Hello and welcome to this meditation.
My name is Ashley and I invite you to come down into a comfortable seated position.
Maybe onto a blanket or a pillow.
One in which you can maintain a really tall spine and a broad open heart.
If you'd like to come down to a bed or the floor and lie down that is very much okay as well.
Feel your shoulders draw back onto your spine.
Bring some spaciousness into your torso and start to take in some really deep breaths.
Find yourself entering into your practice as the breath moves in and out of the body.
Follow your exhale down into the well of your belly and follow it back out as it comes back up again and back out into the ether.
Begin to relax into the quiet of this moment.
Lean into your breath and just begin to become aware of that little tiny bit of space between each inhale and each exhale.
Seeking out that little tiny pause between each breath and the next breath and the next one.
Each time that a thought or emotion comes up,
Just take notice of it.
No judgment here.
You're simply witnessing it from a place of perfect peace and contentment.
Just noticing.
Ah,
There's that thought again.
Yes,
There's that feeling again.
Just notice and then simply come back to your breath.
Come back into the present moment,
The here and now.
Each time that you become aware of your mind's wanderings,
Just notice who is doing the witnessing,
The noticing.
It's the part of your mind that is always present,
Always peaceful.
There is a spaciousness here in your awareness,
In the present.
Look for that little bit of space between the mind ramblings that is always present in the moment.
Once again,
Come back into your awareness.
You could imagine your awareness as the sky and think of the clouds as just your thoughts and emotions rolling by.
The more we dwell here in that presence,
In that presence,
In our awareness,
The more we begin to cultivate that part of our being which is always here in addition to whatever other stuff we have going on,
Whether it's anger or grief or depression,
Whatever it may be.
We can seek out that space and we can linger there in the quiet of our awareness.
As we dwell in this awareness,
We make room for the ability to recognize when a certain experience or stimulus is causing a reaction in our mind and body.
From this perspective,
The perspective of the witness,
We can detach from our reactions and we can view what is happening through a new lens,
A lens of peace,
Of equanimity,
Of balance,
A place of pure contentment.
Stay here in the spaciousness of your awareness,
Remaining present with your breath.
This is where I'll leave you now.
Stay as long as you like.
I'll see you again next time.
Namaste.
Peace out.
