SEED: Simple, Easy, Every Day Meditation

This is a SEED Meditation. It stands for Simple, Easy, Every day Meditation. This type of meditation was developed by my teacher and mentor, Sarah McLean of the McLean Meditation Institute. It's a beautiful practice that consists of several practices blended into one. It includes a body scan, heart-centered breath, breath awareness, self inquiry, and a silent mantra.

Transcript

Hello and welcome.

My name is Cheryl Bailey from Great and Grace Meditation and today I'm going to be sharing with you the SEED Meditation.

SEED stands for Simple Easy Every Day.

This meditation was originally developed by Sarah MacLean,

My mentor and teacher from the MacLean Meditation Institute in Santa Barbara,

California.

This meditation consists of several practices including a body awareness,

Heart centered breath,

Self inquiry,

Your breath awareness and a silent mantra.

This practice will take approximately 30 minutes to complete so I invite you to go into a place where you won't be disturbed.

And when you're ready you can come into a comfortably seated position and you can sit in a chair or on the floor and you can gently rest your hands in your lap or place them at your side.

Ideally you should sit with an upright spine and roll your shoulders up and down your back.

Remember during this meditation let go of expectations and be kind to yourself.

Stick with this practice as I'll guide you the whole way.

And when you're ready I invite you to close your eyes.

If you're not completely comfortable with your eyes closed,

Gently cap them and create a soft gaze on the floor just a few feet in front of you.

And we'll begin by taking a few long slow deep breaths in through the nose and out through the nose.

This is signaling your body to come into a relaxed state.

And on each inhale slowly and fully filling up completely.

And on each exhale releasing completely.

Now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm and depth.

Remember throughout this practice you just can breathe naturally.

You don't have to do anything to control your breath.

And with your eyes closed notice you might become more aware of the sounds in your environment.

Welcoming everything you hear both near and far.

Sound is not a barrier to our meditation.

Also with your eyes closed you might become more aware of the physical sensations that are present in your body.

Sit in the stillness and notice those sensations.

You don't need to create a story around any of those feelings.

We'll begin our practice of a mindful body scan.

And as I call your attention to various areas of your body,

Gently relax any tension you may notice.

And become aware of the physical sensations that are present.

Become curious when you notice warmth or coolness.

Or maybe if you feel a tingling or sharpness.

You may even feel a heaviness or lightness.

Comfort or dis-ease.

And just become curious of those sensations.

You don't need to sit within a story around them.

Just notice what shows up in your body.

So I invite you to bring your attention to your face.

And soften and relax through your entire face.

Soften your forehead.

And the furrow in your brow.

Relax the corners of your eyes.

And soften through your cheeks and your jawbone.

Soften your ears.

And even relax the tongue in your mouth.

Tune into the sensations that are present.

Tuck your chin in slightly,

Allowing the back of your neck to lengthen just a bit as you soften through your throat.

Relax your shoulders.

And drop them down your spine.

Notice the sensations in your arms,

Your hands,

And your fingers.

Now feel the support of the chair or cushion that you're seated on.

Let your pelvis and your sit bones relax into that support.

Bring your attention to your spine and notice your spine rise from your tailbone to the base of your skull,

Like a tree reaching for the sky.

Soften your upper back.

Relax through your middle and lower back.

Soften through your heart center,

Your chest,

And your belly.

Notice the sensations that are present.

I invite you to move your attention to your right leg.

Relax through your hip and your thigh.

And back of your knee,

Your calf,

The top of your foot,

And the sole of your foot.

Release any tension through the tips of your toes.

Drift your attention to your left leg.

Relax through your hip and your left thigh.

Through the front and back of your left knee,

Your left calf,

Through the top of your foot,

And the sole of your left foot.

Releasing any tension through your left tips of your toes.

Feel your whole body present,

Relaxed,

And still.

Now notice subtle sensations of aliveness.

Perhaps you notice your pulse or your heart beating internally.

Maybe there's a tingling sensation.

