Hi,
My name is Alyssa.
Thank you for joining me in today's meditation.
Today's meditation is what we call Shamanta.
That translates to stillness.
So this means to remain calm and still because it helps us disengage from our mental constructs.
It is no longer looking outwards.
It's letting your mind rest.
Bringing a full awareness to where you're sitting,
Closing your eyes.
Maybe take notice of any noises nearby.
Humming of appliances,
A fan,
Maybe an animal.
Just begin to weave those noises into your experience here.
Let's take some time now to practice a few intentional breaths.
So deep breath in,
Deep breath out.
Deep breath in,
Deep breath out.
Continue for just a few moments on your own.
Using a possibility of relaxing with the breath.
As you breathe,
You may sense some areas of the body that may want to relax a bit more.
As we breathe,
Maybe guiding some of these breaths into those places.
Maybe relaxing the shoulders,
Softening the hands,
Relaxing the belly.
Feeling a bit more,
Allowing gravity to bring your shoulders down from your ears,
Relaxing your face.
Knowing how gravity is holding you in your space.
Other things may begin to arise,
I want you to welcome those in as well.
Throughout our practice today,
Your mind will wander.
It will drift with thoughts and you'll notice that.
Just relax and bring yourself back into the breath.
If you find that your thoughts are especially active and you get caught in story,
Remember it's okay.
They like to pull us in.
They think they're very important.
If you do,
Just notice,
There it was in thoughts,
No corrections to be made.
Just that you're aware,
Allow yourself to be present with what is.
You may find yourself striving and want to do it right.
Finding just the right state of peace and calm.
I want you to relax back into breath and begin again.
Meditation isn't about clearing our mind,
Shutting our thoughts off or pretending everything's okay.
It's about being real,
Kind,
And present.
So if difficult thoughts arise or sensations physically,
Maybe there's some underlying anxiety in the background.
Just offer yourself some understanding that these things are difficult sometimes.
You can always come back to your breathing and engage in some intentional breaths again.
Bringing a hand to your heart.
I want you to feel the warmth of your hand there on your chest.
Saying to yourself,
It's okay,
Whatever's here.
And when you feel grounded,
Allowing yourself to step back from any efforts,
Doing almost nothing.
Sitting with yourself just as you are,
With sounds,
Thoughts,
And feelings as they arise.
What is it like right now not to add anything to the moment?
What's it like not to be the meditator?
What's it like not trying to get it right?
How does it feel to be with your experience without judgment?
Notice these things inevitably come up,
Allow these to pass through the best they can.
Allowing yourself to fall back behind the one that judges.
You are the stillness underneath all of this.
You have a refuge of quiet within you.
No matter how busy the world outside of you becomes or how loud your internal world may be,
Not worrying about the future or writing over the past,
There is nowhere else you need to be.
You always have stillness underneath.
You can always come back to breath.
Our practice is not always about getting to a place or destination.
It is not about striving to be the best,
Checking anything off the list.
There are no medals to win.
This is time to allow ourselves to just be here,
To witness our own presence and honor whatever comes up.
I want you to check in where you are right now,
How your mind is now,
Your body,
How you may be in relation to the outside world.
Take a few deep breaths.
Feel your body on the surface you're sitting on,
Grounded and safe.
Knowing you are the stillness underneath all of this.
Here let's take a final deep breath in.
I'll leave you with a quote by Chris Mogawin.
The trees know that you can be still and grow at the same time.
The trees know that you can be still and grow at the same time.
Bringing your hands to heart center,
Rub your hands together,
Collecting the energy from our practice today,
Thanking yourself for showing up today,
Bringing your hands to your third eye.
Thank you for your practice.
Namaste.
