So beginning to work your way into that still position,
Sitting upright or lying down,
Just finding comfort where you are,
Allowing your arms and hands to rest in a relaxed way,
Your spine nice and long,
Your chin slightly tucked,
Inviting your eyes to gradually close,
And scanning your body for any areas of noticeable tension,
Releasing the hold,
Purposefully relaxing the next few out-breaths,
And clenching your jaw,
Relaxing your shoulders,
Let the belly be soft,
Allow yourself to sink in,
And beginning to slow your breath down,
And just letting the events of the day melt away,
Anything that's led you up to here,
Just letting that fall away with these slower breaths,
And returning to an effortless breath,
Rest here in this very open,
Relaxed state of awareness,
Begin to visualize yourself in the ocean,
Noting a sense of calm here,
As you float,
There are no worries to be had,
There are no complications here,
Within this sea,
This ocean,
This space,
You can breathe,
You are warm,
You are safe,
And in these early stages of the practice,
Remaining at the surface level,
Just noticing anything that's here,
Presence of any thoughts,
Sounds,
Merely just any experience that tries to draw you away,
Dropping anchor in your breath,
And leaning into that subtle pull of gravity that your breath creates,
And allowing the movement of your breath to take you deeper into this meditative state,
Visualizing yourself drifting closer towards the ocean floor,
Diffusing and letting go of what's occurring at the surface,
And sinking further into that peaceful,
Quiet,
Expansive place,
Towards the depths of the ocean floor,
And all of these thoughts,
Distractions,
Life going on above you,
You can just watch that from the depths of the ocean,
So not pushing it away,
Just allowing it to be there,
While you stay here,
Allowing the space of the ocean to be that body in which you observe your thoughts and experiences from,
Noticing the natural wandering of the mind,
Noticing yourself beginning to drift towards the surface,
Levitating towards a certain idea,
Story,
Notice this,
Seeing if you can let that be,
Returning to the calmer,
Deeper waters of the ocean,
Where it's quiet and still,
You can simply be,
Naturally the tides will change,
Weather from above,
Shifting,
Changing the flow of the ocean,
Just noticing those stronger thoughts,
Those distractions that really try to lure you in,
And just allowing that to be the weather,
Returning to your inner,
Quieter awareness,
Being steadiness with your breath,
Allowing it to guide you back to that ocean floor,
And shortly I'll give you a few moments of silence from my voice,
Give you the space to really be here,
Really immerse yourself in the gifts of this ocean floor,
Just noticing that wandering,
Drifting back to the surface,
Dissolving any attachment to those distractions,
Seeing yourself to float back down,
The guidance of your breath,
And continuing to come back to that deeper,
Observing part of you,
The part of you that's unwavered,
Rippling effects of the tides,
Workings of the mind,
And ever so gently now,
Releasing your anchor,
Beginning to rise,
Drift towards the surface of the ocean,
As you move there,
What can you sense within yourself,
How are you,
If you haven't already,
Just beginning to let the image of the ocean dissolve away,
Reacquainting yourself with the environment in which you practice in,
Noticing the temperature,
The feeling of your feet or sit bones against the surface beneath you,
And just coming to gently blink your eyes open,
First to a soft gaze,
Coming to gradually take in all that surrounds you.
