Let's slow everything right down.
Making any final adjustments that you need to now,
Either to your body or to your nest so that you can make a commitment,
A loving commitment to take care of yourself,
To gift yourself some time and space,
Just to be here and to really give yourself a break from the whole story of your life,
Just for now.
And just taking a moment to call forward your need,
What do you need this evening?
Let's acknowledge our needs that we're going to take care of tonight.
What do you really need?
And trust that that has been heard and that that need will be met,
Whatever it might be.
And let's take a really deep,
Releasing breath together to mark the transition that we're making.
Really deep breath right down into your belly,
Hunch your shoulders up to your ears and then let your body go.
Breathing a sigh of relief as we come into a time of gentleness,
Kindness.
Just being here is enough and trust that whatever brought you to this moment right now will lead you to the peace and the stillness at the core of your being.
And let's give our minds and our bodies all the time and space that they need to settle down naturally.
Let's just slow everything right down and let's just breathe together.
And let's just keep on inhaling right down into your belly and exhaling with a long and soft sigh.
Really taking your time.
There's absolutely no rush.
There's nowhere to get to,
Either internally or externally.
Just being here completely as you are is enough.
And just for now,
Just for this moment,
Feeling your breath and allowing your body to take as many of these slow and low breaths as it needs to just let the whole story of your life fall away.
Just for now.
You don't need to make lots of effort,
Trusting that your body knows how to breathe.
So just let your body take over and breathe as if by itself.
No need to push or grasp.
Just let your breath flow right down into your belly like you're filling up a balloon in your abdomen.
And then just giving the exhalation away with a lovely long and soft sigh.
Taking your time.
And right now I invite you to put absolutely everything down to give your full undivided attention to the simple feeling of your breath.
How does your breath feel?
Not thinking about your breath.
Just let the feeling of your breath come to you.
And when you've taken as many of those slow,
Low,
Releasing breaths as your mind-body system needs to feel safe.
Then just let your breath be natural and just let your body breathe all by itself.
But see if you can stay with the immediate,
Direct feeling of your breath.
Just quietly noticing the parts of your body that naturally move as it breathes.
Feeling the very subtle sensation in the inner passageways of your nostrils as the breath comes in and as the breath leaves.
And don't even try to control your mind.
Give up trying to control your thoughts.
Just giving it all up.
It's too much effort now.
Nothing has to change or go away for us to dive beneath and to rest in the simplicity and the ease and the healing power of just being.
And just let the weight of your whole body drop into the support beneath.
The bones surrendering to gravity.
The earth rising up to hold and to support this body and the body so grateful to just let it all go.
The body so grateful to be relieved of having to be or do anything right now.
Just feel the support that's here.
The support of your deepest being that is here right now and has never left you.
Maybe we haven't always had access to it.
Just to be open to the possibility that there is a support of your deepest being and that you are loved and held in that space.
Just an openness to that possibility is enough.
Whenever your mind wanders,
Just let that be okay.
It's just habit.
And every time you notice that you've checked out,
Just come right back.
Checking back in.
Just being.
Body breathing.
Breath by breath by breath.
Let yourself fall into the sweetness,
The cradle,
The welcoming arms of your own being.
Absolutely nothing to do.
Nothing to figure out.
Nothing to make sense of.
Checking in with your body and scanning from head to toe.
Just shining the light of your awareness on any areas of holding,
Gripping,
Clenching or bracing.
And let's give up the grip of things having to be a particular way.
Of having to feel a particular way,
Be a particular way.
Trying to control and manage everything.
Just giving,
Feel yourself loosening the grip.
Let your body soften and be held.
Feel the tailbone softening down.
Plugging into the earth.
Feel the inside of the mouth.
Just noticing the feeling of the tongue resting in the mouth.
The root of the tongue softening.
The feeling of the teeth.
The inner walls of the mouth.
The natural taste inside the mouth.
You don't need to name it,
But just a direct meeting of taste inside the mouth.
And let your lower jaw surrender to gravity.
Let the hinges of your jaw soften,
Open.
And come to rest in the stillness that is right here.
You don't need to look for it.
You don't need to imagine it.
Just surrendering to it is enough.
The throat settling down.
The throat opening.
The whole face softening.
The skin releasing its weight.
The breath coming in.
And the breath going out all by itself.
No effort required.
And a softening of the ears,
Just allowing the words to come to you without having to follow or keep track.
And a softening of the inner ears.
Feeling the weight of the eyes.
And just let your eyes soften right back.
Melting into the support of each socket.
Just let your eyes give up all the protection and defence that you might feel there.
Just letting it all go.
Allowing the whole area around and behind the eyes to soften.
The temples.
The eyebrows.
The space between eyebrows.
Softening over all by itself.
And the feeling behind eyes.
That feeling has all the space that it needs.
Feeling hers forever to unwind,
To unravel.
Just let this be a time of allowing whatever wants to happen.
The forehead smooth.
Scalp releasing and letting go.
The back of the head.
Let thought be free.
Just let it come and let it go.
Not getting involved.
And if you do get involved,
No judgement.
Just gently unhooking and dropping right here.
Right now.
Feeling the whole head.
Emptying out.
The contents of the head pouring into the space all around.
There is space for everything to be here.
For you to be just as you are.
For every feeling.
Everything is welcome.
Everything.
Let your shoulders empty out.
Let them unwind.
Let your shoulders soften right now.
And right now.
As you lie here quietly.
Give your full attention to the simple experience.
Hold right on.
Let it come to you.
Back of right arm.
Just the feeling.
The touch of the blanket or your clothes on the skin.
Just noticing.
The experience.
Hold right hand.
Not imagining it.
Not referring to the image.
