Mind Like The Sky Thoughts Like The Clouds Practice

In this guided sitting meditation practice, we go through the stages of settling, grounding, and resting in our embodied presence. Then connecting with the sense of the mind being like the sky unbounded and the thoughts being impermanent as clouds passing through the sky. Inevitably our mind will wander away into thinking carried away by a thought and when we notice this gently returning back to watching thoughts passing through the sky.

Transcript

Mind like the sky,

Thoughts like the cloud,

Practice.

So to start this practice,

Gently taking the time to drop into our seat.

Maybe getting a sense of the weight of the body sitting on our seat.

Hands resting on our laps,

Feet touching the ground,

Our chin parallel to the ground.

And gently adopting a dignified posture,

One that is with a straight back.

And you can either imagine as if there is a string pulling you up from the top of your head.

Or maybe visualizing as if you were a mountain,

Stable,

Grounded,

Strong,

Unmoving.

So gently adopting a dignified posture,

But also one that is comfortable,

One that you can spend the next 20 to 30 minutes in.

So that we are sitting in an alert and relaxed way.

And then gently setting our intention for this practice.

To practice meditation and maybe connect with the notion of the mind being like the sky,

Unbounded,

And the thoughts being the clouds passing through the sky,

Impermanent.

And then our own motivation.

So how might I hope to benefit from the practice of meditation and the cultivation of mindfulness towards myself,

But also towards others?

And then gently guiding our attention inwards and finding the breath within the body.

Maybe noticing the flow of the air going in through our nostrils,

Filling up our lungs.

Maybe noticing the slight pause between the in-breath and the out-breath.

Maybe noticing the flow of the air going out through our lungs and out through our nostrils.

And then gently resting your attention wherever the breath feels most prominent to you.

So it might be at the tip of the nostrils,

At the abdomen,

Or maybe having the general felt sense of the whole cycle of the breath.

And then seeing if it's possible to breathe a little bit deeper than normal and to gently release the breath.

So our in-breath is a little bit deeper than normal and our out-breath is a little bit longer than normal,

But both are gentle.

And then trying to see if it's possible to equalize the in-breath and the out-breath.

So that we're breathing in a little bit deeper than normal and our out-breath is a bit longer than normal,

But they are of equal length and rhythm.

And to do this we might use counting.

So breathing in on a count of 3 or 4 and then breathing out on a count of 3 or 4.

Or we can use phrases.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Both are in-breaths and out-breaths,

A little bit deeper and longer than normal and of equal length and rhythm.

And we might notice that thoughts still arise within the mind.

And that's absolutely fine.

In the practice of meditation we are not trying to block thoughts or make the mind go blank.

But we are letting thoughts pass freely through the mind,

As if the mind is the sky and the thoughts were the clouds passing through the sky.

And if at any moment you notice being carried away by one of the clouds,

By a thought,

You engage with it and thoughts turn into thinking,

Gently acknowledging that and then gently bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Both are in-breaths and out-breaths,

A little bit deeper and longer than normal and of equal length and rhythm.

Now gently turning our focus a little bit more on the out-breaths.

Maybe noticing if there is a releasing quality to the out-breaths.

So maybe gently seeing if there is a tendency for the body to relax as the body breathes out.

And then gently trying to see if the mind can learn from the body and from the releasing quality of the out-breaths.

So as the body breathes out and relaxes,

Our mind relaxes,

Releases involvement with thinking,

Letting thoughts pass freely through the mind and begins to settle.

And now gently letting our breath drop into its natural rhythm.

And then gently noticing the general felt feeling within the body.

What is the general felt feeling within the body right now?

And we might notice a range of sensations.

So we might notice sensations of relaxation or the opposite,

Tension.

We might notice a sense of stillness or the opposite,

Agitation.

Or a neutral sense.

So actually like no sensations at all.

So gently noticing and letting experience unfold as it is.

No right way or wrong way to feel.

And then gently noticing the points of contact between the body and the chair,

The feet and the ground,

Our hands resting on our laps.

And then taking the next few moments to scan through the body.

So gently noticing our toes,

The bottom of our feet,

The top of our feet,

Our heels,

Our ankles,

The shin,

The calf,

Our knees,

The thigh and the hamstring,

Our pelvis,

The points of contact between the buttocks and the chair,

Our lower back,

Maybe noticing the curvature of the spine,

Our abdomen,

Maybe noticing the rising and falling of the abdomen with the breath,

Our upper chest,

Our upper back,

Our fingers,

Our hands,

The forearm,

The elbow,

Our biceps and triceps,

Our shoulders,

Our necks,

Our face,

Our eyes,

Ears,

Nose and mouths,

The back of our head and the top of our head.

And then gently noticing the whole body breathing,

The whole body breathing resting on the ground.

