Please find a quiet,
Restful position,
Preferably sitting upright with your back straight,
Relaxed,
Not stiff.
You can either close your eyes or keep them gently open in a neutral gaze.
Take your four stones or pebbles and place them to the left of your body.
For the first pebble,
Please reach over with your right hand,
So you're reaching over the center of your body.
Pick up the first pebble and put it in your left palm.
Put your right palm underneath and gaze at that pebble.
The first pebble intention is a flower and the quality is freshness.
Thich Nhat Hanh often talks about how we are all beautiful flowers in a garden of humanity.
As we breathe in,
We take in the intention of a flower.
As we breathe out,
We are fresh,
Beautiful,
Pure,
Peaceful.
Breathe in,
Flower,
Breathe out,
Peace,
Freshness,
Purity.
Continue the breathing in and breathing out intention on your own for a few more breaths.
Breathe out,
Flower,
Breathe out,
Peace,
Freshness,
Purity.
Gaze gratefully at the flower pebble.
Look at its uniqueness of design and color.
Thank your flower pebble.
Please take it with your right hand.
Put it to the right of your body.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Take your second pebble.
Put that pebble in your left palm with your right palm underneath.
Look at your second pebble.
The image for the second pebble is a mountain and the quality we are exploring is solidity.
The mountain knows it's solid no matter what is going on around it.
The mountain represents strong foundation reaching to the sky,
Solid and strong.
And the intention that we want for ourselves is to be strong like a mountain no matter what.
As I breathe in,
I feel the strength of the mountain.
As I breathe out,
I am strong,
Solid,
Stable.
Breathing in,
Mountain,
Breathing out,
Strong,
Solid,
Stable.
Continue these intentions on each inhale and exhale on your own for a few more.
If your eyes are closed,
Open them.
Gaze gratefully at your second pebble,
The mountain pebble.
Mindfully and with awareness,
Look at its uniqueness,
Its strength,
Its beauty.
With gratitude for the strength of the mountain,
Put that pebble to the right of your body.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
Take your third pebble with your right hand,
Put it in your left palm and put your right palm underneath.
As you gaze at the third pebble,
The image we are working with is still water,
Such as in a lake,
And the quality we are focusing on is clarity.
When we are calm,
We can make better decisions.
And when we have clarity in our mind and situation,
We can respond rather than react.
Close your eyes and visualize the still water of a lake.
The reflection that is in that water of what's around,
But still and peaceful,
Knowing that whatever is going on,
That lake water is still calm,
Peaceful.
As I breathe in,
I am reminded of still water.
As I breathe out,
I have calm,
Peaceful equanimity in myself,
Accepting all that is around without judgment or reactivity.
Breathing in,
Still water.
Breathing out,
Calm equanimity.
On your own for a few more breaths,
Continue with the intention of still water,
Calm equanimity.
If your eyes are closed,
Open your eyes.
Look at your third pebble,
Admire its uniqueness,
Shape and design.
And with gratitude for the calm and peaceful feeling of still water,
Put your rock to the right of your body.
Take a deep breath in and let it out slowly.
With your right hand,
Pick up your fourth pebble,
Put it in your left palm with your right hand underneath.
The image we're working with for the fourth pebble is space.
Imagine spacious blue sky.
The quality is freedom,
Feeling free from worry or anxiety.
The blue sky holds so many things.
Birds fly through,
Clouds come in and out,
One day white,
One day dark,
Some days completely clear,
And the sky represents perfect freedom.
Freedom,
Feeling free,
Feeling calm,
Feeling open,
Spacious,
Without worry or anxiety.
As I breathe in,
I am spacious as the blue sky.
As I breathe out,
I am free from worry,
Anxiety,
Suffering.
Breathe in,
Space,
Breathe out,
Freedom.
Continue the in breath and out breath with those intentions at your own pace for a few more breaths.
If your eyes are closed,
Open them and gaze at your fourth pebble,
The pebble that represents freedom from worry,
Anxiety,
And suffering.
Admire its uniqueness,
Admire its imperfection,
Admire the design that is only its own.
With gratitude,
Take that pebble and place it next to your body to the right.
Deep breath in,
Deep breath out.
Now let's sit for a few breaths and just be aware,
Take note of how our body feels,
How our heart feels with the four intentions,
Freshness of a flower,
Solidity of the mountain,
Clarity of still water,
Freedom of open space.
Thank you for your practice.
Thank you for joining me.
May we cultivate peacefulness within so we can be peaceful in the world.
Namaste.
