Make any final adjustments that you need to now so that you can give yourself a break and let's let the body feel the difference between tension and relaxation so starting in your legs,
Raising them slightly,
Squeezing the muscles,
Holding and gripping and then releasing and letting go,
Good,
Raising your hips slightly,
Squeezing the muscles,
Holding and gripping and then allowing your hips to settle back down,
Good,
And then pressing your lower back down into the surface that's supporting your body and releasing and letting go,
Good,
And then squeeze a tight fist,
Pressing your fingers into your palms and feel the sensation of gripping and tightness,
Spreading your fingers out wide,
Tensing your upper arms and then allowing your arms to settle back down,
Good,
And then just for a moment raising your head,
Feel that weight and then lay the head to rest and make any final adjustments that you need to now,
Either to your body or to your nest and just know that as we come into this quiet time that you cannot get this wrong,
That showing up is enough,
Just acknowledging your commitment this evening to giving yourself some space,
To just being and let's take a really nice deep releasing breath together to mark that transition from doing to being,
So nice deep breath down into your belly,
Punching and squeezing your shoulders up to your ears and then let your body go as you drop into the very simple and completely effortless space of just being and I am going to invite you now to take a few more of those really slow deep releasing breaths and take your time,
No rush,
Let your breath go really low,
Tummy filling up and then exhaling with a long and soft sigh,
So taking a few of these so that your nervous system knows that it's time,
These breaths send a signal to your mind body system to let go,
To let go of the attachment to the stories of our life,
To the stories of the world and as you breathe slow and deep,
Tummy rising,
Not through pushing but rising from the breath,
Expanding effortlessly as the breath flows really low and then handing everything over as you exhale,
Handing over the weight of your whole body and with every exhalation we're dropping together into just being,
Where there is space from all of the problems of the world,
All of the problems of the world melt away in that space of just being,
All of the individual problems of our personal lives melt away in that space and it's not a denial or an escape but it's a dropping into a part of ourselves that is untouched but it requires a willingness to let go of the one that wants to control experience,
The one that judges,
The one that clings to the past and the future,
A willingness to let our attachment to the world and everything in it fall away and let your body take as many of those deep,
Releasing breaths as it needs for all of the energies of your day to settle down,
For every muscle and every fibre in this body to soften,
For the bones to release their weight and to let your body be held,
To be cradled in the invisible and yet very real and true nest of presence.
And once your breath has settled down,
See if you can continue to give it a little bit of your full attention to the movement of your breath but without changing it,
Without controlling it,
But just following the journey of your breath as the breath comes in and as the breath leaves all by itself and there's a tenderness in the space of just being,
A tenderness that holds whatever emotion or mood is here in the moment,
A tender holding of however you feel without asking it to be different,
Without asking it to go away but a direct meeting,
Like the lover that you've always longed for,
We can be that for ourselves,
Building a space for however you feel,
Moment by moment by moment.
See if you can stay with the very gentle whisper of breath as it moves through your body and feel the inside of the mouth,
Hinges of the jaw softening,
Tongue resting in the mouth,
Throat settling into a quiet space,
A quiet space that is already happening.
Feel the relief of just letting it all go whilst you remain in the moment.
Let you remain aware,
Effortlessly aware,
Knowing and being.
Let there be a softening of the whole face,
The skin,
The eyes resting back,
The feeling behind eyes,
Just give that feeling some space,
The immediate sensation behind the eyes and welcoming the space in front of your eyes,
In front of your closed eyelids,
Just welcoming what's there without any story,
Colours,
Shapes,
Forms,
Maybe nothing but just welcoming what's appearing there,
Moment by moment by moment.
Let there be a flow,
Nothing to keep.
Let yourself drop into the mystery of life with no need to know how the next moment will unfold but wide open to it all.
And let thought be free,
You don't need to control your mind.
Let thought be like ripples on the surface of a pond and let yourself drop like a pebble,
Dropping into that pond and landing in the earth,
Nestling into its home,
That space where none of the problems that belong to the world matter,
Where you're free,
So free that you can be with anything that shows up.