I invite you to turn your attention to your heart center.

Bring your attention to the rise and fall of your chest as you inhale and as you exhale.

Feel,

See,

Or imagine a warm,

Bright,

Shining light in your heart center,

Just behind your breastbone.

And imagine this light radiating light from you,

From the center of your chest.

And this light is radiating outward and it represents the light of your awareness.

And each breath increases the radiance of your inner light.

And as you inhale and as you exhale,

This bright,

White,

Radiant light just continues to grow.

This light shines outwardly.

And if you'd like,

You can place one or both of your palms over your heart center.

Keep your attention focused there.

Continue to focus on that bright,

White light in your heart space as you inhale and as you exhale.

Lift up over Sniper.

We'll take this practice a little bit deeper by asking some sacred questions.

In this self inquiry practice,

Silently ask yourself,

Who am I?

Who am I?

Ask yourself this question a few times and then return to the stillness.

You don't need to expect or make up any answer.

Just simply ask,

Who am I?

Answers may come.

And if they don't,

Just sit in the silence and simply repeat silently,

Who am I?

Now,

Ask,

What is my heart's deepest desire?

What is my heart's deepest desire?

Repeat this a few times and then return to the stillness.

Repeat this a few times.

Now,

Ask yourself,

How can I best love myself?

How can I best love myself?

Simply repeating that question and then returning to the stillness.

Let go of any questions and any answers that you might have,

That you may have felt or seen or heard and bring your attention to the sensations of your natural breathing.

If your hand is still over your heart center,

You can place your hands back in your lap.

And as you sit in the silence,

Notice the cool air as you inhale and the warmer air as you exhale.

Rest your attention on the natural pauses that you may notice between each inhale and each exhale as you breathe.

Your breath may slow down.

It may speed up or it may become deeper or shallower.

You don't need to do anything to control or regulate your breath.

Just let it be natural.

Simply just focus on your breath.

If your attention drifts away,

Simply refocus.

It doesn't matter how many times you have to do this.

Continue to notice your breath.

Notice the breath as you inhale and as you exhale.

Rest your attention on the natural pauses that you may notice between each inhale and exhale.

Now we'll introduce a silent mantra practice.

And as you inhale,

Silently think the word so.

And as you exhale,

Think the word hum.

So hum.

On your next inhale,

Gently draw your breath along the back of your throat and silently repeat the word so.

And on the exhale,

Hum.

So hum.

So hum.

Continue to repeat this mantra gently.

There's no need to force or concentrate.

Just silently repeating the word so,

Hum.

Whenever you notice your attention has drifted away from the mantra to a sound,

A sensation,

Or a thought,

Gently focus your attention back to so,

Hum.

It doesn't matter how many times you have to refocus.

Be kind to yourself.

Humming is a practice.

If you're waiting for something to happen,

Just return your attention to the mantra,

Repeating so,

Hum.

We'll sit silently for a few moments,

Repeating this mantra without effort.

Just know that you're doing it correctly as long as you're repeating the words so,

Hum.

We'll sit like this for a few more moments and I'll keep track of the time.

We'll sit like this for a few more moments and I'll keep track of the time.

We'll sit like this for a few more moments and I'll keep track of the time.

We'll sit like this for a few more moments and I'll keep track of the time.

We'll sit like this for a few more moments and I'll keep track of the time.

Now,

As your practice comes to a close,

Stop repeating the mantra and sit in the stillness.

Allow your eyes to remain closed for just a couple more minutes.

Notice how you're feeling and notice the nature of your mind.

Begin to give yourself some deeper breaths.

Maybe you wiggle your fingers and your toes.

Begin to stretch into the space around you.

It's always important to come out of meditation slowly,

Taking your time.

There's no rush.

When you feel ready,

You can slowly open your eyes.

I hope you enjoyed today's meditation.

I enjoyed meditating with you and hope you have a wonderful day.

Namaste.

Reviews

Thankyou Cheryl. That was a really calming and effective session, just right for this morning. I will be.coming