Welcome.
The day is drawing to a close,
And you are here.
Whatever has happened today.
Whatever you have done or not done.
This is a moment to simply be.
There is nothing left to accomplish.
You've already done enough.
Let yourself become comfortable.
If you are lying down.
Let the bed hold you.
If you are sitting.
Let the chair take your weight.
Let your arms be heavy.
Let your legs be heavy.
Take a deep breath in.
And let it out with a long,
Slow exhale.
Feel the day beginning to loosen its grip.
One more breath in and out.
Letting your whole body sink a little deeper.
Now,
Let your breath find its own natural pace.
Watch it come and go.
Without any effort.
The soft rise.
The gentle fall.
Each breath is a small reminder.
That life is being lived through you.
Without any effort at all.
Bring your attention to your body.
Moving slowly from your head down to your toes.
Soften your forehead.
Soften the eyes and the space behind them.
Let the jaw be loose and the tongue rest in the mouth.
Feel the neck and shoulders letting go.
Notice your chest and belly rising gently.
Notice your hands and arms,
Warm and heavy.
Notice the hips and legs.
The feet,
All being supported.
There is nothing to hold up.
Nothing to keep together.
You might notice thoughts arriving about the day.
Things that went well and things that did not.
Conversations you wish had gone differently.
Tomorrow's to-do list,
Waiting at the door.
Let these thoughts pass like clouds.
They are only thoughts.
And you do not have to do anything about them tonight.
Whenever you notice you have drifted into them.
Just come back.
To your breath.
Back to the feeling of your body resting.
Back to my voice.
As the body settles.
Let me remind you of something simple.
The stillness you are beginning to feel right now is not something you have created in the last few minutes.
It was here all day.
Underneath the noise.
It was here in the busy meeting.
And here in the rush to get out of the door.
It is your true nature.
And it never left.
The truth is that you are always connected to calm.
To clarity.
To love.
It is only thinking that seems to cover it over.
When thought slows,
You do not become something new.
You simply see what has always been here.
Let this settle in you for a moment.
You do not have to go anywhere to find peace.
You do not have to earn it through a productive day.
It is present now.
As you lie here.
With the day still echoing in your body.
Take a breath.
And let it be a breath of appreciation.
Bring to mind one small thing from today.
That you appreciate.
It does not have to be big.
A kind word.
A moment of laughter,
A warm drink.
A stretch of quiet.
Let yourself feel that appreciation in your body.
Notice how appreciation itself feels different from thinking about appreciation.
It is a warm,
Soft feeling.
Open feeling.
It is a natural raising of your inner state.
Nothing needs to be forced.
It rises on its own when we let our attention rest on what is good.
Now,
Let yourself be present with this moment.
The evening can have a lovely quality to it.
A natural slowing.
Feel the quiet in the room.
Feel the temperature of the air.
Feel how the whole world is winding down with you.
There is no need to hurry this.
Allow the day to be exactly as it was.
Allow whatever you felt to have been felt.
Allow any unfinished business to be unfinished.
We stop arguing what has already happened,
A deep sense of ease arrives.
It is the ease of being at peace with life just as it is.
Your feelings tonight are coming from thought in the moment,
Not from the events of the day.
So if there are any remaining feelings of tiredness or worry or heaviness.
You can gently see them for what they are.
Passing states.
Moving through,
Like weather across the sky.
Underneath,
The sky stays clear.
Let yourself sink into that clear sky.
A soft,
Spacious feeling of being held by something bigger than your thoughts.
Call it love.
Call it life.
Call it intelligence.
It is the same quiet presence.
That beats your heart and breathes your body,
And it is completely on your side.
Feel how easy it is to trust this.
There is nothing to work out tonight.
The answers you need will come when your mind is fresh and clear.
And they will arrive far more easily from a rested state than from a tired,
Busy one.
Wisdom shows up on its own when we make space.
Take another slow breath.
And let your body become even softer.
You are in the right place.
You are doing this perfectly.
You are simply resting in what you already are.
Imagine now that you are floating gently in warm,
Still water.
Everything is hell.
Everything is quiet.
A current of life carries you softly.
And all you have to do is let it.
Stay here for a few moments.
In your own way.
Breathing.
Allow it.
Feeling the good feeling of simply resting in your own natural calm.
As we come towards the end of this time together.
Know that you can carry this feeling with you into sleep or into whatever is next.
You do not have to hold onto it.
It is not something that can be lost.
It is who you are underneath everything.
If your mind wanders during the night or tomorrow.
Remember that you can always return.
One breath.
One moment of noticing your body.
And you are back home in the car.
That was never away.
Rest well.
You have done enough today.
And you are enough.
Exactly as you are.