Brain releasing and letting go,
Back of the head,
Base of the skull,
Back of the neck,
Just the feeling,
Whole head,
A flow of sensation,
Like a ripple appearing on that pond,
Like a wave,
And now welcoming the feeling,
Right hand,
Back of right hand,
Palm of right hand,
Thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Little finger,
Resting open,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of chest,
Right side of the back,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Back of knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Knee,
Shoulder,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of right foot,
The arch,
Big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe,
The whole right side of body,
Releasing and letting go,
Feeling whatever's here,
With a direct meeting,
The temperature,
Sounds,
Feelings,
Sensations,
Comfortable or uncomfortable,
Pleasant or unpleasant,
Let all the judgements drop away and let there be a direct meeting of this whole moment,
Wide open to now,
To this moment,
Just like this,
And now welcoming the sensation,
Left hand,
Back of left hand,
Palm,
Just the feeling,
Thumb,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth,
Little finger,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of chest,
Left side of back,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Back of knee,
Shin,
Calf,
Ankle,
Heel,
Sole of left foot,
The arch,
Big toe,
Second,
Third,
Fourth,
Little toe,
The whole left side of body,
Releasing and letting go,
The whole body,
This whole body,
Softening just a little more,
And maybe even more than that,
And perhaps even more as you hand everything over to presence,
All the stories,
All the holding,
Sense the relief of not having to figure out any of it by yourself,
Sense the relief of that,
Nothing to figure out,
Nothing to understand,
No meaning to be sought,
In this space that is beyond mind,
Before body,
Before world,
Where there is no longer the question why,
So just let whatever is here on the surface of that pond,
Whatever ripples of thought,
Feelings,
Ideas,
Whatever ripples appear on the surface,
Let yourself drop just a little deeper,
Like that pebble dropping and landing in the earth,
Coming home to a space within yourself where there is no problem to solve,
Nothing to become,
No right or wrong,
Just a life unfolding moment,
By moment,
By moment,
So let's rest in that sanctuary together now,
Soaking it up,
Just being,
The sweetness of this,
Of just being,
Where all separation melts away,
Where illusion dissolves,
Where everything is seen as innocent,
Where life is not a problem to be solved,
But a mystery to be lived,
So let yourself bathe in that sweetness,
That vertical reality where all is well,
And when we know without a doubt that that is what we always eternally are,
It's painful to leave,
To get stuck in the horizontal,
To give up that last bit of holding and let yourself drop down and in,
Right here,
Right now,
The ripples on the surface of the pond,
Not separate,
The ripples are part of the whole,
And yet there's a ground of being that is untouched,
From that depth,
Call forward,
Your heart's deepest longing for your life,
Checking in with what really,
Really matters to you,
Checking in with your truth,
Comfortable or uncomfortable,
A willingness to face what we know deep within to be true,
Feel this whole body alive with sensation,
Feeling the waves of vibration,
The pulsation as your heart beats,
And let's invite the breath to flow deeper again,
Spending a few moments,
Receiving a long,
Slow and deep breath,
Enjoying and savouring every drop,
The breath freely given,
Drinking in and savouring that precious gift that sustains and nourishes this body,
That fresh life energy,
And every exhalation and invitation to release a deeper layer of holding,
To drop a little deeper into the truth of yourself,
So taking a few of those lovely,
Long,
Slow and deep breaths,
And I'm going to invite you now to either continue resting in that tenderness,
Holding that space for yourself,
Or to let your body move and stretch if and when it's ready,
And if your body is ready to move,
Take this sense of deep care into whatever you're doing next,
A deep care for yourself,
May you be well,
May you be happy,
And may you be at peace,
And even though the meditation is coming to an end,
The meditation of our life continues,
So as you move forward now,
See if you can stay anchored,
Grounded in your deepest being,
Thank you friends for being here this evening,
Thank you.
