Welcome to this guided effortless meditation.
Before we start I invite you to find a comfortable place where you can be undisturbed for the next 20 minutes.
Turn off your electronic device and sit comfortably on your chosen seat.
You can sit cross-legged or with your feet on the ground.
And know that whenever you fear the need to move during this meditation you can do so.
It is important that you are comfortable so that your body and mind can move into stillness and relax and release tension and stress.
This meditation is designed to release stress deeply from your body,
To release tension that you hold.
And as we allow our awareness,
Our mind,
Just to rest effortlessly and easily on an anchor,
The body,
The mind and heart open up and release whatever they hold that needs letting go.
There is really no right or wrong and no need to focus or concentrate intensely.
I invite you now to close your eyes and take a few deep rounds of breathing.
Settling your awareness on your body,
Notice where your body connects to the support.
Taking a deep breath in and as you exhale allow your body to soften just a little more.
Letting go in your arms and shoulders.
Softening in your back and spine.
Softening your lower abdomen and ribcage.
And notice if you are holding any tension in your hips and if you are can you take a deep breath in and slowly release this tension through your exhalation.
Allow your legs soften and letting go in your feet.
Begin to gently move your awareness to the flow of your breath.
Just notice where the air moves in and out.
What that feels like maybe in your nostrils,
In your throat,
In your lungs.
Giving your mind the anchor of these sensations and the movement of your breath.
Allowing your mind to observe softly and gently.
There is no need to direct your breath in any way here.
Simply observe the flow of your breath.
Maybe notice if your breath naturally pauses after your inhalation or your exhalation.
See if you can just observe this pause and stillness too.
Your body will quite naturally initiate another inhalation or the exhalation whenever it is ready.
There is no need to control or hold the breath.
And I invite you now to let go of your breath awareness.
And I invite you now to let go of your breath awareness.
I am taking you on a journey through the senses.
One by one just becoming aware of the senses.
Beginning with the sense of sound.
Noticing any sounds furthest away from you.
Any sounds that are closer towards you.
See if you can allow these sounds in your awareness become softer,
More subtle.
Almost like they are drifting away,
Becoming fainter and fainter like an echo.
Until they are so subtle.
Begin to move your awareness slowly to your sense of touch.
Noticing where your body connects to the support again.
And the sensations this creates on the surface of your body.
Noticing the more subtle sensations of the clothing against your skin.
And becoming aware of possibly even more subtle sensations internally.
Allowing your awareness and these sensations becoming more and more subtle.
Slowly begin moving your awareness to the sense of sight.
Keeping your eyes closed here.
Just resting your awareness with the subtle black velvety space behind your eyelids.
Just observing this too even though you might not see anything in particular.
Allowing your eyes rest gently,
Softly in their sockets.
Now begin to move your awareness gently to your sense of taste.
Just start noticing your mouth,
Allowing your mouth to be soft.
Unclenching your teeth.
Maybe recalling the taste of a meal that you had today.
Maybe your favourite meal.
Just allowing this taste arise in your awareness.
And now allowing it to become more subtle again,
Fainter.
As if drifting away like an echo.
Finally becoming aware of your sense of smell.
Gently resting your awareness with your nostrils here.
And notice if you are perceiving any smells in the room you are.
It is totally fine if you are not perceiving any smells at all.
Maybe there is the scent of a plant or flower.
Maybe the scent of cooking in a different room.
Allowing this to become more and more subtle in your awareness.
To eventually you are moving away from this sense too.
Begin to move your awareness now into your heart centre.
Just resting your inner gaze with the centre of your heart.
Allowing the space of your heart centre effortlessly and easily come to your awareness.
And within your heart centre you begin to see a bright light.
Almost like the flame of a candle.
This light can be as small or as large as you wish.
It can be a white light.
It can be more like a candle light,
Yellow.
Simply rest your awareness on this bright light allowing it to shine through and illuminate your entire heart centre.
Just observing this light like you would observe the flame of a candle.
Remember that it is completely natural that our mind wanders off.
Whenever you happen to notice this,
Simply bring your awareness back to this bright light in the centre of your heart.
Gently,
Softly resting here.
And this light might become bigger or smaller.
It might even extend through your entire body.
Just easily allow this light be the anchor for your awareness.
There is no need to focus intensely.
Just allow your mind rest on this image whenever you happen to remember.
Simply allow the light shine brightly through your entire heart centre.
Resting your mind.
Resting your awareness.
Your mind resting your awareness with the light.
And now I invite you to let go of your anchor.
Just stay here for a few more moments in stillness.
Allowing the effect of the meditation to integrate.
There is nowhere to be,
Nothing to do.
Just resting here.
And then slowly begin to deepen your breath again.
Take a few deep breaths of breathing.
Reconnecting with the movement of your breath.
Begin to move your awareness back to your body.
Noticing where your body connects to your chosen support.
Keeping your eyes closed here for now.
Staying in the present moment.
And then begin to move your body slowly.
Maybe stretching and lengthening through your legs and arms.
Maybe turn your head from side to side.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
