Mountain Meditation

A version of the well known Mountain meditation which uses imagery to explore stability amidst change and uncertainty.

Transcript

Taking a moment to prepare for the mountain meditation.

So noticing the feet on the floor.

Awareness of sitting on the chair.

So the weight of the body,

Contact points,

The upper thighs,

The buttocks.

Awareness of the back,

The strength inherent in the spine.

Noticing the shoulders,

Perhaps even rolling them,

Just letting them settle.

Noticing how the arms and hands have been placed.

Awareness of the neck and the support that provides the head.

The crown of the head moving upward towards the ceiling and there may be a sense of greater length,

Height that comes with that.

The chin tucked in slightly.

Soft awareness around the eyes,

The cheeks,

The mouth and the chin.

Noticing the environment you're in at the moment,

So the sounds that may be present,

Comings and goings.

Checking in with yourself as to actually how are you feeling right now?

What thoughts might be present?

What the emotional tone may be?

And how is the body?

Is there any areas that are tight or constricted?

Gentle noticing and honouring of whatever may be present right now for you.

So finding stability by coming to the breath.

This is your breath,

Just as it is right now.

Noticing where it may be most evident,

Perhaps it's at the nostrils,

Maybe it's at the neck,

Or perhaps it is at the chest that rise and fall around that area.

There may be subtle sensations a little lower in the belly or the abdominal region.

We're just interested and curious about this thing we call breathing.

So feeling into your breath.

No need to analyse it or critique it.

Dancing into the sensations of breathing.

So the breath becomes a point of stability,

A reference point if you like,

Somewhere where we can return to time and time again.

So having settled and found perhaps a degree of stability just in this short time.

Bringing your creative mind to imagining a mountain.

This may be a mountain that you're familiar with.

Perhaps it's a mountain that you've seen on documentaries or in magazines.

Or it may be a mountain of your imagination.

So allowing this mountain to form.

Getting a sense of the overall shape of your mountain.

Whether the sides are gently sloping or perhaps steep.

What the peak of the mountain is like.

Moving in closer and perhaps noticing the finer details of your mountain.

What kind of vegetation if any is there.

The colour of your mountain.

And moving closer still so your seat becomes the solid base of the mountain.

The sides of the mountain being the arms and shoulders.

The peak of the mountain,

The top of the head,

Measuring the view that might be had from this lofty height.

And the spine being the central core of your mountain.

A place of stability and dignity.

So sitting in this mountain-like image.

Imagining the mountain as the day dawns and the first light reaches the slopes of the mountain.

The activity begins,

Perhaps life starts up with that first light.

And as the sun rises in the sky,

So too the light changes on the mountain.

Temperature changes,

Shadows shorten.

At midday,

The heat of the day,

Again there is changes that come to the mountain.

And as the sun passes overhead and slowly sinks,

Evening falls.

The temperature drops again on the mountain.

Activity perhaps quietens.

And as night falls and the stars come out,

Again the mountain changes.

Nightlife begins.

This is a different world on the mountain.

And so as night follows day and day begins again,

So too the seasons on the mountain change.

The heat of summer,

The vegetation may be drier.

There may be a lack of water on the mountain at this time.

Certain flowers appear.

And with the passing of summer,

The cooler months arrive.

So autumn brings changes,

A gentle quietening perhaps,

A preparation that's needed in this season of change.

And with the passing of autumn comes winter.

Temperatures drop,

Days shorten.

Perhaps ice forms on the mountain.

Storms may come in this season of winter,

Bringing with it wind and rain.

However,

Even in the midst of winter,

There are days of stillness and light.

Nothing is ever the same on the mountain.

And as months pass,

So does winter fade.

And the first signs of spring appear on the mountain.

There's new growth.

New activity appears on the mountain sides.

A renewed energy perhaps.

So seasons come and go,

Years pass.

People visit the mountain.

They come and look and spend time at the mountain.

People make comments about the mountain.

Oh,

It's such a beautiful mountain.

Or perhaps it's not such a good day and the mountain doesn't look that great today.

Oh,

I've seen better mountains than this.

So people observe and judge the mountain,

Depending on the weather and their own experience.

But none of this matters to the mountain.

The mountain is simply the mountain.

So just as weather comes and goes,

People come and go.

So too the mountain sits.

And although the weather may change the outer crust of the mountain,

The inner core of the mountain remains stable,

Strong.

Allowing this sense of the mountain,

Your mountain,

To resonate within.

The sense of stability.

The resilience to be able to weather the emotional storms that may come and go.

The wisdom to be able to be with whatever is there.

The ability to have the perspective that may come from the top of the mountain or from deep within of what is true for you.

So having this sense of being a sitting,

Breathing,

Breathing.

Mountain.

Being able to tap into that inner core of stability and strength.

Gently allowing the vision and the image of the mountain to fade.

Becoming aware of the room you're sitting in.

The feet on the floor.

Sensation of the temperature within your room.

The nature of clothing.

Sounds that may be present.

Tapping into your breath.

And as this meditation draws to a close,

Knowing that the image of your mountain can be carried with you.

A place of knowing that can be embodied in the way that you walk.

The way you sit.

And the way you interact with the world.

At the sound of the girl,

Gently reactivate the body,

Moving the fingers and toes.

Opening the eyes,

Taking in the visual field that's being offered.

Bringing a gentle smile.

And re-entering and moving into the next part of the day with the dignity and grace of your mountain.

A place of knowing that can be carried with you.

Reviews

Lovely. Very grounding. Will use again. Thank you! 🙏🙏

A lovely gift of centering and dignity. Thank you.

Poor sound quality, but very good quality of meditation guidance: 5 stars for this, and I hope for another try with the recording ;-)

Oh, did I love this meditation!

Thank you for showing me the dignity and grace of my mountain 🙏🏼namaste

Really enjoyed this, I will definitely do this again X 🙂

Great visual the mountain is never the same always changing , like us

Thank you for the beautiful imagery.

I like the imagery in this

That was amazing. One of my favorites.

Absolutely love this. She did a wonderful job of helping create an image of what the mountain looks like. I will save this one.✌🏻️

Simple and beautiful.

I liked the visualization and moments of silence, nice voice and pace.

Feeling very strong and calm after this meditation. Thank you 🙏🏼

This was a perfectly wonderful meditation. It had all of the elements of visualization that gives the mind space to imagine, the body to feel at rest and at peace and the heart (spirit) to be present. Thank you so much, and I will visit it again.