Welcome.
Welcome to the experience of surrender.
I invite you to lay down,
Make yourself comfortable,
Pillow under your head or under your knees,
Body spacious and relaxed.
There is nothing to do right now.
Nowhere to go.
Nowhere to be.
This moment now is everything.
So settle in to presence.
A full awareness of all that is within you and all around you.
Notice the thoughts that you have.
Notice desires.
Become aware of the things that you want in your life,
Things you want to happen or things you don't want to happen.
Take a big breath in through the nose and as you exhale just let all that go.
Just putting it down just for a moment.
Letting it all be.
And in your mind's eye imagine that you're floating on a raft on a river and there are oars and you can steer your raft but I invite you today to put the oars away to allow the river and the current of the river to take you.
We have our minds and our wills and our plans and our goals.
That's what the oars are for.
There's a larger current stronger than our oars can ever be and this current is moving always in the direction of the best result for all beings everywhere.
And so we know this.
We know the river is wise.
We know the river is safe.
And we know the river will carry us.
And so we relax on our raft and we allow the river to take us.
And as the river takes us we breathe.
We become aware of our breath.
We become aware of the sensations in the body.
We become aware of emotions moving through the body.
We become aware of our preferences to life and the ways that we control life or try to.
And we settle deeper into the river,
Onto our raft,
Laying heavy on it knowing it will keep us safe and hold us as the current takes us where it will.
And we notice ourselves questioning the current.
Noticing and when it swerves away from our desired destination.
We notice when we get scared and nervous and grip life and grasp for the oars to change our direction.
And we notice that so we put the oars down again.
And we rest.
And we feel the river moving underneath us.
We feel ourselves being carried by the river.
And we allow it.
We allow the river to steer us and take us where it will.
And we breathe in.
And we breathe out.
And we watch the parts of ourselves that resist this.
We watch the part of ourselves that want to grab those oars and steer the raft in another direction.
But we're just watching.
And we're noticing and feeling that resistance and the fear and the desire within us to control the way life goes.
How human of us.
We feel compassion for ourselves.
Love for ourselves.
For we're just doing our best in this world.
Wanting the best outcome for ourselves and those we love.
And in this practice we're trusting that the river of life will lead us to the best outcome for all of us.
And the more we settle on our raft,
Relaxed on our raft,
The more the raft begins to dissolve underneath us until it's just us floating,
Being carried on the river.
No barrier between us and the river.
We are immersed in the river.
And the river is immersed in us.
And we are carried.
And we are held.
And we are cared for by this river.
And every exhale we breathe out.
Merges us more deeply with the river.
With every breath in we invite trust and faith.
With every breath out we allow ourselves to be carried.
There is nothing we need to do.
There is nowhere we need to go.
There is no more trying.
There is no more concern of how things will happen.
Because the river is taking you.
Because you are the river.
Feeling yourself here.
Feeling yourself in your body.
In both places you are both the river and you are a human being lying down.
Surrendering into this moment now.
Feel your body and how soft it is.
Sinking into the floor.
Merging with the river.
Relaxing.
Letting go of tension.
Of expectations.
Of plans.
Just let them go.
Knowing the river will carry you where it will.
And trust that the river knows what you want.
The river knows your deepest heart's desire.
Because you are the river.
Bringing your hands to your chest.
Saying to yourself gently,
I will remember that I am the river.
And the river flows in the direction of the best results for all beings everywhere.
And the river is me.