But right now in this moment,
The direct feeling.
Hold right hand.
Giving the feeling time.
Palm of right hand.
Alive with sensation.
Palm of right hand.
Just the current feeling.
Whatever it might be.
Palm of right hand.
Alive.
Thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth.
Little finger.
Rest.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Giving up the weight.
Right shoulder blade.
Left shoulder blade.
The simple experience.
Hold left arm.
Just handing over the weight.
Back of left arm.
The touch of the clothes or blanket on the skin.
Hold left hand.
The actual experience.
Right now in this moment.
Palm of left hand.
Give that feeling time.
Give that feeling space.
Allowing it to unfold naturally.
Without trying to keep it.
Palm of left hand.
Tingling with life.
Thumb.
Second finger.
Third.
Fourth.
Little finger.
Rest.
Forearm.
Elbow.
Upper arm.
Just giving up the weight.
The whole back of the body.
The whole spine.
Releasing and letting go.
The tailbone.
Softening down.
Just a little more.
Whole right leg.
Whole left leg.
Whole right foot.
Whole left foot.
Souls of the feet.
Not looking for anything special.
Whatever is there right now that we call souls of feet.
And a softening deep down in the belly.
Feeling the whole body.
The whole body suspended in a warm bath of compassion.
And every cell of this body soaking up the nectar of the peace that we find when we come home.
To the deepest,
Truest part of yourself.
Before you are anything.
Before you are anyone.
Just that you are.
So beloved friends.
Let's just abandon the body to that healing bath.
Checking in and giving up any last trace of holding.
And just let your body come under.
Unravelling.
Perhaps diving just a little deeper into the openness of just being.
Open,
Receptive and available.
To the peace,
The ease and the effortless love that lies within your heart.
Every time you leave,
Just let that be okay.
Just keep coming right back.
Deeply nourished.
In our shared space of just being.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just let that be okay.
Just being.
Just being.
The softness,
The sweetness and the ease of coming back.
To your own being.
Where you are.
Present and aware.
Even as body rests so deeply.
In a place where there is a resolution of all that needs to be healed.
Trusting in that natural process.
And seeing that in this moment.
Even when there is a suspension of the small me and all the stories.
Where you remain.
That you don't disappear.
Even when the stories fall away.
Here you are.
Alive.
Infinite and eternal.
So let's just continue to take refuge.
Here in the space of just being.
And in that space let's welcome back the experienced body.
Feel your body anchored here to the earth.
Completely supported.
Feel the waves of vibration.
The pulsation as your heart beats.
Simply finding its freedom.
Unburdened.
By the stories.
The flow of sensation unfolding in you.
Feel the ground and the places where your body meets.
The support beneath.
And let's invite the breath to deepen again.
And let's just enjoy.
Breathing together.
Really low and slow.
Inhaling like we have all the time in the world.
Like we have forever.
To receive and drink in that nourishment.
Of a long,
Slow,
Deep breath.
And then every exhalation is an opportunity and an invitation.
To release a deeper layer of attachment.
A deeper layer of holding.
Trusting that it's safe.
Just to lie here quietly in the mystery.
Not needing to know how the next moment might unfold.
Just being wide open to this moment.
And this one.
Being with the simple experience.
Body.
Breathing.
Just let your whole body soften so that it can receive that gift generously.
That life giving breath.
Loaded with prana.
All that we need to thrive that this body needs is given.
And just let your body soften a little more with every breath out.
And as you lie here in that space.
Where you are,
Awake and aware.
As an undefended presence.
Let's call forward whatever wants to be seen and heard.
It might be a prayer for your life.
Or it could be something that your deepest truest self is trying to communicate.
So let's just be wide open.
To what your heart knows.
And to what your heart longs for.
And let's just listen.
Inate wisdom.
That we've uncovered.
Let it come to you.
Absolutely no doing is required.
This isn't something that you do.
Just being wide open.
Each and every one of us has within ourselves an intelligence that goes way beyond our minds.
A knowing.
A sense of your truth.
And if we learn to trust and listen to that which we can only do when we give ourselves a bit of time and space in this way.
When we drop beneath all the noise within and without.
And that truth,
That prayer,
That knowing may not come right now in this moment.
But trust that the simple act of bringing your full self here this evening.
Of showing up.
Of bringing your commitment.
You will have set that process in motion.
And that truth,
That knowing.
That small voice within that comes from your wholeness.
That voice that you will be able to raise in the coming days.
So right now it's enough just to be here.
Remaining moments together.
Free of our minds.
Enjoying some really slow and low breaths.
Feeling the support that's here.
The support of your fellow meditators here.
But the unwavering beyond that,
The unwavering constant support.
Of your essence,
Your source,
Your ground of being.
The more that we come together in this way and we stop when we drop.
The easier it is to access.
May you be well.
May you and your loved ones be happy.
May you,
Your loved ones and all beings know and live and recognise this peace that is within each and every one of us.
As always,
I am truly grateful for your presence here this evening.
Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for coming together and just reminding ourselves of the truth that lies beneath.
The busyness and the noise of life.
Thank you.
So check in with your body.
What does your body need now?
Perhaps your body wants to sleep.
Perhaps your body would like to move.
So,
Listening in,
This is about taking care of your needs.
And in my experience,
In the busyness of life,
We kind of disconnect ourselves from our needs.
So it might just take a bit of time of just really checking in.
What do I need now?
Can I continue to really care for myself?
To nourish myself and to stay anchored in my ground of being?
Trusting that all is well.
And that life is taking care of itself.
And if your body is ready to move,
Just allow your body to move in whatever way feels good.
Yawning,
Stretching,
Whatever it needs.
And really go easy on yourself.
