This meditation is inspired by an occasion last week where I woke up early in the morning ready to do my meditation.
I was excited I was going to do it and there was so much that I wanted to do that morning.
I wanted to meditate,
I wanted to read,
I wanted to pray,
I wanted to do my exercise,
I wanted to make sure that I connected with other people around me.
And my brain was just overwhelmed.
I found myself sitting down to meditate and thinking,
I've got so much stuff on my mind how can I possibly meditate?
And then the realization came to me,
There will always be more stuff to do,
There will always be more things to do,
And so just take time to enjoy this moment.
That's what I'd like to invite you to do this morning.
You may come this morning with anxious minds,
Filled minds,
Racing minds,
Thinking how have I possibly got time to meditate?
But you've put this track on,
So let's make the most of this time together.
Recognize that there will be times this morning where you have thoughts about all the things that you need to do.
When you notice you're having a thought,
That's your cue to just come back to this present moment.
So let's get started.
I'd like you to find a comfortable chair.
If it's the chair you meditate in regularly,
That's great.
If it's an unfamiliar chair,
Just notice what kind of chair it is.
Is it a comfortable chair?
Is it a hard chair?
Does it have arms?
Is there somewhere where you can put your hands to be comfortable?
If there is,
Just put your hands in that comfortable place,
And if not,
Just bring them to your lap.
If you touch your thumb to your index finger,
Touch your thumb to your middle finger,
Your ring finger,
And your little finger.
Maybe do that a few times.
Remember,
If you find your thoughts wandering this morning,
Just come back.
Come back to this present moment,
And maybe use that 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 connection with your hands,
Just to place yourself back in this moment.
So let's notice our breathing next.
We recognize that every breath comes from God.
When you breathe in,
That is a gift.
When you breathe out,
That is your opportunity for one more gift.
In and out.
And let's start to put a little bit more focus into this breathing.
Let's start breathing in and counting to 4,
And when we get to 4,
We'll hold our breath for 4,
Then we'll exhale for 4,
And then hold your breath on the 4.
Here we go,
In,
3,
4,
And exhale,
2,
3,
4,
And hold,
2,
3,
4,
And in,
And hold,
And exhale,
And hold,
And in,
And exhale,
And hold,
2 more rounds,
And in,
And hold,
And exhale,
And hold,
Last one,
In,
And you can resume breathing at your normal rate.
Feel the invitation to rest,
The invitation to rest in God's presence.
Yes,
There are things you could be doing,
But what could be better than resting in God's presence?
If thoughts do occur,
Just acknowledge them and say thank you,
And then come back to resting in God's presence.
You may wish to say out loud,
Here I am,
God,
Here I am,
Here I am in your presence,
God.
And as I often like to do,
You're here in God's presence,
Ask God to speak to you,
Maybe to highlight one of those things that you need to do.
Maybe you can put that higher up the priority list for the day.
And as we think about moving on with the rest of our day,
I want you to start to wriggle your fingers,
Rotate your wrists,
Wiggle your toes,
Open your eyes if they are not open already,
Look around,
And thank God for the time in his presence this morning.
