This is a 10 minute meditation on dwelling with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within.
Basically with the words used at the baptism of Jesus when the voice from heaven says,
With you I am well pleased.
So I invite you to get comfortable in your chair or lying down on the ground.
And in making yourself comfortable,
Noticing the feelings and sensations in your body,
Taking contact with whatever is beneath you,
Drawing your attention into your breath,
Wherever it's most organic,
Easiest for you to access your breath.
That may be the life giving air moving in and out of your nostrils.
It may be the slight rise and fall of your chest as you breathe in and out.
Or it may be the slight expansion and deflation of your stomach as you breathe.
Just noticing again where it's easiest to access this attention in the breath.
And noticing when the mind drifts away,
Using it as an opportunity to escort the attention back home to the breath.
Coming back to this life giving air naturally moving in and out of your body.
Coming home.
And as you come home to the breath within you,
It's a wonderful opportunity to remember the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Paul says in Romans that the Spirit dwells within you.
And so when we come home to the breath,
It's a way of coming home to this indwelling of the Spirit.
So we can think of it as a way of turning towards that which is already here.
Turning towards this life giving Spirit within us.
It's so easy to forget that the Spirit's here dwelling within.
So this seated or lying down meditation is an opportunity to remember,
To come home to this life giving Spirit already here.
No need to worry or judge when you notice that your mind has drifted away from the Spirit.
Rather it's an opportunity to notice,
Ah,
My mind has drifted away from home.
Let me escort my attention back home to the breath,
To the indwelling of the Spirit.
And once again,
Anchoring your attention right there with the breath and with the Spirit.
For the next piece of this meditation,
You may want to place a hand over your chest or both hands on your chest.
Or maybe it feels better to you to keep your hands clasped in your lap.
Or if you're lying down,
Lying,
Having your arms lie beside you comfortably.
And on the in-breath,
We're going to remember these words,
These words that came from heaven during Jesus baptism and receive them into our own heart as heirs.
Breathing in with you,
Out breath,
Well pleased.
In breath with you,
Out breath,
Well pleased.
With you,
Out breath,
Well pleased.
Just allowing this to settle into your being,
Receiving it more deeply each time you say it into your heart.
This voice from heaven whispering to you just like it broke through from heaven.
But in this moment,
Whispering to you with you,
Well pleased.
With you,
Well pleased.
With you,
Well pleased.
And you may notice just like we were practicing at the beginning of this meditation that your mind even was saying a mantra drifts away from receiving this blessing.
Again,
No need to worry or to judge.
Giving the awareness as an opportunity to practice coming home once again to the breath,
To the spirit,
And to these whispers with you,
Well pleased.
With you,
Well pleased.
Just over and over again as if a gentle wave is washing over you.
With you,
Well pleased.
With you,
Well pleased.
Going back to it over and over again.
Maybe noticing if you have any resistance to receiving this blessing.
As you offer this opportunity to hear whispers of the spirit and to receive God's blessing into your heart,
Do you notice that any part of your body is tense?
Is any part of your body uncomfortable with receiving God's blessing?
Of hearing that God is well pleased with you?
And if you notice that,
Just recognize that it's there.
Don't fight it.
Just go,
Ah,
Okay.
That's part of what I'm sitting with in this present moment.
It's part of the story in this present moment.
It doesn't mean it will be here next time when you practice,
Or maybe it will be.
It's not good or bad,
Right or wrong.
It's simply giving yourself the opportunity to notice what arises when I say to myself these words that Jesus heard from heaven and receive the blessing as my own.
With you,
Well pleased.
With you,
Well pleased.
Allowing any and all physical sensations to be present as these blessings wash over you and maybe they feel like they move through you.
Maybe you sense a closer presence of God.
Maybe you have a closer understanding of being a beloved child of God,
Remembering how pleased God is with you.
Whatever is arising is just as it should be.
This meditation is an opportunity to give yourself the gift of dwelling with that which dwells within you,
The Holy Spirit,
Turning towards what is already here.
And as we wrap up this 10 minute meditation,
I invite you to take a long,
Deep in-breath,
Blow it out through your mouth.
Two more of these in your own rhythm.
Beautiful job.
Fluttering your eyes open if you've had them closed.
Maybe taking a nice long stretch to move your body with whatever wisdom is arising from your body at this current moment.
And as you move through this day,
I pray that you continue to have a ripple effect of spending time with the Holy Spirit and hearing the words from heaven with you.
I am well pleased.
May it bless you not only in the current moment,
But in every moment to come.
Amen.
