The Space Before Thought - A Practice On Being

This meditation guides you into the quiet space that exists before and beneath thought. The part of you that is always untouched, always whole. You’ll be invited to rest in being, without needing to change anything.

Transcript

As you settle into this moment,

Allow yourself to land softly,

Creating a truly spacious and receptive environment for your inner experience.

This meditation is an invitation to explore a profound truth that resides within you,

The quiet space that exists before and beneath your thoughts.

There's no need to rush any part of this practice,

No need to force any particular feeling or outcome,

And certainly no need to push yourself beyond what feels genuinely comfortable or safe for you right now.

You are simply invited to be here,

Exactly as you are,

With all that is present within you,

Whether it be ease or discomfort,

Quietness or noise,

Without needing to change a single thing about it.

Allow yourself to settle into the most comfortable position you can find,

Whether you are lying down,

Reclining gently or seated upright with ease.

Find a posture that feels truly supportive to your body and allows for a deep sense of surrender.

Feel the support beneath you,

The gentle embrace of the earth,

The soft cushioning of your bed or the steady surface of your chair holding your body.

Let go of any need to hold yourself up,

To maintain a specific posture or to brace against any sensation.

Allow gravity to take the full weight of your body,

Gently releasing it down into the wavering support beneath you.

Begin by bringing your full awareness to your presence in this moment.

Notice that you are here,

That you are aware.

This simple fact of awareness is the starting point.

Then gently bring your attention to your breath.

Feel the natural rhythm of your inhale and exhale.

The gentle rise and fall of your chest or abdomen.

There's no need to deepen it,

To control it or to alter its pace.

Simply observe that it's happening effortlessly and continuously.

This breath is your immediate,

Ever-present anchor,

A direct pathway back to this very moment.

As you continue to breathe,

Allow this simple act of noticing your breath to be your soft cue.

A gentle invitation to shift your attention fully into presence.

Let your breath anchor you here,

In this moment,

In this body,

Where the truth of your being resides.

Each inhale brings you more fully into the now,

Drawing your awareness deeper.

And each exhale helps to release anything that might be distracting you from it,

Softening your grip on thoughts or concerns.

Now,

Let's gently reflect on how thought appears and passes,

Much like clouds in the vast expanse of the sky.

Our minds are constantly generating thoughts,

Ideas,

Memories,

Plans,

Worries,

Judgements.

This ceaseless activity can often feel overwhelming,

Like a continuous stream of mental chatter.

But just like clouds,

These thoughts are transient.

They arise,

They shift,

They change shape and they eventually pass away.

They are not solid,

Permanent structures.

You are the awareness that notices the thoughts.

You are the vast,

Open and unchanging space in which the thoughts arise and dissolve.

You are the boundless sky,

Not the fleeting cloud.

You don't have to attach to these thoughts or follow them down their familiar paths.

You don't have to believe them as absolute truth,

Nor do you have to reject them.

You can simply allow them to float in your awareness,

Witnessing their movement with a soft,

Non-judgmental gaze.

This act of compassionate observation,

Rather than engagement or suppression,

Allows their momentum to naturally slow down,

Like a spinning top gradually losing its speed.

There is no need to try and stop thinking,

Or to wrestle with your thoughts.

The mind is designed to think.

The invitation here is simply to change your relationship with your thoughts,

To recognize them as fleeting phenomena rather than the core of who you are.

The truth is,

Thought is not personal in the way we often assume.

It's the universal energy of thought flowing through us,

Bringing our moment-to-moment experience to life.

And because it's impersonal and constantly shifting,

It doesn't define your true nature.

Now gently invite a subtle curiosity about what remains when thought is quiet,

As your thoughts begin to settle,

Or as you notice the spaces between them.

What is left?

What is the quality of that inner space?

This isn't a void or an emptiness to be feared.

It's often experienced as a sense of quietude,

Spaciousness,

Clarity or a deep sense of peace.

This is the realm of pure being,

A consciousness that underlies all thought and form.

You don't have to strain or search for this quiet.

It's not hidden somewhere far away.

It's inherently present within you,

The background against which all your experiences unfold.

This is the natural state of your system,

A return to equilibrium.

So simply soften your focus,

Release any mental grip and allow yourself to gently fall into this inherent quietude,

This inner spaciousness.

This is a profound returning to a state of being where you are simply aware,

Without the constant need for mental activity or interpretation.

As you rest in this space,

Let stillness speak louder than any explanation.

I will offer longer pauses between my words,

Allowing you to immerse yourself in the quiet that emerges.

In these silences,

There is often a profound sense of peace,

Clarity and well-being that requires no words or intellectual understanding.

Just allow yourself to receive this stillness,

To be held by it,

To let it permanent your entire being.

Feel your breath,

Continuing its gentle,

Effortless rhythm,

A steady and reliable anchor in this emerging stillness.

As you breathe,

Imagine yourself sinking deeper and deeper into this quiet,

Spacious realm.

Each inhale drawing in more tranquility and vastness,

Each exhale releasing any lingering tension,

Mental grip or emotional residue.

Allow your body to feel increasingly heavy,

Deeply supported and completely at ease,

Further grounding you in this present moment.

The sensations in your body can also be subtle cues for this stillness.

Feel the quiet hum of your system,

The subtle pulsations of life,

The simple undeniable fact of being alive in this very moment.

This is the truth of you.

Steady,

Peaceful,

Whole and deeply connected to life.

This calm is not something you have to earn,

It's not a reward for good behaviour or being able to perfectly quiet your mind or for achieving a state of enlightenment.

It's your inherent birthright.

It's the natural,

Default state of the human system to return to a state of equilibrium and peace.

When the mind's activity settles,

You don't have to work for it.

You just have to remember that it's always there,

Waiting to be uncovered beneath the layers of thought,

Conditioning and perceived problems.

Allow yourself to fully rest in this profound understanding.

You don't need to do anything to achieve this state.

It's already here,

Perfectly intact.

You don't need to think differently to experience this profound quiet.

It's your natural way of being,

Simply remembering itself.

The peace you seek is not outside of you,

Hidden in external circumstances or waiting for you in some distant future moment.

It lives vibrantly and continuously within you,

An ever-present,

Unwavering resource.

As we gently bring this practice to a close,

Remember a fundamental truth,

The part of you that has never been broken.

Beneath all the experiences of life,

The challenges,

The pains,

The moments of confusion,

There is an untouched,

Whole and perfect essence within you.

This is the core of your being,

Always resilient,

Always capable,

Always pure.

You are not broken.

You are not flawed.

You are not damaged beyond repair.

You are not doing anything wrong.

You are simply remembering.

Remembering your innate wholeness,

Your inherent capacity for peace and the profound wisdom that resides deep within you.

This truth was never lost.

It was just temporarily obscured by the illusions of thought,

By the stories of separation,

By the constant and often overwhelming stream of mental activity.

And with every breath,

With every moment of gentle awareness,

You are steadily and surely returning to it.

Allow this sense of profound stillness,

This quiet knowing,

To gently permeate and saturate your entire being.

Let it be the guiding principle as you move forward into your day,

Your interactions and your life.

You are deeply loved,

Inherently whole and capable of profound peace and clarity no matter what arises.

Thank you for being here,

For choosing to pause,

To listen and to remember the profound truth of the stillness that resides eternally within you.

May you carry this quiet strength,

This unwavering peace,

With you knowing it is your true and constant hope.

Reviews

Wonderful way to experience the quiet space that is always there. I felt a bit emotional at my eyes without feeling sadness, it is like coming home.