Hello.
And welcome.
Thank you so much for being here.
I'm Mark Rowland If your mind has felt busy today,
If your thoughts have been racing from one thing to the next,
Or perhaps you have found yourself replaying conversations,
Worrying about tomorrow or carrying things you simply can't seem to put down.
This meditation.
Is for you.
The first thing I'd like you to know is that there is nothing wrong with you.
A busy mind is often a caring mind.
Because it tries to solve,
It tries to prepare.
It tries to protect.
The problem is that sometimes it forgets when its work is done.
So today.
.
.
We're not going to fight the mind.
We are just going to.
Give it permission.
To rest for a little while.
Take a slow breath.
Gentle breath in.
And breathe out.
Again,
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
Now allow your breathing just to find its own natural and comfortable rhythm there is nowhere else you need to be.
Nothing you need to solve.
Nothing you need to achieve.
During these next few minutes.
This moment.
Begin to notice the places where your body is being held and supported.
Feeling the weight of your feet,
You'll like.
Your hands.
You really don't need to hold yourself up quite so much right now.
Simply let the chair,
The bed or the ground beneath you carry some of that weight for you instead.
You may notice thoughts still arriving,
And that is perfectly okay.
We really don't need an empty mind.
We just need to.
.
.
Different relationships.
With our thoughts.
Imagine you are sitting beside a gentle stream.
And each thought.
Is like a leaf.
Floating on paths,
Some leaves.
Move quickly downstream.
Others seemed to circle for a while.
Before then drifting on.
You don't need to climb into the water.
You don't need to chase the leaves.
And you don't need to.
Pushed them away either.
Simply watch them come.
And watch them go.
Perhaps a thought about tomorrow appears.
If it does,
Notice it.
Then gently let it continue downstream.
A memory arrives.
If it does.
Notice it.
And allow it to drift onto.
Even if the same thought comes back again.
Treat it like another leaf.
No frustration.
Without judgement.
Just noticing.
Now bring your attention back to your breathing.
Not trying to change it.
Simply feeling it.
The gent to rise.
And full of each breath.
The breath has no interest in yesterday.
It has no concern for tomorrow.
It only knows this moment.
And every time you notice you've wandered into thought.
Then you've already succeeded because you've noticed and that moment of noticing.
Is the moment you've returned.
Sometimes we believe that peace comes when every thought vanishes.
But,
Perhaps.
.
.
Peace isn't the absence of thinking.
Maybe pieces discovering that thought can be present without carrying us away with them,
Like clouds crossing a wide open blue sky.
The sky doesn't need to stop the clouds.
It simply allows them to pass,
In the same way.
Your awarenesses.
Much bigger than any single thought.
Thoughts move through the awareness,
But they do not define it.
See if you can rest for a few moments as that open sky,
Spacious,
Steady.
Unaffected by whatever thoughts happen to drift across.
Take another slow breath in.
And gently breathe out.
Notice whether your shoulders can soften just a little bit whether your jaw can relax and unclench,
Whether the tiny muscles around your eyes can become.
A little lighter.
Not because you are trying to force relaxation,
But because nothing is being asked of you right now.
Before we finish.
I'd like to leave you with one gentle reminder.
You do not have to solve your whole life today.
You do not have to answer.
Every question tonight.
Do not have to think every thought simply because it arrives.
Sometimes,
The kindest thing we can do for ourselves is to allow ourselves to pause and trust that tomorrow's mind will meet theirs.
Tomorrow's challenges.
But for now.
.
.
This moment is enough.
Take one final comfortable breath in.
.
.
And slowly breathe out.
.
.
Beginning to notice the room around you once more the sounds nearby.
The feeling of the air against your skin.
Perhaps gently wiggle your fingers and toes.
And whenever you're ready.
Allow.
Your eyes.
To open.
Thank you so much for taking just these few moments to pause with me today.
May you carry a little more space.
A little more ease.
And the reminder.
That even when your mind feels busy.
Peace is never as far away as it may seem.
Have a beautiful rest of your day.
Go in peace.
Namaste.
