Taking a moment to settle into the body,
Embodying a posture that is both relaxed yet alert,
With the back straight,
The head resting gently on the neck,
And the shoulders slightly back and relaxed.
Taking a moment to sense into your own inner dignity as a child of God,
Cherished and beloved.
Now taking three deep breaths to settle the body,
Inhaling deep into the lower belly and exhaling slowly.
One,
Two,
And three.
Noticing how the body feels as a whole sitting here,
Nowhere to be,
Nothing to do,
Just resting in this temple of the Holy Spirit.
Now bring to mind your intention for this prayer period and allow it to rise from your heart and offer it to God.
Now bringing the attention to the breath,
Wherever it is most easily felt in the body.
This might be at the nostrils,
The throat,
Or the rising and falling of the chest or belly.
Settling into one area of the body where you can connect with the breath most easily.
Or if it's more comfortable,
You can stay with the sensation of your body as a whole breathing.
If it helps,
You can count your breaths,
Counting on the exhalation up to 10 and then returning back to one.
Staying connected to the sensations of breathing and bringing a quality of loving attention to each breath,
This God-given breath,
Without needing to change the rhythm or the pace,
Just allowing yourself to rest in the rhythms of your natural breath.
When the mind begins to wander,
Noticing without judgment and just slowly invite your attention back to the sensations of breathing or to the counting.
It might help to whisper a phrase like,
Not now,
Just to connect with your intention to stay in the present moment,
Using the breath as this portal to the now.
Staying connected to the sensations of breathing and counting,
If that's helpful,
And just noticing what arises,
The distractions,
The thoughts,
The emotions,
Without needing to push them away,
And just slowly and gently bringing your attention back to your counting or to your breath.
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Reconnecting with our intention for being here,
Allowing the breath to be our portal to the present moment.
To allow the breath to help us better abide in God.
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As our time of meditation and prayer comes to a close,
Let's take a moment to offer a prayer of thanks to God for this time together.
And to ask God to help you stay connected to him as you move forward into your day.
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