Settle into a comfortable position,
And if it feels okay,
Allow your eyes to close or soften your gaze.
Let your body be supported.
You don't need to hold yourself up in any special way.
This practice is called letting your thoughts flow by,
And it's a way of working with thoughts and emotions.
Not by pushing them away,
But by changing how you relate to them.
So start by beginning to notice your breath.
There's no need to control it.
Just notice the gentle rhythm of your breath.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
If your mind wanders,
That's completely natural.
Each time you notice,
Just gently bring your attention back to the breath.
Now imagine that you're sitting by the side of a gently flowing stream.
The water is moving at a steady,
Calm pace.
Along the surface of the water,
Leaves float by.
Take a moment to picture this scene in your own way.
The colours,
The sounds,
The feeling of being there.
There's no right image,
It's just your imagination.
Let it be simple.
Now I invite you to take every thought that pops into your head,
And place each thought gently onto a leaf.
It might be a word,
An image,
A memory,
Or a worry about the future.
Place it on a leaf,
And watch it float along the stream.
Moving at its own pace,
Until it drifts out of view.
You don't need to judge the thought.
You don't need to make it positive or meaningful.
Just that there's a thought,
Onto a leaf,
And away it goes.
If emotions arise,
If an emotion shows up,
Like anxiety,
Sadness or frustration,
You can place that on a leaf too.
You might silently name it,
And let it float by.
If something feels sticky or hard to place on a leaf,
That's okay.
You can simply notice.
This is here.
And then gently return your attention to the stream.
At times you might notice that you've been pulled into a thought and forgotten about the leaves.
That's not a mistake,
That's the practice.
So each time you notice,
Gently bring yourself back to the stream.
New leaf,
New moment.
As you continue,
You may begin to notice something important.
That thoughts come,
And thoughts go.
You don't have to follow them.
You don't have to fight them.
You can watch them pass,
While staying there on the riverbank,
Just watching them all pass.
Take a few more moments with the stream.
And then gently allow the image to fade.
Bring your awareness back to your breath,
Your body,
And the space around you.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes.
If you found this helpful,
You're welcome to explore other mindfulness practice I share here.
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