Find a comfortable position.
Whether seated or lying down,
Settle into the position.
And maybe allow the physical and non-physical energies to separate out.
So maybe the physical body is in stillness,
But the energetic body is pinging around.
So just notice.
Sometimes when we come into meditation,
Just that act of sitting and being physically still makes the energy inside more obvious.
And it can feel unsettling if the energetic body isn't still.
So that's what our practice is for.
There's nothing wrong with us if the physical and energetic bodies don't have the same stillness.
We can use the breath to help them,
The physical and energetic bodies,
To come into the same stillness.
So take a moment to notice the physical and non-physical energy.
And maybe imagine the stillness as a pond.
Notice the sunlight on the surface of the pond.
The stillness of the water,
And maybe invite that stillness to fill the body.
Imagine the reeds and the grass at the banks,
The temperature of the day,
The birds singing.
Everything looks perfectly still,
But from that place of physical stillness,
Maybe notice the movement all around.
So what is happening in the grass?
There's a lot of life happening that we notice more from a place of stillness.
Maybe there's a grasshopper just doing his grasshopper day.
And now imagine you are the grasshopper,
And you're in the tall grasses and taking in the warmth of the sun,
Taking in the environment.
Experiencing the world in a grasshopper way.
So how does it feel to be standing on a blade of grass?
What does the world look like from there?
What does it feel like to find a drop of dew or rain from the night before and taste this drop,
Which to you as a grasshopper is a full drink?
What does that taste like?
And who do you meet on your day?
Once you've had your drink of rainwater,
Maybe those legs full of all that energy help you to leap to another blade of grass.
And maybe you meet a ladybird,
A little dormouse.
What does it feel like to encounter this other side of the grasshopper?
A life in some ways so different from yours.
This ladybird with her red shell and black spots,
And her roundness and her wings,
She looks so different from you.
And at the same time,
You're both just doing your day.
She is looking for something to drink,
She is looking for something sweet,
A taste of life.
What does it look like from the green all around of the grass and the reeds by the lake?
The blue sky,
The white clouds,
The bright sun,
The smell of the earth,
The freshness of the air,
The aliveness in the grass and the water.
So,
For the next few breaths,
There's an invitation to spend some time in this place with the stillness of the lake and the aliveness all around of the plants and the trees and the insects.
And the birds.
And with each breath,
Notice the stillness and the life.
And maybe on the inhale,
You might like to whisper to yourself the word life.
And on the exhale,
Stillness.
So,
We'll take a few moments for you to spend time in this place of life and stillness.
Gently coming back.
Allow the breath to be easy and gentle.
Thank your grasshopper self for taking this time to look at the world,
Interact with the world a little bit differently,
Take a different perspective.
And bringing a little bit of energy back into the body,
Maybe wiggling the fingers and toes,
Notice your grasshopper hands,
Maybe take a stretch.
And as we bring this meditation to a close,
Thank yourself for this practice,
For sharing it with other people in the world.
With the other ladybirds and dormice.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
