As you listen to this stillness of body meditation,
It's dusk here in Australia.
And as this is a live recording,
You'll hear some of the birds calling as they settle to their roosting for the night.
If you're not already laying down,
It's time to do so.
Feeling comfortable in bed,
Plump pillow,
Soft blanket,
Just taking a few moments to take a few slow,
Deep breaths with each out breath,
Allowing the body to soften a little and to sink further into the mattress of your bed.
The day is done,
A new day will be tomorrow,
But for now,
This night,
This time,
Is for you to gather yourself gently,
Letting go of the activities of the day.
And to be aware,
As you lay,
Of the movements of your body as you breathe,
Noticing the rise and fall of the chest,
Closing your eyes,
If you're comfortable to do so,
Allowing yourself to both gather and let go,
Letting go of what's been and gathering for what's now,
This stillness of the body that's coming your way,
Being aware of the organs inside your body,
Digestion still happening,
Breathing going on,
Blood pulsing,
Taking a moment now to run your awareness through your body,
Noting the different sensations as they appear,
Disappear or morph and change into something different.
And whilst you roam your body with awareness and you note the movements of the body around the breath,
Maybe use that breath with just a small part of your awareness as an anchor as you allow yourself to move in and out of this meditation.
No requirement to stay listening,
This is your time,
Your relaxing time,
Nothing else to do,
Nowhere else to go,
But just to relax into sleep and into the stillness of your body,
Noticing any sounds around you,
Maybe noting the sounds on this recording,
Hearing is automatic,
It just happens,
No efforts required,
Just allow the sounds to come and go,
Not holding on to the sounds,
Not pushing them away,
Just being with them at the time they're there because they are there.
And the same with your thoughts,
The mind is meant to think,
It's what it does,
Thinking happens almost continuously,
There's a stream of thoughts flowing by,
You don't have to catch them,
Not at this time,
Your time,
Your stillness time,
Like the sounds,
Let them arise,
Be with you and then float away,
Using the breath as an anchor,
Noticing how the belly rises and falls and the chest rises and falls,
Notice how on each exhalation the body relaxes just a little bit more,
Can you be still,
Can you notice the stillness inside,
Can you just be aware of the activity of hearing,
Of sensing,
Of thinking and can you step back from that,
Can you rest beyond the activity and movement,
Can you step back into awareness itself,
See that the body and the mind continues on and on,
So dedicated,
A gentle,
Steady fortitude,
Can you see that,
Are you aware that from this place of awareness itself,
Can you note it,
Can you appreciate it,
Can you rest in it,
Will you surrender to sleep,
Will you trust yourself to yourself,
That you will wake again in the morning refreshed and ready to step out into the next new day from this place,
This quiet stillness,
This backstage quietness of your life,
This gentle awareness,
Can you rest now,
For now,
Until tomorrow,
Goodnight.
