Just taking a couple of moments to come into your preferred meditation position for this evening.
If you're sitting down,
Just feet firmly on the floor,
Your hands resting gently in your lap.
If you're lying down,
Lying in the Shavasana position,
With your legs gently splayed out naturally,
Your hands by your side facing upwards,
Gently closing down your eyes,
Allowing the spine to be straight.
Just taking any movement that your body may need,
Just to come into the present moment,
Moving from doing to just being.
And if at any time during the meditation you feel the need to move,
Trusting that instinct and doing so,
That is welcome.
Taking a deep inhale through your nose,
And a releasing exhale out of your mouth,
Taking another couple of breaths like this,
Releasing any residue from the day,
Releasing the hours and the minutes leading up to this moment,
Returning to your normal breath,
Allowing yourself to drop into your body like a pebble into water,
Becoming aware of the back of your body,
Making contact with the surface you are sitting or lying on.
Notice how it feels to be held by the body,
Notice how it feels to be held by the ground,
And the earth below that,
Noticing the weight of gravity tethering you to the ground,
To the present moment,
Nothing to do but be here,
Noticing the parts of your body not making contact with the surface,
Noticing the contrast and the lightness that you may feel in these areas,
Becoming aware of the temperature of the air on your skin,
Is it warm or cool,
Is it warm or cool,
And noticing any sensations on your skin,
May feel some tingling,
Some aliveness,
We may feel not much at all,
Noticing any aromas in the room,
Perhaps a candle,
Perhaps dinner cooking,
And bringing your awareness to a mouth,
Noticing if there's any taste,
The position of your tongue,
You might like to swallow,
A couple of times,
And allowing the time to just rest naturally,
And becoming aware of anything you can see behind your closed eyelids,
Any shapes or colors,
Noticing that darkness is also a color,
Eyes resting deeply,
And noticing any sounds in your vicinity,
Any far away sounds,
Perhaps some birdsong,
Or leaves rustling in the trees,
And any close-up sounds,
The sound of silence,
Releasing the need to label the sounds as good or bad,
Letting the sounds fall on your whole body,
As if your whole body is an organ listening to the sounds.
And knowing that during meditation,
Your mind may wander many,
Many,
Many times,
And that that is normal.
If your mind wanders just gently with compassion,
Bringing it back to my guidance,
Bringing your whole awareness to your heart center,
Noticing the sensations that are there,
Noticing the breath flowing gently and naturally in and out,
Noticing the expansion of breath to the rest of the body on the inhale,
And coming back to your center on the exhale,
Expansion and inspiration on the inhale,
Releasing and coming back to your center on the exhale.
And see,
Feel or sense a warm,
Healing white light shining down onto your heart center,
Like the warm summer sun on a spring day,
Opening and soothing from your heart center to the rest of your body as you inhale.
Mad warm healing light traveling up over your shoulders,
Soothing all the muscles in your shoulders like a warm bath,
Releasing any tension that may be there,
That beautiful light cascading down over your arms,
Your elbows and your forearms,
Releasing and soothing everything it touches,
Your wrists,
And all the muscles and bones in your hands and your fingers,
Resting deeply from all the work they do for you every single day,
And that light traveling over your belly,
Warming and softening all the organs in your belly,
In your pelvis,
And flowing down over your thighs,
Massaging and releasing all the big bones and muscles in your thighs,
And your knees,
Flowing down over the shins and the calves,
Deeply releasing down over the ankles,
Your feet,
And your toes,
The soles of your feet,
Deep breaths,
And that beautiful warm light,
Kissing the top of your head,
The back of your head,
The sides of your head,
And your face,
Releasing all the muscles in your brow,
In your jaw,
Melting away any tension,
Like candle wax dripping when it's warm,
And then warm light once again at your heart center,
Warm healing light from your heart center to the rest of your body,
Bathed in warm sunlight,
So visualizing yourself,
Entering the beautiful garden,
Your very own garden of the heart,
Noticing all the plants and flowers in your garden,
And the type of earth beneath your feet,
And the types of trees,
Noticing all the colors of nature in your garden,
And the color of the sky,
Perhaps there is some water in your garden,
Noticing that your garden is a refuge to many,
Many beautiful creatures,
Each playing their part in the ecosystem of the garden,
Birds,
Bumblebees,
All there,
Appreciating the beauty and the peace,
Noticing how the earth feels beneath your bare feet,
As you walk around and take in the beauty of your garden,
Of your garden of the heart space,
Smelling the beautiful flowers,
The smell of nature and being outdoors,
Noticing the sounds in your garden,
Perhaps some birds,
All the trickling of water,
Perhaps your garden is ordered and tidy and pruned,
Perhaps it is overgrown and wild,
From the safety of your heart space,
Staying in this beautiful,
Peaceful place you have created yourself,
For a few minutes of silence,
If at any time your mind wanders,
Gently coming back to the heart centre in the breath as an anchor,
Gently coming back to the heart centre in the breath as an anchor,
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
So ever so gently coming back into your body,
Becoming aware once more of the parts of your body,
Making contact with the surface you are sitting on or lying on noticing the faraway sound of those soft sounds in your awareness inviting some gentle movement back into your body,
Wiggling the fingers and the toes,
Rolling the shoulders,
Deep breath,
Release,
Exhale and when you are ready,
Gently,
Gently,
Thinking,
I've been the eyes arising from your meditation.
