And so making yourself comfortable in the bed,
Stretching out,
Closing the eyes,
Allowing your mind to focus gently on the breath,
Allowing the focus on the breath to take you deeper within.
Following the breath now,
The slow inhale and exhale,
Immersing yourself in the breath.
No need to change the depth or the speed of your breath.
Just follow it.
If your mind wanders off at any point,
Simply notice it,
Step back and return to the breath.
What do you notice about your breath?
Perhaps it's the movement in your stomach.
Perhaps it's the movement in your chest.
Perhaps it's both.
Perhaps it's the flow of air at the nostrils.
The freshness of the in-breath in relation to the warmth of the out-breath.
Noticing the breath and allowing the out-breath to take you that little bit deeper within.
This meditation is called Supermarket of the Mind.
Although many people may call this a visualization,
I want you to use all your senses.
Not only what you see,
But what you feel,
What you smell,
What you taste,
What you hear.
There are no rights or wrongs.
Just go with it.
This,
Like many visualizations,
Is a template.
A template is something that you use once and then as you repeat,
It gets easier and more personal.
The words I'm speaking are just a gentle guidance.
This is your time.
No one else's.
Your time to gather resources,
Abilities,
New strengths,
New habits,
New patterns.
Do a quick body scan down from the top of your head,
Noticing the areas within your body,
Allowing each area to release and relax.
Starting with the forehead,
The little muscles around and behind your eyes,
The cheeks,
The mouth and the tongue.
And if it feels comfortable,
Touch the tip of your tongue onto the roof of your mouth,
Noticing if that makes a difference,
A subtle difference in how you experience the flow of your breath.
Relax your jaw,
The muscles around and behind your neck.
Move down into the shoulders,
Dropping your shoulders,
Allowing them to release and relax.
Take your awareness down both arms,
The upper arms,
The elbows,
The forearms,
Through the wrists,
Into the hands and fingers and thumbs.
What do you notice happens when you rest your awareness on the arms and hands and fingers and thumbs?
Take your awareness down your spine,
Relaxing the muscles on either side of your spine,
Up and round into the chest and stomach.
Has your breathing changed?
All on its own.
Move down into the hips,
Down into the thighs,
The knees,
The calf muscles,
Down through the ankles and into the feet and toes.
What do you notice as you rest your awareness in the legs and the feet and the toes?
Notice how simple this technique is.
Never be fooled by the simplicity of breathing and a simple body scan,
Body scan,
Sinking a little deeper within,
Gently,
Easily,
Sinking a little deeper within,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go.
In a moment,
I'm going to count slowly and rhythmically from 10 to 1.
I wonder what would happen if with each descending number you allowed yourself to drift one tenth deeper within,
Letting go 10% more,
Allowing each muscle in the body to release and relax just a little more with each descending number.
Let's begin.
10,
9,
8,
Drifting deeper and deeper,
7,
6,
Letting go,
5,
Letting go,
4,
Deeper within,
3,
2,
And 1,
And 1,
All the way down,
Deeper and deeper within.
You notice now that you're at the door of a supermarket.
This is your supermarket,
Only for you.
Notice that there are baskets nearby.
Pick one up.
As you walk towards the door,
It opens automatically.
You can hear gentle music playing inside.
You feel safe and secure,
Happy,
Perhaps sensing curiosity starting to bubble up.
What is in this supermarket?
You can see shelves stretching out in front of you,
To the right,
To the left.
Each shelf is fully stacked,
Colourful,
Enticing,
And you realise that these shelves are stocked with produce,
Things that you may need in your life.
Packets of confidence,
Cans of happiness,
Bottles of energy,
Boxes of new positive habits.
These are all for you.
You're only limited by your imagination.
Walk over to the first shelf.
Notice there,
On the shelf,
There's something you need,
Something you desire,
Something just for you.
It will either be very self-evident what that product is,
Or it will be just something that you trust that you need.
Take that product off the shelf and notice how the shelf refills automatically.
It's nice to know that these resources,
These products are here for you,
And always will be here for you,
In the supermarket of your mind.
Take a moment to look around.
What do you notice?
What becomes immediately apparent?
What products are on the shelf that you need right now in your life?
Positive thoughts,
Positive behaviours,
Positive attitudes,
Positive habits,
Creativity,
Connection.
You are only limited by your imagination.
Take some time now to wander through your supermarket,
Taking whatever you need,
Placing it into the basket,
And watch it being replaced on the shelf.
There is great abundance here.
Trust in the process and spend some time now filling your basket with whatever you need,
Whether you recognise it or not.
No need to rush,
Gently wandering round.
Perhaps there are some surprises on the shelves,
Things that you didn't know you needed,
But are there,
Right in front of you.
Fill your basket and taking the last few products now,
Walk back towards the door that you came in.
This is curious.
There's no checkout.
That's because this is your supermarket.
All these products are for you,
Free of charge,
Supplied by your inner mind.
This supermarket is somewhere that you can revisit at any point.
Walking towards the door now,
And as it opens in front of you,
And as you pass through the door,
Those products in your basket are becoming part of you,
Part of your inner world,
Merging with you,
Filling you with all the positive thoughts,
Habits,
Behaviours,
Creativity,
And so much more.
Embrace this as it happens.
Allow all these wonderful positive products to become part of you.
How does that feel as it's happening?
Feel them,
Sense them,
Imagine them becoming part of you,
And you can return that basket,
Placing it wherever it needs to be.
Your mind is calm and clear,
Your body relaxed,
Refreshed,
Filled with everything you need for tomorrow,
For the next couple of days,
Perhaps for the next week or two,
Perhaps for the next month.
You turn round and look through the door to your supermarket,
Knowing that you can return at any point,
And taking a gentle deep breath now,
You turn and return to the present moment,
Bringing back every resource,
Every inner product,
Every positivity,
And now settling down into sleep,
Letting the process continue as you drift down into sleep,
Drifting a little deeper,
Drifting a little deeper,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Letting go,
Deeper and deeper asleep,
Deeper and deeper asleep,
Deeper and deeper asleep,
Deep down asleep.
