This meditation is a practice of recognizing,
Accepting,
And leaning into change.
To begin,
Allow yourself to either find a comfortable seat or lie down.
In either case,
Take a deep breath.
When it feels comfortable,
Gently let the eyelids close down.
Soften any tension in the face and relax all of the muscles around the eyes,
The eyebrows,
And the jaw.
Allow the body to start to let go.
Now,
Begin to notice your breath as it naturally occurs.
The sensation of breath in and breath out through the nostrils.
Then begin to lengthen the inhalation,
Expand the lungs to their fullest capacity,
And release it all on the exhale,
Even extending the exhalation a bit further.
As you breathe long and deep,
Begin to sense a feeling of ease and effortlessness.
Wash over your whole body here.
Notice how the breath breathes the body without any effort on your part.
Get a felt sense here for the beating of your heart.
As I begin to name the following images,
Just allow any visual to arise.
Reduce the tendency to judge,
Label,
And instead simply allow whatever sensations or emotions to arise,
To simply be.
To begin,
Bring into your mind's eye a winter day,
Peaceful snowflakes falling to the ground.
Now bring to your attention a warm summer day,
Body being bathed in warm sunlight.
Whatever sensations arise are perfect.
All is welcome here.
Now bring to mind's eye a heavy rainstorm,
A dry desert,
The sensation of hot,
The sensation of cold,
A dark night illuminated by the full moon,
The bright afternoon sunlight,
Waves in the ocean,
Calm,
Still lake.
Notice sensations that arise.
Observe how the sensations are always changing.
As they come,
They also go.
Invite only awareness here.
Nothing to manage,
Nothing to judge or react to.
Continue to breathe long and deep here,
Allowing yourself to fully become the witness.
Now mentally repeat the following phrases.
I welcome change as it comes.
As I allow change,
I allow growth.
I am safe even amidst change.
I welcome change as it comes.
As I allow change,
I allow growth.
I am safe even amidst change.
Now imagine you living your daily life,
Noticing sensations,
Emotions,
Thoughts constantly changing.
Yet all the while,
Feel that there is an unshakable part of you.
It is unchanging.
It is a vast awareness in which everything is coming and going,
And you are observing it all with a neutral awareness.
Here,
You give yourself permission to release control and attachments.
As your edges begin to soften,
You feel at peace and at ease.
You take comfort in knowing that change itself does not have to be painful.
You begin to soften your resistance to change and see how it creates space for growth,
For expansion.
As you breathe long and deep,
Feel the sensation of expansion in the body.
Now,
Notice the rhythm and the pace of your breath.
It's simplicity here.
You begin to see that it isn't change that we find scary and painful,
But only our reaction to it.
Invite in three more rounds of long,
Deep breath here.
Give yourself a moment of recognition and appreciation for choosing to take the time to pause and take care of you today.
As you feel ready,
Sense what part of the body feels ready to awaken now.
As the time feels right,
Begin to bring small,
Gentle movements back into the body as you slowly start to awaken here.
