if you can let them become part of this wider field of awareness.
A sound appears,
It enters your awareness and for that moment,
You and the sound are part of the same experience.
Continue imagining yourself melting gently outward.
.
.
Into the room into the air.
Into the sounds that come and go.
.
.
Perhaps the usual outline of your body feels a little less defined now You don't need to decide exactly where you end and your surroundings begin.
Let that question become unnecessary for a little while feel your breath moving,
Air enters your body.
Air leaves your body and returns to the space around you.
Breathing itself is a constant exchange between you and your surroundings.
Let yourself feel that connection and now imagine your awareness widening even further.
Allowing it to include the whole room.
You are still here at the centre of your experience but you can also feel yourself belonging completely within the space around you.
Let yourself melt into it.
No sharp edge,
No need to hold yourself apart.
Just this wider experience of being here you might imagine the walls becoming part of your awareness.
The space beyond them,
The air outside,
The world continuing around you.
And rather than observing all of that from a distance.
Feel yourself included within it.
Now imagine that your awareness doesn't have to stop at the edges of this room.
Let it move gently beyond the walls,
Feel yourself becoming part of the space outside.
Without needing to picture every detail.
Allowing that sense of yourself.
That oneness to spread a little further.
Right into the open air and into the space above you.
Perhaps you can imagine the sky stretching far beyond anything you could ever hold in your awareness all at once.
Still.
You belong with it,
You are part of it.
Allow yourself to melt a little further into that huge vastness You might imagine the earth beneath you now,
Holding everything together,
And above it,
The enormous space beyond the atmosphere,
Extending further than the mind can possibly comprehend.
You don't need to try to picture the whole universe.
Simply allow yourself to sense its vastness and sense that you are part of it melting into the universe.
And for these few moments,
Let go of the idea that you are a separate observer looking out at it.
You are here within it,
Made from the same stuff,
Existing with the same vast space.
You are part of something immeasurably larger than the boundaries you usually experience.
As yourself.
Let yourself rest in that,
No need to reach any further,
No need to try to understand it.
Just this feeling of being included.
Of belonging.
Of being part of everything around you and now very gradually begin to gather your awareness back toward where you are.
From that vast space back toward the earth beneath you,
Back toward the place where you are resting.
Slowly begin to notice the room again Feel the shape of your body becoming clearer again.
The weight of your hands,
Your feet.
The surface supporting you.
And perhaps notice that returning to your body doesn't have to mean becoming separate again from everything.
You can feel yourself here clearly and completely and still remember that you are part of everything that you just imagined.
Take a deeper breath in.
.
.
And slowly breathe out.
.
.
And when you are ready slowly gently open your eyes,
Thank you so much for taking this journey with me today.
Have a beautiful rest of your day.
Go in peace.
Namaste.
