Hi,
This is Aidan,
And welcome to this meditation today where we journey inward,
Guided by the image of falling rain,
Into a deeper awareness of yourself as the steady observer,
The one who remains present no matter what storms may pass.
Like raindrops on a window,
Thoughts and feelings arrive in their own time.
Some rush down quickly.
Some linger.
Some gather into streams.
Yet you are not the window itself.
You are the one inside,
Watching.
From here,
You can see clearly.
From here,
You are free to choose what matters.
So let us begin.
Find a comfortable position.
Let your body settle into the seat beneath you.
Let your shoulders soften,
Your hands rest easily,
And your jaw unclench.
And gently close your eyes,
Or lower your gaze if you prefer.
Turn your attention inward,
Towards the rhythm of your breath.
Notice the air as it enters,
Cool,
Refreshing,
And as it leaves,
Softer,
Warmer.
You don't need to control the breath.
Simply allow it to rise and fall on its own.
Take a moment to sense the whole of your body,
From the crown of your head,
Down through your neck,
Your chest and arms,
Your back and belly,
Hips,
Legs and feet.
Your body as one living presence,
Here held in stillness.
If your mind wanders,
Gently bring it back,
Not with force,
But with kindness,
As you Now,
In your mind's eye,
Picture yourself in a quiet,
Safe room.
The air is calm,
The space is warm,
You feel at ease.
In front of you is a wide window.
Outside,
The rain has begun to fall.
Hear its soft tapping against the glass.
Watch as drops of water gather and slide downward.
Some move quickly,
Others hang for a moment,
Heavy,
Before falling.
Some join together,
Becoming a stream,
Weaving its own path.
Take your time,
Just sit by the window.
Watch the drops come and go.
Listen to the rain.
Nothing to change,
Nothing to fix,
Just witnessing.
Now notice,
Each raindrop is like a thought.
Some race through quickly,
Fleeting ideas,
Gone almost before you've noticed them.
Others cling to the glass,
Holding on as if unwilling to move.
Some join with others,
Gathering into streams,
Weaving whole stories across the window.
Just as with your thoughts,
Some are light and passing,
Some are sticky and persistent.
Some connect with others,
Forming patterns that can seem so convincing.
Whatever their shape or speed,
They are still only raindrops.
And your thoughts,
Too,
Are just thoughts.
Not truths,
Not commands,
Just words,
Images and memories,
Moving across the glass of your mind.
Take a moment now to practice this.
As you sit here,
Notice what thoughts are showing up in your own mind.
Whatever arises,
Imagine placing it gently on the window,
As if it has become a raindrop.
See it slide,
Linger or merge,
But still just a raindrop.
Still just a thought.
Perhaps a thought about the past appears.
See it form as a drop on the window.
Let it move in its own way.
Noticing,
Naming,
And letting it be.
Perhaps a worry about the future arises.
Place it on the glass.
Watch it slide,
Slow or fast,
Joining other drops.
A worry.
A raindrop.
Perhaps a judgement about yourself comes into awareness.
Again,
Place it gently on the window.
A raindrop among raindrops.
You don't have to fight it.
You don't have to hold on to it.
It moves in its own time,
Leaving you free simply to notice.
And continue practicing in silence for a few moments now.
Whatever thoughts arise,
Plans,
Doubts,
Stories,
Daydreams,
Place each one on the window as a raindrop.
Notice it,
Name it if you like.
And let it pass.
And as you do this,
Notice what it feels like to step back.
To see thoughts not as reality,
Not as orders you must obey,
But as raindrops sliding on the glass.
Raindrops.
Interesting shapes.
Nothing more.
Notice again the window before you.
Raindrops gather,
Fall,
And scatter into streams.
Some drops are small and light,
Barely touching your awareness.
Others are heavy,
Striking the glass more sharply.
Just notice the gentle and the heavy.
There's no need to wipe the glass.
No need to push the rain away.
No need to demand clear skies.
The window does its job.
It allows you to see,
Even through rain.
So too,
Your body and mind are simply being with whatever arrives.
Consider how the rain has always come and gone through the years.
Childhood storms.
Young adult showers.
Recent passing drizzles.
Each time,
The sky shifted,
And yet you remained.
Bring to mind three kinds of weather that sometimes visit.
Perhaps worry as a grey drizzle.
