Here's one way to lead a meditation practice.
I'll offer just a couple steps that serve as an entry point into the meditation and then that can lead to a variety of different types of meditations,
Or it can go a variety of different ways.
But this just tends to be the way that I'll kind of find my way into the meditation.
When I lead a meditation,
It does tend to be pretty impromptu and improvisational.
So it's nice to have something that I can kind of rely on to get to that place of improvisation and just trust the energy of the present moment and allow that to then guide the practice.
So just thought I'd offer it to you,
If it could be something that you would want to share or do in your life in some way,
Or it could just be interesting to see one approach to leading meditations.
So I'll just kind of walk you through it and we'll sort of do it at the same time.
First part.
Would just be.
Adjusting the body.
So you can settle in however you might like to settle in.
Maybe you notice your shoulders are kind of rigid or upright.
You can allow them to drop.
You can sway back and forth,
Side to side.
Roll your neck,
Something might crack.
You can also make any adjustments to the space around you,
Anything that will allow you to just be here a little bit more deeply.
So first is settling in to the space.
Then if you like,
You can allow your eyes to close.
You don't have to,
But if it feels right,
You can allow the eyes to close.
Settling in,
Allowing the eyes to close.
I like to use that.
Way of saying it,
As opposed to closing the eyes,
Just allowing the eyes to close.
And along with that,
You can allow the body to relax a little bit more deeply.
So just kind of scanning around.
Noticing anything that might feel particularly tense or flexed.
Again,
It could be the shoulders,
It could be the stomach.
Be the jaw.
Could be the eyes,
Just noticing anything that might be holding on unconsciously and then when you become just a little bit more presently conscious.
These areas can release,
Soften,
Or maybe let go completely.
And something that can help with that is a couple deep breaths.
Of just awareness of breathing and maybe taking some exaggerated inhales.
And breathing out.
And just letting it go all the way out on the exhale.
Breathing in deep.
And breathing out.
I like to imagine like you're opening a door and just leaving it wide open on the exhale.
Allowing the breeze to come back in on the inhale whenever it wants to.
So we've settled in,
We've allowed the eyes to close.
Allow the body to relax wherever it can.
Taking a few deep inhales and exhales.
That could be just all you need.
And here is where I like to then tune into whatever it is that I'm feeling.
Whatever guidance there might be from the present moment for each of us.
Wherever the meditation can go from here.
I think I'll keep it quite simple.
Simple tends to be And let's just take 30 seconds.
To be in silence.
And now there's the silence of no words from me.
There might still have been words inside your mind.
And maybe my mind.
So here,
Potentially 30 more seconds.
To see if we can experience consciousness.
Without any words either outside or inside the mind.
There is an awareness.
Without any words added.
Still aware.
With no words.
Just for 30 seconds.
Starting now.
Okay and here you might just come back to breathing.
This is how I like to sort of land the meditation.
You can take a few more deep breaths.
Breathing in deep.
And allowing the exhale to go all the way out Maybe noticing if any tension has crept back up under the surface.
There's a lot of habitual flexing that the body does without our awareness.
Here,
Just another opportunity to release and let go.
Of whatever might keep holding on.
And each exhale is another opportunity.
Just to let go again.
And then before we come back,
I like to sometimes offer the guidance of.
Feeling as if you are waking up.
For the first time today.
That your day is just beginning.
And maybe even on the deepest level that your life is just beginning right now,
Here,
In this moment,
Or maybe really just about to begin.
And then very gradually I like to say,
If your eyes were closed.
You can allow them to open in their own time,
No rush.
Just waiting until the eyes would like to open.
And feeling the day beginning.
For the first time.
I like to say you can.
.
.
Make any movements,
Do anything you might like to do in this moment.
And to just gradually allow the meditation to move into whatever it is that happens next.
Could feel like you're moving immediately into some other mode,
But everything we do can be a form of meditation.
So just allowing this to slowly move into.
The next thing.
Like the next thing for you right now.
