Bell Allowing yourself to fully arrive here.
Maybe you've had a really busy day or a very relaxing day.
Allowing yourself to arrive here.
Relaxing your shoulders a little bit.
Making any necessary adjustments to the posture perhaps.
Settling in and settling into this moment.
Meeting yourself as you find yourself right now.
Perhaps noticing any preferences from the mind.
Do it this way,
This should be happening.
Do it that way.
More of this,
Less of that.
So noticing what the mind is trying to do with you right now.
How much it is perhaps resisting or not of course.
And becoming aware of the points of contact now between the body and the furniture.
Could be your feet on the floor.
The sensation of your clothes against your skin.
Your back against the chair or the bed.
And really tuning into those sensations.
And also noticing if you are perhaps striving to feel any sensations when you don't feel any,
Which is fine.
The difference between striving to feel something,
Striving to achieve any particular states during practice.
And simply letting your awareness rest in this moment.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
But before we do this,
I'd like to share the following.
It is quite helpful to inhale if possible and if comfortable through the nose and then hold for a few moments and exhale deeply through the mouth.
So let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
And let's take three deep breaths together.
This moment.
And then the next moment.
And then the one after that.
Without needing to do anything.
Holding space for yourself.
As ever,
When the mind wanders,
Bring it back to the now.
Back to your anchor.
Easy for some,
Not so easy for others.
Chris,
My mind is all over the place.
Good,
Good,
Good awareness,
Good noticing.
That's it.
Try to force anything and it will rebel even more.
Calm down.
Resting in this space,
In this silence,
With full permission and with a sense of self-respect for bringing yourself to practice.
Week after week,
Day after day,
Whatever your practice looks like.
With a sense of gratitude for prioritizing your self-care.
Noticing where those few words have taken you now.
Where is the mind now?
And as ever,
Bringing it back to your breath or your anchor.
Unhooking from that automatic pilot mode of our mind by intentionally resting our awareness in the now.
And with a kind attitude.
And now expanding your awareness beyond the breath and your anchor to the whole body.
From the top of your head to the tip of your toes.
I'm going to give you a few moments to practice that,
To simply scan,
If that's what you wish to call it,
Simply let your awareness rest in different parts,
Different regions of your body.
Nothing else to do.
Simply tuning into those parts.
Sensing into the whole body.
Sensations of all kind.
And if you don't sense anything in particular,
What does that feel like?
Bringing a sense of curiosity to this body scan.
Sometimes it is called coming home to the body,
Which is a term that I love personally.
Coming home to our body.
Noticing perhaps how the mind responds to that invitation.
And meeting that feedback with kind attention.
Once more bringing the mind back to the now moment.
And as we move into the final part of today's practice,
I would like to take us through the beautiful loving kindness meditation.
And you are welcome to follow my guidance and repeat the words internally in your own words.
Or simply,
You can just follow my instructions and you will be able to do that.
And I would like to ask you to repeat the words internally in your own words.
Or simply let my voice fade into the background as a little bit of white noise and tune into the energy.
May I be happy.
May I ride the waves of my life.
May I live in peace,
No matter what I am given.
Now bringing to mind a friend or a special person for whom you care a lot or respect a lot.
Extending that same kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you ride the waves of your life.
May you live in peace,
No matter what you are given.
And finally extending the same wishes to the wider community.
And this could be your circle of friends,
This could be the building you live in and the neighbors,
Could be your office team,
Your family,
The whole world,
Of course including yourself in this.
May we all be happy and may we all be healthy.
May we all ride the waves of our lives.
May we live in peace,
No matter what we are given.
Now simply resting in this energy,
In this silence until you hear the sound of the bells.
And still being here,
Fully present with a sense of wakefulness until the end of the practice,
In case your mind has started to make plans.
Simply notice that with kind attention.
So gently allowing the eyes to open again if they were closed.
And perhaps doing a little stretch,
Sensing into what the body needs right now.
Wiggling toes and fingers,
Perhaps having a drink of water.
And then if this is an option at all,
Do some journaling,
Some reflection on the practice if you can.
Tonight or in the coming days.
And if you have any questions,
As ever,
Email me or message me on the social media channels.
That's it for today,
So go well,
Namaste,
Bye for now.