Perhaps sadness,
A steady downpour.
Maybe joy,
A sudden burst of sunlight through the clouds.
Notice how all of them belong to weather.
All are temporary,
Moving through the same sky.
You don't have to chase the sun,
Or fight the rain.
Return to your body.
Feel the weight of your hands resting.
The feet grounded.
Acceptance is not in the mind alone.
It's in the muscles,
In the breath,
In the simple act of letting be.
Notice the simple rise and fall of your breath.
Feel the weight of your body supported here.
Let your awareness rest just behind the eyes,
Or in the center of the chest.
All around you,
Like a quiet room.
Wherever it settles,
Let it be easy.
At the window,
Raindrops appear and move.
Inside the room,
You are still.
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Urges,
Memories.
These are like drops,
And weather.
You are the room that holds it all.
If it helps,
Whisper inwardly,
Here is a thought,
Here is a feeling,
Here is a sensation.
And then,
Here I am,
The space that notices.
The first step is noticing.
Bring to mind any gentle thought,
And say silently,
I notice a thought.
Watch it,
Like a single raindrop.
And now say,
I notice that I'm noticing this thought.
Like seeing the raindrop,
And also seeing the window.
And then say,
I am the one who notices.
And let yourself rest as that.
Steady,
Spacious,
Unchanged.
Imagine the windowpane,
Right in front of you.
Cool glass,
Faint reflections.
Raindrops glide and join.
And now widen your sense of the room behind you.
Walls,
Floor,
Ceiling.
The air that holds you.
The quiet that surrounds you.
Drops belong to the window.
You belong to the room.
Sense that the room itself sits within a larger house.
Other rooms.
Other windows.
Other ways of seeing.
Awareness is not narrow.
It is broad and kind.
There is always more space than weather.
If the mind pulls you towards the glass,
Offer this quiet refrain.
This too is appearing in me.
Not to me,
Not at me,
But in the space of awareness I am resting as now.
Repeat softly a few times,
Letting the words fade until only the sense remains.
For a short while,
Do nothing.
Let the rain be the rain.
Let thoughts be thoughts.
Rest as the room that includes them and is not defined by them.
From this steady vantage point,
Let your gaze move through the glass again.
First the drops,
Then beyond them.
Toward what matters outside.
People,
Places,
Ways of living that call you forward.
Carry the room with you.
The room goes wherever you go.
Even outdoors,
In the rain,
This space of awareness walks with you.
And through the rain,
You glimpse the world waiting.
Gardens,
Paths,
Streets,
Mountains,
People,
Places.
The life that stretches beyond the weather.
What do you see that matters most to you?
Who,
Or what,
Calls to you,
Even in the rain?
Perhaps it's a loved one.
Perhaps it is a calling,
A path,
A way of being in the world.
Perhaps it is the simple beauty of living with kindness,
With courage,
With love.
Let an image,
A feeling,
A sense of what matters most come to you now.
Hold it gently,
Like a candle burning steadily,
Even as the rain falls.
And now,
Notice,
The door is there.
You can rise,
You can choose to open it.
The rain may still be falling,
The sky may still be grey,
But you are free to step outside.
Imagine yourself reaching for the handle,
Opening the door,
Stepping out.
The rain may touch your skin,
You may feel its coolness,
Its weight,
But it does not stop you.
Each step you take is a step towards what matters most.
Toward the people,
The places,
The values that call you forward.
Notice the steadiness that comes from choosing your own direction,
Rain or shine.
And so,
In this meditation,
We've sat by the window,
Watching the raindrops fall.
We've seen how thoughts can come and go like drops of water on glass.
We have remembered that the weather outside,
Like life's experiences,
Is beyond our control.
We have rested in the steady self inside,
The one who watches.
We have looked beyond the window,
Toward what truly matters.
And we have stepped outside,
Walking toward those values,
Even with the rain falling.
Take a breath,
Feel your body once more.
Notice the ground beneath you,
The air around you,
The rhythm of your breath.
In a moment you'll return to the here and now,
Carrying with you this perspective.
That thoughts are raindrops,
Weather passes,
And you can always choose to step toward what matters.
Take a deeper breath,
Wiggle your fingers and toes.
When you're ready,
Let your eyes open,
Return to the present moment.
Steady,
Spacious,
And clear.
