Hello and welcome.
I am seven.
And today's meditation.
Will focus.
On gaining a wider perspective.
But before we start.
.
.
Let's take a moment to settle in and arrive at this space.
Finding a comfortable position,
Whatever that means for you,
Right here,
Right now.
Allowing your body to become still.
While remaining soft and at ease.
I invite you to close your eyes,
If that feels good.
Or simply soften your gaze.
And for the next few minutes,
Just be right here,
Right now.
In this moment.
There's nowhere else you need to be,
Nothing else you need to do.
Nothing you need to solve.
Nothing you need to prove.
Simply be here.
Be present.
And now,
Taking a few breaths,
Slowly,
Gently.
Breathing in and out.
Letting go of anything that does not serve you anymore.
And with each breath allowing your attention to move away from the details of the day.
And gently towards the space within you,
Noticing your body.
Noticing your breath.
Noticing whether thoughts or feelings are present.
Without having to change anything.
And I'll bring into mind something that may.
.
.
Currently be occupying your thoughts?
Perhaps it is a situation that feels complicated or a conversation,
A decision.
A relationship.
Or simply something you have been thinking about repeatedly.
There's no need to analyze it.
Just notice.
How you see it right here,
Right now.
Imagining for a moment that you're taking one small step backwards.
You are no longer standing right in the middle of the situation.
You're simply observing it.
From a little further away.
Like you step back from a painting.
So that you can see more of the canvas.
And from this wider perspective that presents itself.
Notice.
What becomes visible.
Perhaps there are details you couldn't see before.
Perhaps something that felt enormous begins to feel a little smaller.
Perhaps you notice that there is more to the picture than the part you were focused on.
Taking another slow breath in.
And as you breathe out,
Allowing yourself to create even more space around the situation.
And now imagining that there are other people involved,
Each person having their own experiences,
Their own fears,
Their own hopes and their own history.
Their own way of seeing the world.
Without agreeing or disagreeing with them.
Simply become curious.
What might the situation look like from their perspective?
What might they be experiencing that you cannot immediately see?
You don't have to accept their perspective.
You don't have to abandon your own.
You're simply allowing another point of view to exist alongside yours.
And noticing.
What happens when you hold two perspectives at the same time?
Your perspective and another person's perspective.
Perhaps the picture becomes more complex.
And perhaps,
With that complexity,
There is also more understanding.
And now an invitation.
To widen the lens even further.
Imagine looking at your situation from above.
As though you could see the whole landscape rather than one small part of it.
See where this moment sits within the bigger picture of your life.
Ask yourself gently,
Will this matter in the same way a month from now?
Allowing for any answers that may come to you.
And perhaps asking the question,
What might this moment be teaching me?
And is there something here?
I cannot see it.
Don't try to search for an answer.
Simply allow the questions to open some space within you.
Sometimes we are so focused on one detail that we forget there is an entire landscape around it.
A difficult conversation is only one conversation.
A challenging day is only one day.
A mistake is only one moment.
A feeling is something we experience.
Not something we have to become.
And taking a slow breath in now.
And as you breathe out,
Imagine releasing the need to have the whole picture figured out right now.
You can allow time and life to unfold the picture for you.
Perhaps you can carry this simple reminder with you.
There's always more to the picture than what I can see right now.
Again,
Say it silently to yourself,
There is always more to the picture than what I can see right now.
And perhaps one more thing you can say to yourself,
I can hold my perspective with curiosity rather than certainty.
Allow these words to settle for a moment.
Take one more moment to notice yourself right here.
Breathing,
Being present.
Being a little further back from all the noise.
You don't need to have all the answers.
You only need enough space to see that there may be another way of looking.
And as you continue to inhale and exhale,
Begin to notice the room around you,
The space where you are in,
The surface beneath your body.
The sounds in the distance.
The movement of the air.
And gently deepening your breath.
Whenever you're ready,
You can slowly open your eyes if they were closed.
And carry this wider perspective with you.
Remembering that sometimes when we change the way we look at something,
We begin to see the situation differently.
And sometimes we discover that the picture was always bigger than we thought.
Thank you for being together.
And exploring a wider perspective.
Namaste.
