Welcome to today's 10 minute guided meditation for self-awareness.
Let this experience in the next 10 minutes remind you that the real work is done the moment you decide to take a few minutes out of your day to breathe,
Unplug and recenter your mind.
So thank you for finding this moment right now in your day and doing something beautiful for your inner peace and balance.
Today we will be focusing on the power of perspective and how we hold the power to change it.
Let us begin today's meditation by finding a comfortable seated position.
You can sit on the ground with your knees crossed or on a chair with your feet firmly planted on the ground.
Sit up with your back straight and your hands on your knees or your lap.
When you are ready,
Gently close your eyes.
Begin to notice the breath.
Signal your body to let go.
So breathe it in and as you exhale,
Let it all go.
Inhale and exhale.
Be the watcher of everything that is happening around you and within.
Stomach fully expanding on every inhale.
Inhale and exhale.
There is an old Zen tale of an aging master who grew tired of his young apprentices constant complaining.
He instructed his apprentice to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and drink it.
How does it taste?
The master asked.
Bitter,
Swit the apprentice.
The master chuckled and instructed the young man to drop a handful of salt in a nearby lake and drink from it.
As water dripped from the young man's chin,
The master asked,
How does it taste?
Fresh remarked the apprentice.
The master sat beside the serious young man.
The pain of life is pure salt.
No more,
No less.
The amount of pain in life remains the same,
But the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in.
So when you are in pain,
The only thing you can do is enlarge your sense of things.
Stop being a glass.
Become a lake.
Let's return our focus to our breathing.
Inhale and exhale.
Observe the inflow and outflow of your breath.
Let your belly expand fully on every inhalation and contract on each exhalation.
Breathe in and breathe out.
Allow your body to relax.
Relax the muscles in your face,
Your forehead,
Your eyebrows.
Allow your eyes to feel heavy.
Relax your lips.
Unclench your jaw.
Allow to move this relaxation down the body,
To your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your hands.
Wherever you feel any sensations of tension,
I want you to focus on this tension for a moment.
May I redirect your focus to where you do not feel any tension.
We'll repeat this process,
Shifting your awareness from a point of tension to a point of relaxation for the next few breaths.
These sensations of discomfort are simply experiences in your body that you have the ability to focus on or not.
You are in control of your body.
You are in control of your wellbeing and your happiness.
So with each exhalation,
Let it go.
Let us gently welcome today's mantra,
Repeating it mentally and allowing it to flow with effortless ease.
I can change my life when I change my thinking.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
Make this mantra as much as you like,
Or simply enjoy this moment of stillness and connection to yourself.
I can change my life when I change my thinking.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
I can change my life when I change my thinking.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
I can change my life when I change my thinking.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
I choose to see all the opportunities surrounding me.
It's time to release the mantra.
Let's slowly bring awareness back to your body,
To your fingers and your toes.
Feel the air on your face,
The beating of your heart.
As you continue about your day,
Remember that you have the power inside of you to redirect your focus.
You can choose to focus on the salt in the glass,
Or enlarge your sense of thinking to a lake,
Seeing all the opportunities surrounding you.
Have a beautiful rest of your day.
Keep growing and keep loving.
Namaste.
