Welcome to your meditation that will help you to become unstuck in life.
You can choose to do this meditation either laying down or seated.
Whatever your choice,
Take your position now.
Take the time to settle into your body.
Release your feet,
Knees,
Hips,
Abdomen,
Shoulders,
Jaw,
Tongue,
Eyebrows and temple.
Take an inhale and hold for a second and then exhale out the mouth.
Inhaling,
Hold for a second,
Then exhale deeply out the mouth.
Two more times.
Inhale,
Slow exhale.
Then again.
Soften your breath.
The lotus is a metaphor for the contrast of beauty and unease we experience in our life.
The lotus flower can only bloom if there is muck at the bottom of the pond.
Actually in yoga we have a metaphor for this in our asana.
We ask that you root down before you can rise up.
The roots of the lotus flower draw from the mud and make it into something beautiful.
There is not a human on the planet that doesn't experience discomfort and unease.
It is essential for us to have ease in our lives so that we are without dis-ease.
Soften your breath.
Soften your effort in your body.
We are going on a journey of visualization,
Breath awareness and relaxation towards renewal.
See,
Sense or feel you are walking barefooted alone along a narrow pebbled path in the forest,
Flanked by trees and bushes.
And you feel safe.
There was no one around,
Just you and nature.
The birds in the trees and the koalas and their babies.
The trees are gently swaying in the breeze and the sun is shining in the brilliant blue sky through soft white clouds.
The air is clean and you feel at peace,
As peaceful as you did when you were a small child.
You notice the colours of the trees in the sky.
They are brighter and stronger than you could imagine.
Your senses are sharpened and you feel light in the body and your spirit feels free.
A natural smile comes over your face,
Then warmth spreads to the whole of your body.
And you are happy.
The path begins to narrow and finally you come across a wide grassy paddock.
You see a pond in the distance.
Slowly you wander across the paddock towards the pond,
Noticing the beautiful lotus floating on the top.
Pinks and whites with wide green leaves.
The pond is at the bottom of a set of stone steps.
The steps are wide and deep and made of white sandstone.
As your feet make contact with the stone,
You notice the coolness and stability of the steps.
You descend the steps one at a time,
Taking one breath for each step.
Ten,
Inhale and exhale.
Nine,
Inhale and exhale.
Eight,
Breathe.
Seven,
Breathe.
Continue breathing for each step until you finally come to the last step.
As you reach the last step you notice how still the water is.
There is no movement at all on the top of the water.
You peer over the edge and cannot see the bottom of the pond.
It is murky,
Almost dirty water.
However you can see your reflection.
The picture of you is complete stillness,
Peace.
It is as though you are almost floating through space.
You reach your arms out to your sides and imagine you are flying through the sky,
Watching your reflection,
Watching the freedom,
Feeling the lightness as you fly.
Bring your attention to the feet steady on the ground and notice your toes are in the water.
The water is cool on your toes and you notice the gentle ripples move across the water surface as you wriggle your toes.
You pick up a small stone and toss it into the water,
Noticing the ripples spread across the water surface,
And then watching until the water quickly returns to stillness.
Recall a time recently when something that was said or done to you had upset you.
It may not be the most awful memory,
Maybe only lasting a few seconds,
Minutes or hours.
Recall the unsettling feeling this may have created in your body.
You may even be able to feel it right now.
Breathe into that feeling now,
Just like the stone that interrupted the peaceful surface of the water in the pond.
Watch your breath and notice as you allow the thoughts to move and how your body and mind slowly but surely return to peace.
By not reacting to our thoughts we can experience the same peace.
Just like the surface of the water we will experience a break in stillness.
It's how we react to that break in peace that matters.
If we allow the sensations to move through our body,
Knowing full well there will also be a time that things will return to stillness.
We will find ourselves reacting differently and each time we are shaken from our peace we will find it easier to get back there,
To come back to home.
Your meditation practice is now complete.
Feel free to stay and watch the stillness of your mind.
Thank you for watching.
