Welcome to today's meditation.
And what's coming up today for me in light of the holidays,
In light of the people or environments that might be more triggering than usual as we approach the holiday season,
Is this thought that what you think about somebody else is not your business.
And what you think of yourself is not your business.
As we so often stay in the head where the thinking,
The movie of the mind exists.
And it's with practices like meditation that allows us to drop into the heart where we're able to meet people with compassion.
And reserving judgment.
And so if you happen to get triggered by a person or in an environment,
A,
Just even recognizing that you're being triggered is so beautiful.
Because that shows a beautiful sense of awareness to even be cognizant that there's something going on inside.
So that's beautiful.
And then on top of that,
If we stay in that heart and not allow ourselves to attach a story or a narrative to that thought,
We can show up with compassion.
And we can not think about what they're doing wrong or where they're falling short.
It just simply allows us to acknowledge another person with compassion.
So I would encourage you to reflect on that during the holidays.
And remember,
It's not our business what we think of other people.
It's not our business what we think of ourselves.
Because that's all just nonsense anyways.
It's just our movie that we're creating.
So with that being said,
Let us dip in and sink into this practice today.
So please allow yourself to get as comfortable as you possibly can.
Finding some stillness,
If it's accessible and safe for you to close your eyelids,
Or a soft gaze in front of you works just as beautifully.
The intent is to minimize the distractions around us.
Feeling ourselves move into a stiller way of being.
Releasing the doing,
Embracing the being.
Perhaps you're noticing your breathing is a little slower.
That you already have a sense of what's going on in your body.
That you already feel,
Perhaps,
A sense of calm by just giving yourself a little space and permission to release the thinking.
And with each breath,
Dropping a little further and further dropping a little further and further into this beautiful stillness that you're creating.
Softly moving your focus to your eye sockets.
Softening the area around the eye.
Releasing any tension or stress that might have accumulated there.
Moving your attention down to the jaw.
Softening the jaw,
Releasing any stress or tension.
Taking notice of your tongue in your mouth.
And again,
Just letting that be.
Noticing your lips gently meeting one another at ease.
Maybe you feel some sensation around the lips.
Focusing a few moments on that contact point between the upper and the lower lip.
So much energy flowing through our body.
Can you feel that sensation percolating at the lips?
Then moving down to your shoulders.
Softening your shoulder blades.
Feeling your shoulders drop.
Letting go of any stress.
And then just bringing our attention to the breath.
And focusing on the exhale,
The most underrated part of the breath,
But arguably one of the most important.
The exhale allows us to release any stale or unnecessary air from our bodies.
To make space for the new.
In these next few moments,
Let's focus on extending that exhalation a few more seconds than usual.
We've begun to move our thinking from the head and that movie mind down into the heart where our true home lives.
Your true knowing.
But when we stay up in the head,
We can't access that true knowing.
It's too loud and noisy.
Too many thoughts about others and ourselves,
Our circumstances.
But in this moment,
You're dropping down into the homeland,
Into our heart.
Quieting the mind allows us to open that heart and receive all we need.
And bringing our attention into that heart space focusing in on that heart from the outside in.
What that heart would look like,
All the intricacies of that heart.
Every picture you've seen of a heart,
Of that vows,
Of all of the intricacies of that heart.
Complexities of the heart.
Release the story and the narrative.
Focusing your attention and your breath right at the heart.
And now moving from that image of the heart to that picture of the heart.
And let's go behind the curtain and look at it from the inside out.
As if you're in your body and have a bird's eye view of that heart.
The pumping.
Circulating through.
The masterpiece in motion.
The miracle that is breath.
Can you feel the energy of the heart?
Any sensations in the heart space?
Staying right there.
Focusing on this beautiful masterpiece that's functioning perfectly for you.
What do you feel?
Or deep sea?
Letting go of the thoughts.
Allowing yourself to sink back down into the heart.
Settling the mind.
Opening the heart.
Allowing yourself to ground,
Center,
And expand.
Opening up endless possibilities for you.
Center.
Expand.
Allowing ourselves to move our attention away from the body that's been grounding us in the present moment.
The felt sense of being.
Moving our attention to our senses,
To our sense of hearing.
And leaning in to all the sounds that are around you.
The orchestra of sound.
Allowing yourself to move from sound to sound.
Allowing yourself to move from sound to sound.
Noticing the sounds that are closest to you.
And those at a distance.
Those that are fleeting.
And those that are consistent.
Continuing to let yourself move from sound to sound.
With curiosity.
And allowing yourself to land on just one sound.
Just labeling it.
Stop the story.
Stop the story.
Getting curious about the sound.
So if someone asked you how to describe it,
You'd be able to in detail.
Allowing yourself to take a deep belly breath in.
And release.
Finding yourself back to that sound.
Maybe the quality is a little different.
With that still energy and air having left us.
And it being replaced with greater vitality.
And now releasing that sound.
Bringing your attention back to your heart space.
And again,
Just being conscious of the energy around your heart.
Maybe you see a ring of light around the heart.
Maybe you envision the pumping of the heart radiating energy off that.
Just getting curious about the energy around the heart.
Recognizing the secret container that you're creating that will continue to grow and expand and expand.
That will continue to grow and expand and evolve.
Remembering that we are so much more than our thoughts and belief.
If we can allow ourselves to release that grip,
We'll be able to see the unfolding of our highest good.
Where we're able to process,
Accept,
And heal all our wounds.
This is the place of healing.
This is our home.
Together we'll continue to live more in this space than on the surface.
As we come to close this practice to seal in this beautiful container that you've created,
This beautiful energy that you've generated for the good of you,
For the good of others sitting with us,
And for the greater collective.
We'll seal this practice with three collective breaths,
Audible exhales,
Releasing and letting go what is no longer serving you.
So let's release that stale breath.
Exhale,
Exhale,
Exhale,
And big inhale.
And let it go.
Beautiful.
And another inhale.
And let it go.
Nervous spinal breath together.
Moving on.
If accessible and comfortable for you to do so,
Please bring your soul,
Your hands together.
The palms of your hands together into your chest.
Bowing in deep gratitude to yourself.
Bowing in deep gratitude to yourself for cleaning the filter that gets a lot of filth,
Continues to get caught in there.
But today you have cleaned that filter.
And may you return to this practice to continue cleaning that filter and making space in your heart where that inner knowing lives.
You are limitless.
You are full of potential.
You are loved.
And you are safe.
May the light in yourself continue shining for the world to see.
Releasing your hands by your side.
And slowly at your own pace,
Allowing your eyes to meet the light in the room.
Thank you.
Thank you for being here,
Joining us in this beautiful meditation.
Wishing you the best today,
Tomorrow,
And all days forward.
Thank you.
