Hi,
I'm Amy Patti Colvin.
Thanks for joining me today for this meditation on how patience can lead to peace.
Begin by finding a comfortable position.
You could be lying down,
Seated on a cushion,
Seated in a chair.
If you are seated,
Be sure to tip your pelvis a little bit forward and imagine being lifted gently by the crown of your head.
This helps your spine support your weight rather than relying on the muscles of the back and the belly.
Let's begin by taking some deep breaths all the way down into the belly,
Breathing in through the nose.
Just imagine following that breath down through the lungs and feeling that extension of that breath and energy all the way into the belly.
And as you exhale,
Feel that belly begin to contract a little bit,
Having that energy of the breath coming from the belly up through the lungs and back out either the nose or the mouth.
If you find it useful,
You can even put your hands on your belly so that as you breathe you can feel that breath coming all the way down in,
Allowing the abdomen to expand as you breathe in and gently contract as you breathe out.
Simply slowing our breath down in this way is a first step to practicing patience.
We are attending to our breath and the sensations in our body and we're allowing the stresses and pressures and frustrations of the day to be sidelined for a moment.
In this moment it's simply you and your breath and my voice.
There's nowhere to go,
Nothing to do.
You're simply being.
You're simply being.
And as we connect with our breath in an intentional way,
We are also connecting with that spark of the divine within,
That higher self.
That part of you that will always support you,
If only you allow it to.
Notice how relaxed you feel in this process of simply breathing and being.
Notice how the weight of the stress and the pressures and the frustration simply falls away when you focus your mind on the breath instead of your to-do list.
And as human beings in a productive society,
We all have things to do.
We all have tasks that we must perform for ourselves or for others.
We have aspirations to create something new or do something bigger and larger.
And at times our mind latches on to these ideas and tells us that doing more,
Faster,
Bigger is the most productive thing.
Our minds tell us that we need to be engaged all the time,
Pushing and striving.
And yet the reality of it is,
Through taking a moment to pause and breathe,
And connect with the higher self,
Being patient and allowing things to arise and grow organically,
Sometimes more meaningful results present themselves.
Making a choice to be patient sets us aside from many others.
And yet having faith that taking moments in daily life to simply be rather than do will increase your outcome is the start to finding peace.
Do your best in every day to grow or create or perform whatever it is you need to do,
But be gentle with yourself in the process.
Take those moments to connect with your breath,
With your soul,
With your higher self,
And allow that connection with the divine within to open and flower.
Being patient with yourself does lead to peace,
And that sense of peace reduces the stress and the urgency of getting that next thing done.
So quietly in mind for yourself,
Repeat these following phrases.
I am safe.
I am at ease.
I am patient as I continue to grow.
I am filled with peace and joy.
And just allow your attention to rest again for the moment on the breath,
Following that nice slow deep inhalation all the way down into the belly,
Feeling your abdominal muscles expand,
Feeling the muscles in your low back expand,
And notice their gentle contraction as you exhale.
This act of taking time for yourself is an act of patience.
And with this simple act of patience comes peace.
And let's bring this meditation to a close,
And I look forward to talking to you another time.