And then trying to gently notice the weight of the body and how the weight of the body is unconditionally supported by the ground beneath the body.

And as the ground unconditionally supports the body,

The body unconditionally supports the mind.

So as we breathe out,

There is the tendency of the body to relax a little and our center of gravity dropping,

Our mind resting within the body,

Unconditionally supported by the body,

Body resting on the ground,

Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath the body.

So mind and body resting here right now,

Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath them and surrounded by space.

Just taking the next few moments to rest within this embodied presence.

Nothing to do,

Nowhere to be,

Nothing to achieve or strive for,

Even letting go of the notion of having to meditate.

So just resting within our experience and gently watching thoughts pass freely through the landscape of the mind.

As if the mind is the sky and the clouds are the thoughts passing through the sky.

That any time we might notice that we carried away by a particular thought passing through the sky.

So that we end up being carried away by one of the clouds.

And if we notice that,

That's absolutely okay.

That's part of the practice of meditation.

Noticing the engagement with thoughts and thoughts turning into thinking.

Gently noticing that and then gently bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

And as I breathe out,

Mind resting in the body,

Body resting on the ground.

Mind and body resting here right now.

Unconditionally supported by the ground and surrounded by space.

And just gently resting within our embodied presence.

Letting thoughts pass freely through the mind.

Our mind being unbounded like the sky.

So mind like the sky and our thoughts being clouds passing through the sky.

And if at any time we notice being carried away by one of the clouds,

By one of the thoughts passing through the mind.

Maybe noticing where has the mind wandered to.

And then gently bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

And as I breathe out and there is this sense of the body relaxing and our center of gravity dropping.

Mind resting in the body,

Body resting on the ground.

Mind and body resting here right now.

Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath them and surrounded by space.

And just resting within our embodied presence.

Nothing to do,

Nowhere to be.

Nothing to achieve or strive for.

Gently letting our experience unfold as it is.

The sky being the mind,

Unbounded.

And the clouds being the thoughts passing through the mind.

And we're gently watching the clouds passing through the sky.

So we're familiarizing ourselves with the mind and the sky.

And the impermanence of our thoughts ever changing.

But the mind is always there.

As the sky is always there.

Even when the sky is totally overcast,

Covered by the clouds.

And again at any time.

Gently noticing is there thinking?

Have we been carried away by a cloud?

Or maybe the sky is covered by the clouds?

So gently noticing that.

Maybe gently noticing where the mind wandered to.

And then gently taking your time,

Bringing the mind back.

Bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

And as we breathe out,

Our mind resting within the body.

As the body rests on the ground.

Mind and body resting here right now.

Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath them.

And surrounded by space.

And again resting within this embodied presence.

And gently letting our experience unfold.

So mind like the sky.

And our thoughts as clouds pass into the sky.

And again gently noticing.

We have been carried away by a cloud,

By a thought.

And engaged into thinking.

So if there is thinking,

Noticing that.

And again gently bringing the mind back to this breathing body.

Breathing in,

I know I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know I'm breathing out.

And as I breathe out,

Mind resting within the body.

Body resting on the ground.

Mind and body resting here right now.

Unconditionally supported by the ground beneath them.

And surrounded by space.

And just again taking these few moments to rest within our embodied presence.

With our minds like the sky.

And the thoughts being clouds passing freely through the sky.

And now as we come towards the end of this practice.

Gently noticing the body.

Gently noticing the points of contact between the body and the chair.

The feet and the ground.

Our hands resting on our laps.

Maybe noticing the breath within the body and that we inhabit a breathing body.

A body that knows how to breathe itself.

And then gently acknowledging our presence within the room.

I am here.

And then I invite you to put your hands on your heart.

May you be safe.

May you be happy.

May you live with ease.

And gently ending this practice with a dedication.

That any benefits that might come from this practice towards myself spread outwards towards others.

In ever expanding circles.

And then on the sound of the bell gently ending the practice.

Reviews

Thank you for sharing that practice! It resonated quite well with me

This is so peaceful and grounding. Thank you Clayton

Love it!

Thank you . This was beautiful. I was able to stick with you. I really benefited from this meditation. I will repeat it. May you be happy. May you be well. May you live with ease. ❤🙏🙏🦜

This was the perfect meditation for me this morning. I don’t often use guided sessions but am pleased with my choice of this one—it helped me consistently return from the stories I create and then get lost in lost in when I meditate. Thank you!

Practical, nourishing and helpful. It really helped me notice how much I get caught in the clouds and how much i tense and clench when this happens. It also helped me release that tension, great guidance, thank you and wishing you a blessed day,🌱🙏

Peaceful-thank you! Nameste! 🙏🌟

One of the nicest guided body check I’ve done on here yet thank u will follow!!

Beautiful combination of visualization & breathing ♥

Exactly what I needed this morning

Thank you 🙏💙🙏