Welcome to the mountain meditation.
Making yourself comfortable,
Preferably in a dignified,
Upright position.
Getting a sense of your physical body in this moment as it sits here in stillness.
Being present to whatever arises moment by moment.
Becoming aware of breathing.
Allowing your attention to rest in the place where the breath seems most comfortable.
Comfortable.
As you sit here,
Picturing in your mind's eye or getting a sense of a picture of the most beautiful mountain that you know.
It could be one that you've seen,
One in a photograph or an imaginary mountain for that matter.
Allowing the image or sense of this mountain to become clearer.
Noticing the qualities of this mountain.
The size,
The shape,
Colours,
Sounds.
Any movements on the mountain.
Observing how the mountain is grounded in the earth's crust and also how it rises high up into the sky.
Becoming aware of how still,
Solid,
Immovable it is.
Sitting and breathing with the image or sense of this mountain.
As you continue to sit here,
Becoming aware of the changes that occur around the mountain.
The light,
Shadows and clouds.
Changing virtually moment by moment in the mountain's stillness.
Day follows day and day follows night.
The canopy of the stars,
Then the moon and then the sun.
Throughout it all the mountain simply sits.
Experiencing change in each moment,
Yet the mountain is always itself.
The mountain experiences constantly changing weather.
Clouds come and go,
Casting their shadow on the mountain.
Storms develop.
Rain,
Fog,
Hail.
Or even snow.
Winds may swirl around the mountain slopes.
Hot sun may beat down onto the mountain.
Seasons also bring change as they come and go.
In the summer the mountain may know the full force of the sun's heat or rain or summer thunderstorms.
In autumn the days may get shorter.
The colours may change on the mountain.
The temperature becoming cooler.
In the winter there will be cold,
Gale force winds and maybe even snow.
Spring brings soft breezes and the return of life to the mountain.
The snow may thaw and streams and marshes emerge.
Flowers blossom.
Through it all the mountain simply sits,
Simply being itself.
Unmoved by the changing weather surrounding it.
People may come to see the mountain to comment on how beautiful it is.
Tourists may come and like it or not.
None of this matters to the mountain.
The mountain's magnificence and beauty aren't changed one bit by whether people see it or not or by the weather or the seasons.
Seen or unseen in sun or clouds,
Hot or cold.
Day or night it just sits,
Being itself.
And when you feel ready,
See if you can bring a sense of the mountain into your own body so that your body sitting here and the mountain become one.
You become the mountain,
Grounded in the sitting posture.
Your head becomes a lofty peak,
Supported by the rest of your body.
Your shoulders,
Arms,
The side of the mountain.
Your legs and buttocks are solid base to the mountain,
Grounded to your cushion or the chair.
Just as the mountain is grounded in the earth.
Experiencing in your body right now a sense of uplift and stability.
Solid in your stillness as you sit here breathing.
A still,
Grounded,
Unmoving and unwavering presence.
The mountain's magnificence and beauty aren't changed one bit by whether people see it or not or by the seasons.
Mountains have much to teach us.
Opening to the mountain may help us to find strength,
Stability and groundedness.
To see that thoughts and feelings,
Our emotional storms and crisis are just like the weather on the mountain.
As best we can honoring this weather,
Knowing it and holding it in awareness.
We are rich in the knowledge this weather will pass and a new weather will arrive.
If you find that you resonate in some way with the strength and stability of the mountain,
It will be helpful to use it from time to time to remind you of what it means to sit mindfully and wakefully with resolve in true stillness.
So in the time that remains in this practice,
Continuing to sustain the mountain meditation on your own.
You will be in silence,
Moment by moment,
Until you hear the sound of the bells.
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