Hello and welcome.
Take a moment to settle into your seat.
We'll begin the practice shortly.
By resting your attention on the breath.
Sensing its natural rhythm as it moves in and out.
No need to control it.
Just observing that gentle movement.
And if the breath feels hard to focus on today,
You can simply rest with the feeling of being here in this body,
In this moment.
Simply being aware.
Now however it comes to you,
See if you can bring to mind the image of a calm body of water.
Maybe a river or a lake.
And maybe you can notice that sometimes the surface of the water gets ruffled by wind.
And that yet,
Beneath the surface,
The water remains deep and still.
And in the same way,
The natural stillness of the mind and the quiet wisdom within us can sometimes be obscured by our thoughts,
By our reactions to life.
And yet,
Awareness itself remains still.
Your thoughts and emotions don't define who you are.
Over each exhale you might sense your awareness naturally settling deeper.
Slowly,
Gently,
No need to force.
And if you notice that you're not feeling settled,
That's okay.
See if you can allow those ripples of emotion to move.
Within the wide space of your awareness.
Letting them be as they are.
Letting yourself be as you are.
And as you continue breathing here,
Begin to notice the sensations in your body.
If you find any areas of tension,
Just observing them as they are for a moment.
And then on the next exhale,
You might allow a little softening.
Imagining any tension dissolving,
Leaving a smooth,
Calm surface.
If thoughts arise,
Just noticing them,
Acknowledging them as temporary ripples,
Movements within you,
Not the whole of you.
No need to follow them,
No need to push anything away.
Just acknowledging what you notice,
And gently bringing your attention back to the breath.
See if you can sense the space within you,
And the space around you.
Feel the openness,
The expansiveness.
Allowing yourself to rest here,
Where everything can simply be as it is.
Breathing naturally,
Resting in that quiet depth beneath the surface.
And when you notice your mind wandering,
Just gently guide it back.
And as you rest in the natural stillness of awareness itself,
If something in your life has been asking for attention,
You might notice how it looks from here.
Gently bringing your awareness to your body,
As we close the practice.
Feeling yourself supported by the chair or the floor.
Slowly,
In your own time,
Opening your eyes or lifting your gaze.
Knowing that this steadiness,
This depth,
This stillness is always with you.
Thank you.
